Great Gardens for Kids

by Clive Nichols and Clare Matthews

Book Overview

This work offers insight into creating a garden to delight, entertain and even educate children of all ages without compromising the look of the garden. Over 50 step-by-step projects include a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0600605167
• ISBN13: 9780600605164
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Hamlyn (UK)
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 2.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 9.3" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

A real inspiration

I had taken this book out of the library so many times I finally decided to just buy it. I'm very interested in creating a fun and appealing backyard for my two young sons that isn't just filled with plastic playhouses and climbers. The book offers beautiful color photos as well as numbered steps for putting the ideas together. Some of them seem labor intensive, but others are not. The chapters are: 1. active play 2. a place of their own 3. furniture 4. water 5. growing things 6. wildlife & pets 7. celebrations 8. finishing touches 9. real children's gardens 10. safety What I like: the unique ideas (that we are already using in our yard), like the small trampoline set into the ground. What they don't suggest - and I do - is digging a little hole beneath the springy part of the trampoline so they get plenty of lift when they jump on it. But I thought this was such a fabulous idea. My kids love trampolines, but I wasn't crazy about the risk factor. This eliminates it. What I don't like: the "celebrations" section did nothing for me and I also found that the "real children's gardens" section had most of the ideas I wanted to try. However, that section does not include the numbered steps, though there are brief descriptions of how each was accomplished. All in all, a great book I highly recommend.

Creative and useful

Not much more to add from the other positive reviews. This book has wonderful, creative ideas that can actually be applied to the real world yard. Could use a few more how-to details, but overall a good book.

An Absolute Favorite

I finally bought this book after repeatedly renewing it from our public library! It has great ideas, with easy to follow instructions. So many of the ideas can be easily incorporated into our back yard scheme. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a way to make your backyard a garden haven for your kids!

A Colorful and Inspirational Creative Ideas Book

This book contains vivid, colorful, well-photographed images of unique design ideas for those contemplating creating a garden space for their children. If you want to go beyond the ho-hum play structure that costs a bundle, and add something to spark the creative child lurking within your child, this book is for you. Ideas like a rill for sailboat races, turning an old tire into a bright blue sailboat sandbox, a fold-away play house, and setting a trampoline flush with the lawn all inspired me. The authors got a bit off course with a section on holidays in the garden, but otherwise a great book - - if you have the energy to actually garden when you have children!

Beautiful, inspirational book

This book is a delight for the eye, even if you never get around to translating any of the very many ideas for child-friendly gardens into reality. However, the suggestions are so inspiring that you will itch to create them in your own back yard - whether a rope spiderweb for climbing or a grass stool or a clematis teepee to hide away in.If I have any criticism it is that sometimes the instructions take a back seat to the luscious photography. Slightly more detailed instructions would have been a help and a comfort to those of us who are not consummate do-it-yourself-ers.My children enjoyed leafing through this as much as I did and when we run out of space in our own small garden, we will start taking over the grandparents' garden! There are just so many nice projects we want to undertake!