Parenting Healthy

Americans continue to value their lawns – as found in research by The National Association of Landscape Professionals. The survey showed that 81% of Americans have a yard, and the vast majority of them say that lawns are a key feature they look into when buying or renting a home. If you have children, then you probably know how important a yard can be when it comes to ensuring that they enjoy unstructured play time outside. If you have just moved to a new home (or you are renovating your current home) and you’d like to design a yard that is useful for adults and children alike, keep the following considerations in mind.

Keeping Your Lawn In Top Condition

When landscaping a child-friendly yard, many parents enjoy creating a dedicated ‘kids’ play’ area, with features such as houses, slides, mini picnic tables and benches, and the like. Kids love to jump and run on grass, and this could wrest from the perfectly manicured look of your lawn. To keep your yard lush and green, enclose the kids’ play area inside an elevated wooden frame. Keep kids safe and injury-free by using rubber chippings or rubber flooring in their play area, using a contrasting color like purple to highlight the vivid green of the surrounding lawn. Seed and aerate your grass regularly, and reuse grass clippings as a natural fertilizer. Use the appropriate seed for your area; warm season grasses like Bermuda and Bahia are ideal for the Deep South and the lower southwest and southeast, while cool grasses like Kentucky Bluegrass and Ryegrass grow well in colder areas.

Creating An Appealing Dining Space

If your yard is large, a gazebo is a perfect accessory that will enable you to entertain guests in style. Gazebos look great as central features, but can also work well on one side of your yard. Smaller yards can still accommodate a dining space – one that is connected to the home and covered by shade sails or electric roof lantern blinds. Some can open up when the weather is right, enabling you to enjoy a warm day beneath the sun in the spring and the cooler days of summer. This area can include both a table and chairs for adults, as well as poufs, hammocks, and small chairs for children.

Planting A Vegetable Patch

Enlisting your child’s help in growing seasonal fruits and vegetables is a wonderful way to get them acquainted with the ways of nature. If you can, create a dedicated patch, once again framed by wood or the same material you used to protect their play area. If you don’t have enough space for both, grow a vertical garden, using wood pallets as support for vegetables and fruits – including tomatoes, garlic, onions, peppers, beans, cucumbers, and eggplants. You can also try out sustainable techniques such as aeroponics, which save 95% of water yet deliver a 50% increase in yield. To grow an aeroponic garden, you need to invest in one or two aeroponic towers, each of which requires just one square meter of space.

Americans are as passionate as ever about gardens, which makes sense at a time in which gardens have been the main play area for children for several months on end. To make the most of your garden, start off by keeping your lawn in optimal shape, selecting the right type of grass, and watering and aerating the lawn as recommended. You can also make the most of any available space by creating dining and entertainment areas, and by growing your very own garden with the help of your children.