The corner you didn't know what to do with.
Kids' gardens, butterfly gardens, nature trails, boulders to scramble, a creek to dam. The part of the yard that changes with the seasons and never gets outgrown.
Kids think about
Worms. Whether the strawberry is ready. Which rock is the best rock. Catching a grasshopper.
Parents think about
Water. Weeds. Whether it'll look like a garden or a mess. Whether the bees are a problem.
Nature play
Loose parts, living things, and a place to get dirty.
Nature play is the oldest kind and the one that lasts longest. A three-year-old and a twelve-year-old can both spend an hour at a creek bed, doing completely different things. We design nature zones to sit around the edges of the active play, so they're where kids drift when they're done running.
Kids' gardens
Raised beds 18 to 24 inches tall so small people can reach the middle. A hose bib and a watering can at their height. Fast, forgiving crops: strawberries, snap peas, cherry tomatoes, sunflowers, pumpkins that sprawl. A dedicated "dig anywhere" bed with nothing precious in it. Kids who grow a vegetable will eat the vegetable, most of the time.
Pollinator gardens
Native Front Range plants that bring the bugs kids want to see: butterflies, bumblebees, hummingbird moths. Planted in drifts with a path through the middle and a flat boulder to sit on. These are also the lowest-water, lowest-maintenance beds in the yard once established.
Nature trails
A loop path of stepping stones, log rounds and crusher fines through the planting, with things to do along it: a balance log, a stump to jump off, a tunnel of willow or dogwood, a bug hotel, a spot with a magnifying glass on a chain. It turns a strip of yard along the fence into a place.
Boulders
Real Colorado stone, moss rock or sandstone, set into the grade so they look like they've always been there. Step-up sizes for toddlers, 3-to-4-foot scrambles for big kids, a flat-topped one for lunch. Zero maintenance. They also hold slopes and edge planting beds, so they earn their place twice.
Water in the landscape
A recirculating play creek, a pondless waterfall, or a rain garden that fills in a storm and drains in a day. Sound and movement without a pond to worry about. See water play for how we build them.
Nature possibilities
Plants that work here
A short list of Front Range plants kids like and water bills don't mind.
Zone 5, alkaline clay, dry air, late frosts, hail. These are the ones we reach for in family yards.
| Plant | Why kids like it | Why parents like it |
|---|---|---|
| Blanket flower (Gaillardia) | Big red-and-yellow daisies, butterflies all summer | Native, blooms June to frost, needs almost no water |
| Penstemon (Rocky Mountain, pineleaf) | Hummingbirds visit | Native, tough, tidy |
| Purple coneflower | Goldfinches eat the seed heads in fall | Reliable, long bloom, cut flowers |
| Lamb's ear | Softest leaf in the garden; toddlers pet it | Silver, drought-tough, fills space |
| Sunflowers (annual) | Taller than Dad by August | Seed from a packet, seeds for the birds |
| Strawberries | Obvious | Groundcover that feeds people |
| Serviceberry | Berries you can eat off the shrub in June | Native, four-season, birds love it |
| Blue grama and buffalo grass | Soft to lie on, eyelash seed heads | Native lawn alternatives that need a fraction of the water |
| Rabbitbrush | Smells like fall, covered in bees in September | Native, thrives on neglect |
| Red-twig dogwood | Makes great fort walls and willow-style tunnels | Red stems in snow; handles wet spots |
Gardening at altitude, with kids.
Water
Drip irrigation on a smart controller for the beds; nothing else. Native pollinator beds are weaned off supplemental water in a season or two.
Soil
Front Range clay needs amending in the veggie beds and left alone under the natives, which prefer it lean. We build beds with a real soil mix, not fill dirt.
Hail
Hail shreds tomatoes. A removable hoop with shade cloth over the kids' beds saves the crop and cuts the afternoon sun.
Wildlife
Deer, rabbits and the occasional bear depending on where you are. Fencing around the edible beds, and we'll talk honestly about what's realistic to grow at your address.