A Rock Play Garden

One of the things my son enjoys the most is playing in the pile of rocks next to the garden. So I decided to turn this into his very own Play Garden.

Making a Play Garden

1. Picking a Spot

Ideally, the spot should be shady. It can be full of rocks (like ours), on a dirt base (like this one from The Imagination Tree), or even in a large rectangle bucket you can bring inside (like this one from Picklebums).

2. Materials to Use

Here are some ideas of materials to use for a play garden:

• Rocks or cement bricks
• Coloured pebbles
• Plastic plant pots
• Saucepans
• Old utensils
• Easy to care for plants
• Pebbles or rocks
• Section of PVC Pipe (cut in half or whole for water play)
• Outdoor toys
• Plastic figurines (eg. animal or little people)
• Toy insects
• Cups
• Gardening tools (like a spade and fork)
• Cutlery
• Shells
• Toy Wheelbarrow
• Digger
• Outdoor trucks
• Bucket
• Pieces of wood
• Easy to grow plants

3. Collecting The Materials

Creating a Rock Play Garden doesn’t need to be expensive. In fact, you’ll probably find most of the things you need around the house. It’s also easy to find bits and pieces to include at second hand shops. I already had a section of the garden allocated for our Play Garden, but I wanted to make it special so decided to line it with painted cement bricks. I purchased light coloured concrete bricks (perfect for painting) for 52 cents each!

{shopping for bricks}

4. Decorate

I used paint pens to decorate the bricks because they dry almost instantly and are easy to work with. You can find paint pens at most newsagents, art suppliers and stationery stores.  Regular acrylic paint works well too.  However, it’s a good idea to use an outdoor varnish to seal the paint so the paint doesn’t fade. I’ve had success doing outdoor paint projects with Jo Sonja’s Gloss Varnish – Indoor & Outdoor Use.

{decorating the play garden bricks}

5. Arrange

We picked out a Black Prince succulent plant which is easy to care for. We will probably add some more plants soon. I left some weeds in the rock garden because Son likes them (and they do add a bit of colour). The rest of the play garden materials we arranged at the back of the garden for Son to use.

{putting the play garden together}

6. Play

I enjoyed doing this project with my son, right from the shopping trip to painting of the bricks. I can see it being his special place to play for a long time to come.

{Son’s play garden}

External Links

There are more play garden ideas on my Pinterest Kids Outdoors Spaces Board.

{click the picture to see my play garden board}

Other Be A Fun Mum Outdoor Links

Playing With Your Kids (a confession)

How to Make a Flower Head Wreath

A Fairy’s Home or a Pirates Trap

Nature Hunt

The Best Family Adventure: Geocaching

Op Shop Cubby

Backyard Games

It’s the Fun You Have Along the Way