How to create a child-friendly garden

Children and gardens: a complicated relationship

With kids you have two choices: a pristine garden nobody touches, or a garden that gets used and occasionally looks a bit rough. I vote for the second. A garden where children run, dig and explore is a garden doing its job. But with the right approach it needn't become a muddy battleground.

Tools like GardenWorld let you visualise your garden with play space, lawn and borders in balance. It helps find the right split between grown-up style and child-friendliness.

Safety first

Toxic plants

More garden plants are poisonous than you'd think. Yew, oleander, foxglove and autumn crocus are all dangerous if ingested. With toddlers who put everything in their mouths, avoid these entirely. RHS partner gardens label toxic species — a useful reference when plant shopping.

Safe alternatives: lavender, ornamental grasses, hydrangeas (mildly irritating but not dangerous) and most herbs.

Hard surfaces

Choose anti-slip paving on the patio and avoid sharp edges on steps and walls. Around play equipment, impact-absorbing surfacing is essential: rubber tiles, bark chips or gravel at least 30 cm deep.

Water

A pond and small children don't mix. Full stop. A child can drown in 5 cm of water. Want water anyway? Choose a shallow water table or a bubble fountain with no standing water.

Zones for children

The lawn: home base

A lawn is non-negotiable in a family garden. Pick a hard-wearing play mix that handles foot traffic. At least 4 x 4 metres for football and rough-and-tumble. Accept that it won't look like Wimbledon in February — that's part of the deal.

The play corner

Dedicate a corner for a sandpit, swing or climbing frame. Position it where you can see it from the house or patio. Allow a 2-metre fall zone around swings and climbers.

The discovery zone

An area where children can dig, hunt for bugs and grow things. A small raised veg bed of 60 x 60 cm works brilliantly. Children who grow their own radishes eat them too — or so the theory goes.

Materials for family gardens

Planting that takes a beating

Children run through borders, trample plants and pick flowers. Choose tough species:

• Ornamental grasses: flex, don't break
• Geranium macrorrhizum: nearly indestructible ground cover
• Lavender: fragrant, sturdy, attracts bees not wasps
• Raspberry and blackberry: edible and fun to pick

Avoid thorny roses and berberis — scratches guaranteed.

Let the garden grow up with them

Children grow. Today's sandpit is tomorrow's lounge area. Design with the future in mind. A well-placed sandpit becomes a raised bed or fire pit later. The lawn can shrink when the football matches stop.

Curious what a child-friendly garden looks like at your home? Upload your photo on GardenWorld and receive a custom design within a minute.