Maybe put the fenced or hedged daycare yard in front, with fencing and signs and the private area in back. Or you could move the kids over by the driveway, where you can see them out the picture window and split all or part of the right half off into a enclosed private area. Erecting some kind of barrier between the road and the kids at least does seem desirable. Another need that may present itself is additional parking - unless you've got a whole bunch off to the left where I can't see it it seems likely the current drive will soon become inadequate. One daycare house near me set back about as far as yours has nearly the whole front yard paved, doubtless to accomodate a mob of cars all showing up at about the same times each day to drop kids off and pick them up.

I guess its because I'm from Southern California, but I dont understand why having kids play on the grass hurts it. I just have fescue type grass (Marathon). Have you considered just changing the type of grass you have? Maybe seeding it with something else? I know the guys at work added patches of St. Augustine grass (which is sort of like a weed it so hardy) and it slowly just takes over the whole lawn. In winter they sprinkle winter rye over it to keep it looking nice.

My advice is to go to a local nursery (or call one) and ask what you can do.

Other than that I think a nice little white picket fence would bring it together and perhaps over to the side (away from the driveway) you could put in an arbor over a pathway so it looks like a little hidden cove and grow some roses over it in red.

Some other issues that could impact your design decisions: one is safety--what kind of safety criteria does your fenced area have to meet for your daycare situation? Usually one would need either chain link or wood security-type fencing; a small picket fence might not work. This of course depends on the age of the kids, how you use and supervise the area, and any local licensing requirements, if you are doing licensed home day care.

A second issue is that while turf grass stands up to play, it will "wear out" if you try to confine too many kids to too small an area for too many hours per day--the same as occurs under the swing set, or a well-traveled pathway. But, if you use a large enough area with several play zones that are used about equally, or you customize the material underfoot for the activity, then the grass could still thrive.

Is there a reason why the kids are in the front yard and not the back? Is wildlife a problem? My SIL lives in Banff, Alberta and her first house had a large fence to keep the elk out of the garden. Do you have any problems like that to deal with? How much of the year are the kids able to be outside? What do you do with the play equipment in the winter?

Thanks, I've played with the pic a bit to give you an idea of the only idea I have come up with... but I just don't know if it will look okay. It's messy as I am just doing a quick "cloning" to get the idea across :)

As far as the safety- what I want is an area that IS safe and secure for the children. I live on an island with a total of 3,000 people... only about 28 miles of road- unless you go up in the mountains :) Traffic is not an issue etc.

I'd like to have some P-gravel under the swings and some grass in the fenced area. And ALL the toys. The idea is to have a separate area for home and work. An area where I can let the kids play. I'm missing having my OWN yard to work with. When I plant flowers- I want them to stay planted :)

My BIGGEST issue is that I don't know HOW to design a fenced area that doesn't look stupid :)

The angle of the picture is just exactly the view from the road. This is what everyone sees as they drive/walk past.

Thanks so much for any ideas!!

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There was a thread a while back on play surfaces, I think the consensus was that bark mulch was a safe, cushiony, and forgiving surface for play. I think I'd prefer it to pea gravel if I had to fall on my knees or get a face-full coming off the slide.

You could soften the effect of the fence by eliminating the hard right-angle turn and putting one section on the diagonal instead, and planting shrubs to disguise the fact that you've cut your front yard in half.

If cost isn't a problem, you could even extend the fence across the front to unify it, so it doesn't abruptly end in the middle of the yard, even though you have the perpendicular section running back toward the house to contain the horde of kiddies. Again, strategically placed plantings on the "private" side of your front garden using the fence as a backdrop could screen the playground behind while suggesting that your garden continues on the other side. Maybe a simple arbor that passes through to the other side, but with a gate that screens the view through?

Keep it simple, the contemporary style of your house doesn't scream out for anything too cottagey or cute. I'm seeing a natural look, not too tailored or manicured, to cut down on maintenance chores. Have you seen the work of Piet Oudolf? His gardens are wonderful. I'm tempted to move again every few years just to try something different, because my husband would have a stroke if I ripped out everything we just did over the past few years and started over.
Jo

Actually, p-gravel is suppose to be one of the BEST and is actually suggested for daycares. Not just an inch- they want it like 8 inches deep... because it cushions and moves as you tumble onto it.

Something more like this maybe?

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What if you put some tall trees at the corner of the playground near the street. Alaska cedar - tall and narrow. That would screen part of the playground from the street and break up that front area a little. I think I would also have the picket fence extend across the entire front, and have plantings on both sides of it.

Overall, I think you're on the right track.

Regards,

K4

I'm not a garden designer, but I did raise three children and spend way too much time in playgrounds. Also, I have pea stone in our own driveway. And I have never seen a child, usually a boy under 6, who didn't just love to throw handfuls of pea stone up or down a plastic slide or- as soon an adult's back was turned- at another child. Not even maliciously, but "because it's there." Also, pea stone shifts. Even if it is small, it shifts and drifts. If you have buckets or cups or toy trucks, they;'ll get filled with pea stone and brought somewhere else for construction. None of this is bad, in fact playing with lots of different materials, including mud, is great for children. But I'd love to have the playground designer who recommends gravel or pea stone put it in his or her own back yard, and watch his toddlers play with it! I forgot. It will get in their sneakers and you'll have to take them off and put them back on...and between little feet and toes and sandal soles which hurts (and makes more work for you)
Sorry to wax so opinionated-ly about an inorganic groundcover, but I have a thing about expert recommendations that don't seem to be adequately field tested.

I would also go for bark mulch over the pea gravel. It's quite common in playgrounds here, especially ones with naturalized areas nearby.

I think the bark would help you blend the play area into the landscape and your garden more.

What is the deal with the backyard? Is there one?

kaitain4, thank you! That's the sort of suggestions I was hoping for :) The deer are misery to the cedar but I can sure add some sort of trees there. When you suggest running the fence all the way across the front- would you go up the side of the drive as well? How would you end the fencing? Guess I've just never seen a fence just stop :) I had even thought about just putting a low decorative fence the rest of the way. Sort of like I have added the little corner fence but the low stuff all the way around the "personal" area.

idabean, I know what you mean :) I've got 6 kiddo's (32, 23, 21, 14, 7) And been in the DC business for over 20 years :)

The pea gravel we have sounds a little bigger than what you are describing. They are rounded and DO shift very easily. That is the reason they want it under the playground equipment (anything 3' or higher) State regs require gravel, sand or sawdust. I'm not sure I can find any sawdust in my area- and sand is difficult to find and much more expensive up here. As a kiddo hits the gravel- it shifts and is a better cushion than you would think- if deep enough. The schools, daycares, parks etc., all have pea gravel.

kailleanm, I think I will check on the sawdust (mulch) maybe I can come up with some of that. One of my kiddo's dads works in wood- maybe he can help be come across some :)

Oh, and the back yard? -NONE- The house was built like all the way BACK to the back of the lot. It had some yard (about 14') but the deck is built on top of it now.

In a perfect world, I'd LOVE to see a big two level deck out in front, but that won't be happening anytime soon.

Thanks again! Any and all thoughts/ideas are VERY much appreciated!

Instead of putting your two areas side by side, I think I would build an internal yard and have your decorative landscaping and flowers around the outside all around. That area can maybe become your deck later if you don't end up keeping it as lawn.

As for material on the ground, it looks like now you just have grass - can you stay with that? Or maybe not have a structure that requires a pea gravel base? I have to say I find those structures highly overrated for child entertainment anyway. We built one for our kids and ended up wishing for open space instead.

By the way I don't much like your foundation plantings; too high for the front of the house among other things. If you take those away I think the visual impact of a dual purpose front yard would be much better - they contribute to the visual clutter. Removing them would create a calm background for all the action to play out against.

KarinL

I think the reason you're hearing so much about the pea gravel is due to the way you've combined it with grass and garden areas. In daycare and school settings, you don't often find lush grass right adjacent to the pea gravel areas--usually the rest of the property is hard dirt with a scattered layer of....pea gravel. So the point is, it's very hard to keep the pea gravel contained with kids, and so becomes an issue when mowing, or at a minimum may dictate the use of specific boundary design and material as well as how you relate to the kids' playing (more intrusive with younger kids who are bound to find it fascinating).

Second, the impact of your design will depend on proper scale--how high do you intend the fence to be? That's why I asked whether it is to be a true security fence, or if you'll always be out there every minute and it's just to slow a kid down until you can run get him. The fence you show now seems only 3 ft high or so, but again, I am just having trouble visualizing the scale.

I don't have a good specific design put-this-here type suggestion, except to say that if you are trying to have the daycare area and then your "personal" yard, you sound like you'd be taking cues from the concept of "garden rooms." You're thinking along the right lines by trying to imagine how these areas will relate to one another and to your home and yard as a whole.

You might get off to a better conceptual start by using the bubble diagram concept and an overhead drawing of the property to start (as opposed to trying to start by designing from the street view).

I also think you'll get some good ideas by googling some design photos and other websites for how to get started in design planning, and for examples of landscape layouts. Bookstores are great for browsing, too, but if you aren't conveniently located near some of the big ones, then you can still find a lot on the internet.

Anyway, even though you plan to fence the play area, it might be better to start with the rough bubble plan (which you can move around) that includes what all you think you want to have in the front yard--as in, you might need to be more specific than "a beautiful yard", and also it allows you to map out the traffic patterns and access. This is important because any pathways, gates or other access issues will play a strong role in the design (both for planning, and visually). I think that has to come before deciding whether you need to fence across the whole front, because part of that idea comes from creating symmetry and/or unity and it might turn out that you don't use the fence itself to achieve those goals, or it might.

"When you suggest running the fence all the way across the front- would you go up the side of the drive as well? How would you end the fencing?"

I wouldn't run the fence all the way down the drive. Perhaps a few feet. You could use a corner unit to end it, much like what you have depicted, which slopes down from the regular height of the fence and stops. Or you could end it at a lamp post, a nice shrub, a big rock, etc. Lots of options.

Regards,

K4

I also agree with running the fence all the way across the front. Move it back about 4-5 feet from the ditch then plant perennials and shrubs in front of the fence. The fence becomes a unifyer and provides a nice backdrop for the plantings that will give even a 'cottage style' planting much needed structure. It will also screen the play area from the street. If my kids were in the daycare, I'd prefer to have the fencing for safety.

Actually, I used to be involved with licensing home daycares and one of the requirements in our state is that any outside play area must have a 6-foot high fence with a self-latching gate. Clearly that's not a requirement where you live but I do think the fencing is a good idea for the safety of the kids and to make it easier on you.