Kid Friendly Landscapes: Gamescapes!

With kids getting out of school all across the area, parents like myself are all trying to figure out what to do with them all summer long. While camps and the pool are obvious activities, that only covers about 40% of their day and week. What about the other 60% of the time? Building kid friendly areas or “gamescapes” as I call them, is a great way to add inexpensive features to your landscape that everyone in your family can enjoy.

To build gamescapes first think about your children and what they like to do. Do you have a ball player or a runner? A dancer or a gymnast? A soccer player or hockey player?  A lot of these sports share similar set ups and concepts – so, space can perform double or triple duty. All you need is a measuring tape, white marking spray paint, garden stakes / or flags, a lawn mower (not required), and shovel.

Ball Players Field: Soccer, Hockey, Football, and Lacrosse all share a few things in common - balls, fields, and goals. So, why not carve out a small spot in your yard for a miniature version of these playing fields? First, choose a spot, then create a life size template by measuring out a rectangle, use garden stakes or flags - mark the intersections. Next, cut your lawn slightly shorter into the rectangle shape you measured (not required), create lines with white marking paint. Finally, put in the goals by creating an open box at each end your miniature field. Insert kids, balls, and equipment of choice!

Dancers & Gymnasts Take Center Stage: Dancers and gymnasts love to move, twirl, and tumble; create a special spot for them to perform their floor routines or rehearse their latest dance moves. For the gymnast in your family create a nice size square, and for the dancers you can get more imaginative by creating a scalloped edged rectangle or square. For either, measure out your shape, using garden stakes or flags mark the intersections. Next, cut your lawn slightly shorter into the shape you measured (not required), then create lines with white marking spray paint. For a scalloped edge, instead of the lines meeting at each intersection, stop the lines three-quarters of the way up, and connect the lines by spraying a half circle (bottom part of the circle). Finally, insert gymnast and dancers and enjoy your performance!

Runners & Jumpers: On your mark get set go! This gamescape is great for kids of all ages. Little guys can get out and run with the big guys, and moms and dads can do this one too. Create a spot for long jump, triple jump, shuttle run, or the 40 yard dash. The best thing about this gamescape is that it can easily be incorporated into other gamescapes. Measure out your spot(s) using the suggested tools or reuse an existing gamescape surface, and watch your future field and track stars have their own Summer Games.

Putt Perfect Green: Now I warn you, if you put this one in – dad might get more use out it. To create a small putting green using your own grass and natural landscape it’s really quite simple. Find a spot that is either flat or creates a desired challenge – preferably out of the way of a passersby.  Create your design. The easiest designs are rectangles and squares, but for a more traditional look try a kidney shape. Using garden stakes or flags plot out the shape and choose a spot for the hole. Next, take a flat edging tool or shovel to edge out your putting green and create a hole - cut your lawn to the desired length.  Insert dad, and hopefully kids, and you’ll have your own putt putt course all summer long.

All of these gamescape ideas are a play on traditional setups. You can incorporate any number of other activities and games such as bocce ball and horseshoes, volleyball and badminton, or hopscotch and jump rope. The idea is to get your kids outside and staying active all summer long. Oh, and enjoying you landscape too!

Question of the Week: Can you apply weed control during the summer? I get this question a lot, mostly because homeowners are afraid to treat their lawns during the summer because lawns are typically more stressed and dry. But, it is ok to treat your lawn for weeds during the summer. In fact, it’s important to keep up with the weed control in the summer months because the sun, and more recently heavy rainfall, are the perfect recipe for weed growth. If you applied weed control in the spring, the next application should be toward the end of June or early July.

Happy Summer!

Aaron Gorski

Owner, The Greener Side Lawn & Landscaping, LLC

Got a landscaping question?  Send it my way: mailto:PatchQuestions@GreenerSideLLC.com

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