Get some Kid Friendly Landscape ideas here on the Yard Coach episode REPLAY. Coach Matt talks about designing outdoor living areas for your kids or grandkids that can be repurposed as needs change…dive in and don’t forget to leave comments. We want to hear your own ideas for Child-Friendly Outdoor Living Areas.
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Hey welcome everybody coach here how you doing my producer director editor and basically life choreographer is ever present when it comes to the the live stream here which is brand new to us so it’s going to take a little bit of getting used to but I’m
Glad you’re here hey before we get any further let’s do our landscape probability Factor shall we our landscape probability Factor again is zero uh but a zero with a caveat you know all Landscaping doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re putting things in the ground there are occasions when you’re doing
Preparatory stuff and that’s what we’ve been doing here at Brook and pond for the last several weeks our Preparatory stuff is getting things cleaned up cleared out having a vision of what we’re going to be doing so our probability Factor right now let’s give it a 05 because I have been having uh
Burn piles have been having chainsaw parties and clearing the the basically the forest from the trees all the down stuff this particular week we’re going to change gears though a little bit not only be doing this live stream thing which is uh you know without a script
Without a writing it out first it’s a little different but I think you’re going to enjoy it and because we’re in the holiday season December of 23 where most of the time Christmas tends to get focused if you have children on the kids and what they want
Can we satisfy all their Christmas wish list yeah most of the time we can but not always but let’s flip a switch on that just a little bit when I was a much younger dad my landscape uh designs and functionality and actual practical installations kind of always had in the
Back of my mind are the kids going to enjoy this landscape are they going to be able to get something out of it for instance every home that I’ve had with the exception of one which was kind of a temporary rental between purchase and purchase everything kind of surrounded
The ability for the kids to get out and enjoy the yard and that was obviously back in the day when you know this kind of stuff this thumb thumb exercises or watching a screen the electronic babysitters I used to call them um getting the kids outside and enjoying a
Yard where they’re safe where they can they can play for hours on in they can use their own creative imag in ination so that they can get something out of the landscape as well now one of the things the biggest concept I’d like you to take away from
This episode and that is the word temporary everything we do in the landscape for kids is temporary and the second most used adjective here is multi-functional space over time for instance if you have a particular corner of the yard and you have Youngs say that are definitely 10 and under and
Sometimes I would say even eight and under and you’re going to put up uh one of those as some assembly required slide Swing Fort type of thing what else can that space be before if you happen to you’re coming into your child rearing years or more importantly
What can you do after what what can that space be after the kids have outgrown the space and as parents we have learned especially myself that that temporary sometimes can be a blink of an eye what entertains them at 4 is gone by six and what is entertain them at
8 you know they almost outgrow the yard by the time they’re 10 and 12 so don’t throw huge amounts of resources at the entertainment value alone for kids out in the landscape we can do simplistic things and the wonderful thing about children is that they can adapt they can
Adapt to what is there as long as we encourage their involvement and that’s that’s really really important being able to uh involve them in the creation of whatever you’re going to put in for their entertainment value alone will get them to uh Buy in on it and to help
Complete it and then just as importantly maybe help take care of it and once you establish that uh that buyin and that Weekly help or that monthly help whatever you decide to do out there as far as maintenance you’re planting that seed no pun intended you’re planting
That seed for care and U upkeep of their place years and years down the road it will be up here you know I was raised by parents that U I was on a three acre horse ranch and as you know horses can tend to make quite a mess of a landscape
They will trod things into dust they will poop all over the the the place and you have to maintain it you have to keep up on it well aside from a horse ranch maybe your place isn’t quite that big and you have a yard that requires only a
Few minutes a week but taking little Johnny or Little Sally out there and teaching them how to mow a lawn giving them their own play lawn mower so they can mow right along with you and then have a little picnic lunch out on that that little patch of
Grass really is a bonding a bonding moment and it also solidifies uh work and reward and that’s where landscaping around kids in the in the in the yard can be an invaluable teaching and Learning lesson as well here’s another thing now last week we talked about uh various
Oh usages of the landscape various trends of the landscape and if you get into uh Edibles and sustainables if you help plant those particular Edibles whether it be vegetables in a formal vegetable garden setting or containers or whatever and you uh teach them the patience of rearing these vegetables or
Planting that dwarf fruit tree or whatever it might be and then reaping the reward watching the watching the seeds come up watching them mature watering them perhaps feeding them and then the almost magical moment when you allow them to do some harvesting or to pick that first right Peach off the tree and
Then sampling themselves if you don’t think that isn’t a solidification moment an imprint moment in their lives think again because I saw it firsthand with mine I I really did and at least one of them really enjoys Landscaping now and enjoys the the virtues of harvest and
The virtues of patience and all that goes with it you know landscaping around kids can be as simplistic as as having a weekend morning project where you you go and you buy a a thin sheet of plywood you trim it out around with a a a 1 by3
Piece of stockboard and then you you put it on the fence and you paint it together with chalkboard paint and give them a place to go out and scribble and doodle and play school or whatever else like my daughter my God she became a teacher and it’s no wonder why because
She was always being the teacher in the neighborhood play groups she really was and there she is and she used to have little chalkboards and stuff and she’d give assignments and all that kind of thing out in the yard and again those were the days before the
Old digital babysitters that we have now and so think about that introduce these kind of outdoor elements for the kids to enjoy U and then once they’re done once they’ve outgrown the chalkboard years on they’ve out you know outgrown the uh the jungle gym type of uh apparatus out
There those things can be dismantled sold you know maybe there’s another family in the neighborhood that can use it and then what are you going to use it for now another element that is very very important and that is some of your plant selection and some of your
Hardscape element that can be used to accommodate kids as well one of them is water water placed in in an element that is safety in mind at all times and that they can actually Splash in yeah you got the old waiting pools that’s that’s true and maybe you’re lucky enough to have a
Big swimming pool and you can use that as well but I’m speaking more to the um Standalone water features pondless waterfalls uh stack slate ear type of uh self-contained where they can see the water hear the water play with water and then watch what the water does as far as
Attracting birds and wildlife around then if you have uh then if you have an another element and that is the play element U lawn and grass kind of go hand and glove as far as kids being able to play especially if you have pets involved uh it’s one thing
To have a massive Hardscape patio with a beautiful outdoor kitchen and everything but it doesn’t really lend itself necessarily to a kid-friendly place unless they’re really really really small and I mean like scooter type of tricycle years where they can pedal around and do their thing there but
Playing out on the grass with the new puppy in Easter or whatever it might be is a uh is a Tim tested uh parental aha moment that you only get a couple times in life you got to take advantage of those times so remember that when you’re you’re landscaping for the kids you
Don’t have to have the landscape to the nines necessarily it has to be functional it has to be uh on budget and again temporary in mind where it’s areas that are going to directly effect and entertain the kids you know when I grew up I grew up on that 3 Acre horse Ranch
Up in the hills of Hayward California and when I was our our whole acreage and the street and the neighborhood was it it was a a kids playground because our imagination guided us unfortunately in this day and age there’s not a lot of places left that
Parents can just let kids go out in the morning and say be back for lunch or be back at dark and you know the old Sandlot baseball games and the the hiking the hills and crawling through brush and chasing animals and doing all the things that I was so fortunate to
Have as a kid now now the way the world is you know most of the time you don’t let your kids go down to the park down the street by themselves anymore um every thing is Parental supervision and starts to really Whittle that uh direct supervision space way way down to the
Backyard maybe the front yard and that’s about it kind of sad but it is what it is and as good parents we’re always going to be in direct supervision of our kids until they’re able to fend for themselves quite a bit that’s a lot of years that’s a lot of years between
Diapers and drivers like it really is so think think about how you’re going to entertain and keep interest of your children when it comes to being outdoors and enjoying the the landscape and home that youve provided for yourself and them as well so let’s recap just for a
Few minutes what is the number one adjective that I really want to stress when it comes to landscaping for your kids being involved and that was temporary it’s going to be a multi-functional space it may be uh just a corner of the yard it may be a a arranged so that much
Like uh interior design your kids play area might be over in this corner and the adult outdoor living area may be over in the center over on this side of the house whatever it might be so there’s a little bit of segregation um and that’s just kind of
The norm you know it’s like the the Thanksgiving table where all the big all the big people sat at this table and then you had a table for the kids it still works and it works for a particular reason now when when it comes to transitioning from that child rearing
Ears and transitioning over to another use you as the homeowner and as the adult may be in a totally different different phase of life where that particular area now that you have a who knows let’s just say 25 by 25 area what you thought you were going to put in
When you originally put the play the play set out there now you’re in a different spot in life as well and you may have to rethink what you want to put in there maybe it’s going to be a a relaxation Corner maybe it’s going to be
A place for uh a hot tub maybe it’s going to be a a a vignette back there maybe it’s a vegetable garden maybe it’s a she shed a man cave whatever it might be that fits your lifestyle at the time of the change and also five and 10 years down the road
So make sure that you kind of uh think it out before you leap on that Saturday morning and just head off down to the box store or something to get a B and C make make sure you know what you’re doing today and then make sure you know
What you’re going to do five or 10 years down the road after all the kids are you know driving and college and mortar boards and all the other things that go along with life now now it’s your turn what is you know what is your turn going
To be and how are you going to take care of it as far as uh an appealing part of the landscape that once entertained your children and then there’s a whole grandparent thing you know where now you have uh you’ve got grandkids that are at least nearby that you’re going to see
Multiple times a year they’re going to come over and spend some time at uh Grandpa and Grandma’s house and what are the grandkids going to need are you going to need the space again are you going to do it a little differently or is Grandma and Grandpa’s house a place
That uh is kind of kid-friendly but it’s Grandma and Grandpa’s house and you’ve earned the right to do what you want to do at that phase in your life and maybe you can walk them down to the park and they can play on swing sits there you know because now you’re uh
You’re a hummingbird and Butterfly perennial planting fiend and that’s your drive and your happiness which lends it a whole another a whole another realm of involving children into it if you can plant a butterfly and hummingbird Garden oh my gosh young kids all the way up to
10 and 12 would love to participate in those kinds of events so planting that area out hey this is where you know your dad used to play and now I’m planting this I’d really like your help planting my hummingbird and Butterfly Garden you know so it’s something to think about
Well my first live stream my first live stream here on podbean and on the YouTube channel hope you got a little something out of it it’s a little different for a holiday treat of which I extend Maestro and I heartfelt warmth holiday greetings to you guys we only
Have a few more days before Santa hits a Sligh and goes all over the place right so we will be back next week with another episode I appreciated your time if you get a chance hey Buzz on over to the website yyard coach.com back you’re arge coach
At.com see the live stream is a little harder than you think because I’m so used to Myro cutting and editing and splicing and doing all the things that she does magically most of the time guys that’s that’s all the time that I have for you today my mouth’s getting tired
And it’s getting dry because hey I’m a little on the nervous side knowing full well that this is not going to be edited and I’ll catch you guys next Friday as always do your guys’s landscape success always here to answer questions for you as you see fit and the website also has
Consultations that you might want to take advantage of when your project rolls around after the first of the year okay till next Friday bye for now