Many thanks to reader Curtis Tom for sending photos of his admirable playground project:
"I am a part-time zookeeper at the Palo Alto Jr. Museum and Zoo (California) and a part-time landscaper. I designed and installed this play area over two years ago in a formerly empty area in front of the museum. I had a small budget to work with and so I decided to make a stump garden with stumps I got for free from the local dump. I used stumps from eucalyptus, redwood, magnolia, oak and pine trees. Their different colors and bark add an interesting blend. The plants in the garden include grasses, fennel, lemon marigolds, salvias, mint and succulents. I also included a large piece of petrified wood and a rock with fossil shells in the design that were currently laying at the site.
As a landscaper this has easily been my most personally rewarding installation I have done because I get to watch the enjoyment the kids get from playing in the spiral garden. Towards the end of the spiral I have raised the elevation so the kids can feel they are climbing to the top of the "Mountain". This garden has also sparked other people to create similar stump gardens in their own yards. "
High play value--low, low cost.
Really, really nice! An ingenious use of recycled natural material.
ReplyDeleteIn this high-tech age, we often forget that the simple things spark the most excitement. I think you've captured that and by the looks of things, the kids agree.
Great design and forethought.