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The Playground Garden

© Linda Mazar

More Garden Themes for Children

If you've had a child around for any length of time, you likely have a yard full of outdoor toys. They are so fun when they are shiny and new, but what can you do with the broken or abandoned items? Why not make a garden out of the collection and turn messy chaos into a fun theme bed? Your kids will enjoy making those old toys "live again" as garden ornaments and planters. You might even find uses for their new toys (or find yourself evaluating toys for gardening possibilities while on your next shopping trip). Just think about all those toys put to good use instead of laying haphazardly around to be discovered by the lawn mower. Take inventory together with your child, then put your heads together and be creative!

First, take stock of what you have around and put it in one area to evaluate for garden possibilities. What did you find? A cracked or out-grown wading pool? A dump truck with no wheels? A rusty wagon with a broken axel? A cracked sand bucket with broken shovel? A bubbling lawn mower? Sand molds? Various jeeps, trucks, and cars? Play dishes? A broken swingset? Good job! The garden doesn't have to be totally made up of these "finds," but these can all be mixed in throughout to define the theme and provide fun points of interest.

As you look at each item, think about what it could be used for in the new garden. Listen to your child's ideas. Kids' thoughts can be so original and you want to be sure to include them throughout the process. If the wading pool isn't cracked, perhaps it could be used for a water garden or as part of a water feature. Will you leave it on top of the ground or dig it in? Plant it with water hyacinth or other easy water flowers, add a few fish perhaps, and you have an instant water garden.

Maybe a bog garden would be better? Punch some very small holes one-third to one-half way up the walls of the pool if you are using plants that like wet feet, but don't want to stand in totally wet soil. This allows a little drainage. Fill the pool with a good soil mixture and plant it up with moisture loving plants.

If the pool is cracked, add more holes to ensure good drainage and it could be a great planter. You could either sink it into the ground, or let it stand on top. If you don't want to dig, but don't want it too obvious that you've used the kiddy pool, plant around the outer edge of the pool with some flowers that will disguise it for you. The pool could be used for a round annual flower bed, an herb garden, pumpkins or other vegetables, etc. Depending on where the cracks are, it might work well to contain some of those more vigorous (or invasive) perennials as well.

The copyright of the article The Playground Garden in Gardening with Children is owned by Linda Mazar. Permission to republish The Playground Garden in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.