Shrubs to break a fall

Evening all.

Imagine you're 3 year old, and your dad has built a play area that features a structure to climb on that's quite a bit higher than you are, and that has deliberately steep steps (no fun in easy steps) and other ways to climb up.

Now imagine you're the dad of said 3 year old, and you know that falls are a real possibility, and from that height it will hurt.

I was thinking that in addition to the usual measures of a few inches of bark chips, I thought I might plant some bushes in the locations where I reckon a there's the greatest risk of a fall. My idea is that it will not only be a low maintenance way to provide a crash mat, but will look good too, and will even add to the 'adventure' nature of the play area by making it seem like its part hidden or has been there ages and only just been rediscovered.

Any ideas what shrubs would be good candidates? I guess something not dangerously toxic, no thorns, flexible stems, and needs to be shade tolerant.

 

That's an interesting idea Clueless. How about prostrate conifers.

 

How about dense grasses? Some of them tuft up very well and look good to.

 

Would a shrub grow quickly enough such that it was of benefit to the 3-year-old before he becomes old enough that he's sufficiently surefooted that he doesn't fall?

(Future Sibblings might still benefit of course ...)

We used mats around ours when the kids were young (the kind of padded things that gyms have around a vaulting-horse etc)

 

If you use shrubs and your 3 year old falls into it from a height, is there not a chance that a branch can find its way it his/her eye and blind them? I know that when i have been in the garden and turned round on occasion i have had things go in my eye. Me personally would use crash mats, then in a few years when the child is older you can remove them.

Rusty

 

Good point. I was thinking of when I was a bit younger, I used to ride a most excellent mountain bike route on the moors. It was a good fast downhill but a bit rutted in places. There was one corner that I could never do at any speed, but I practised and practised until I could. Each time I'd get so far round, then the front wheel would snatch and I'd be catapulted through the air for a few feet. I never hurt myself because the landing area was well established heather, so it was like landing on a big cushion. Heather wont work in my garden for at least two reasons, it wont get enough sun, and the soil isn't likely to be right (heather likes acidic peat, the patch of my garden in question is clay), so I was hoping for something like that but tolerant of the conditions.

 

The crash mats sound a safe option Clueless....you could always plant around them with camomile that can withstand little feet treading on it....i see where you are coming from with the shrubs though it would look nice....if you can remember back to a thread from a while back...what about a small 'sunken' trampoline placed in the crash mat area....and surround that with camomile

 

There was an article earleir this week regarding laying grass in York Minster.
They used special carpet in which grass had been grown, that could be rolled up and removed.
Alternatively I have a large Hebe that OH wants me to dig out because its nearly 3' high and fills a 6' border from fence to lawn. You can take it away if you want it

 

I agree with Rusty; all shrubs have some hard bits which would be dangerous and anyway I don't think any plant could break a fall even if the plant itself was soft. If you put down bark chips or sand there are plants that would grow in it to soften the look if that's what you want or plant some bulbs which will come up when the weather may not be hospitable enough for your 3 year old to be playing on the frame. Alternatively, some low shrubs at the perimeter of the "crash site" which would spread later when the children are older may be a good idea.

Although I don't like willow because it spreads, I've seen some fabulous willow adventure areas planted in the Botanical Gardens near Carmarthen and also several of the schools here have willow living sculptures that the children can crawl through, make dens in etc. May be an idea for the perimeter of the play area? The area at the Botanical Gardens is called the "roots and shoots adventure zone" but I can't find any pics on the web, will see if I can find some I've taken myself.

 

As said above, the child would rather an egg on their head than the loss of sight.

Some years ago we looked after the next doors lad for two weeks while mum and dad had a grown up hols, the youngster (9) kicked his ball up in the butterfly bush, he tried to climb it, both the branch he was stood on and the one he was holding snapped, it resulted in ripping the underside of his armpit open, very badly, and the rest of the day was lost at A&E washing out bark and stitching.

 

Just had a "small" thought.
What about adding some netting in the areas where there is potential to fall.
Anchored to the ground it could provide a "Roll-Off" area down to the grass. Underneath could be barked a. to prevent the need to cut/weed, b. to provide another area of play.
The only downside is that it may provide an extra, more daring, area of play!

 

There but for the Grace of God ...

At about 6 my mates and I went to the well (out of bounds!!) and drew up a pail of water. We thought that was really pathetic so we got the largest container we could find (which happened to be made of lead and a lot bigger than a bucket) and lowered that. Of course, once full, it was too heavy. We'd not wound it very far up so we decided on the count of 3 to let go the winding handle which we did but ... it whipped round so fast it hit me on the head and split it open in a spectacular fashion with blood everywhere ...

On another day we went to examine the nearby ditch that was being dug out (after many many years of muck filling it up) and were impressed at how deep it looked judging by the width of the water compared to the piddly little stream that flowed from it onto the old ditch (dunno why the JCB digger started at the "high end"?). We chucked some stones into the water and messed around on the bank, we certainly could not swim at that age ... we went back a few days later when the ditching was completed and were really impressed at how deep it was (now empty). Certainly a lot deeper than we were tall, and with nice steeply sloping slippery sides ... we wouldn't have stood a chance ...

 

Checking out kiddies park/play areas they all seem to use fine bark, sand, plain old grass, or rubber mats designed for the job. I had a kiddies frame in a garden way back and what I did was to let the grass grow under and around the frame, mowing it into a circle. The kids would often rather sit under the frame in the grass having a picnic or looking at and collecting crawlies.
gazania