Natural playscapes for beauty and fun

This time last year, the Kiwanis Park on Credle Street in Pittsboro was a fenced-in area with swings and other standard play equipment. The area without equipment was a steeply sloping grassy hill.

But the park has been transformed into a playscape of natural delights.

Pittsboro's parks planner, Paul Horne, oversaw the creation of a natural playground full of flowers, shrubs and trees, and play areas made from natural materials such as stone and wood.

Local contractors, suppliers and artisans donated labor and materials.

There's no reason that such play areas should exist only in parks. You can create a visually appealing natural playscape in your own yard.

A place for sand castles

At Kiwanis Park, first, the steeper grassy area was leveled off. Horne enlisted a stonemason to create a low retaining wall that holds a sandpit ideal for sand castles. He recycled slabs from a recently felled oak tree to create giant stepping stones, and he used a chain saw to carve a kid-size wooden car for imaginary rides to faraway places. Other local artisans also provided carved play structures. A felled walnut tree became rustic benches. Colorful and fragrant plantings tie the landscape together.

Fragrant herbs such as rosemary, sage, thyme and mint provide instant aromatherapy when jostled. Blueberry bushes offer flowers, color and fruit. And the addition of flowering shrubs and perennials guarantees color and butterflies throughout the growing season. Until the young trees can grow large enough to provide shade, Horne has erected colorful shade cloths over several play areas.

Horne is an advocate of natural playgrounds. "I grew up in very rural Granville County and spent most of my childhood playing in our 100 acres of woods," he said. "I had a blast playing along the creeks, finding natural fort areas and generally exploring every crevice of the land around me."

Pittsboro's transformed Kiwanis Park shows that Horne still knows how to view a landscape through a child's eyes, as proved by the squeals of happy children playing.

Try this at home

You can create a natural playscape that invites inventive play.

Start by assessing what you have. Is there a big Southern magnolia with low branches in your yard? Consider limbing up the lowest branches to create a shady nook for a perfect summertime retreat. The branching pattern of magnolias, combined with their sturdy limbs, also makes them excellent trees for young climbers.

Weeping trees can become intimate playhouses. The dense shade provided by a weeping cherry remains cool and free of weeds, making an ideal secret spot for youngsters.

Boulders and rocks can become walls for imaginary forts. If a tree falls, consider using trunk pieces as benches or walls. They'll decompose over the years, providing habitat for ground beetles as they slowly melt back into the earth.

Consider a natural sandpit defined by stone or wood rather than a plastic sandbox. Make sure your landscape includes plants that can handle fondling by small hands. Rosemary and sage are durable and have wonderful fragrance and texture. A stand of mint in a shady spot can make a pleasant retreat from summer sun.

Made in the shade

Add a hammock between two shade trees, making sure you hang it low enough for children to climb in and out safely.

If your yard is sunny, use inexpensive bamboo poles or even branches pruned from your trees to create teepee shapes. Plant vines to cover the teepees. Morning glories are fast-growing and colorful. Vining vegetables such as cucumbers and pole beans will also work. Moonflowers will make the teepee glow in summer twilight, attracting large sphinx moths to the white flowers that open at dusk.

Your natural playscape can change as your children grow. For example, design their playhouse to later become a garden tool shed. The sand from a sandpit can become the well-drained soil needed for rock garden plantings.

In these times when we are all learning to do more with less, designing your home landscape as a natural playscape is a solid investment.

When you create beautiful, child-friendly spaces, the whole family can go outside and play.

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