we have this great yard and so many ideas for it…so far things are coming along nicely.
in the past year we dug out a sandpit:
now i’m wanting to find something to do with this space here:
that’s a concrete slab that we have outside our bedroom windows, on the side of the house. it has a gate (broken…needs to be replaced…on my long list of projects to get to) on one side (that’s the wooden one you see on the farthest side in front of you in the pic)…that’s the front yard side.
then another gate (metal fence/gate) on the inside (backyard) side of the space:
on the neighbors side of the fence, there is a grape arbor and the grape vines are always coming over our fence…which we don’t mind…the kids like the grapes when we can remember to eat them before the bugs get to them. right now they are still sour, as you can tell by tyren’s face:
anyway i need some ideas for something to do with that concrete slab area. i think it should be a great play area for the kids…but not sure what to do with it yet. originally i wanted to build a shed for our trikes/bikes/riding toys and build a ramp to the front driveway so we could open that big wooden gate and the kids could take the bikes to the front, or pull them to the backyard through the inside gate. but now i’m thinking that that would kill that play space. it would then just be storage and it has such a great feel to it that i feel like it should be used creatively for the children. so i’m open to ideas!!
i think it might be worth building a mini-arbor and encourage the grapevines to come over more…would help with the extreme heat and sun that beats down on that side of the house in the summer afternoons. would make that space nice and shady then.
i’d like to see it used maybe as a sort of playhouse…if i build the arbor and have the grapevines for shade, then the kids might want to go in there more…
but because it is concrete, then that might make it better for things like playing cars or something…i’m not sure yet…i need ideas! help!
i’m putting maeven to work on thinking of something too…so we’ll see what we can come up with…we welcome suggestions!
Spinneretta
thats easy… CONTAINERS!! Let the kids pick some plants to grow. Certain roses and vines could easily be planted in a pot and encouraged to grow over an arbour or pagoda and make a fort like space for the kids.
Vines like honeysuckle and morning glory are vigorous growers. Hops grow huge and smell good too. Passionflower has a cool bloom:)
if you look at my garden blog
http://wortcunning.blogspot.com
I have links to books and sites that should help 🙂
I highly recommend Lasagna Gardening for Small Spaces by Patricia Lanza and Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew 🙂
HTH!!
Lara
It looks like it’s coming along! I wish I had some good ideas for you. If you saw my yard of weeds you would know I am the wrong person to get advice from for the yard! Good luck with it!