Idea for ground cover in play area?

[kayharley]

I realize now that my Cairns playground is never going to have a nice lawn. Right now it's mud/dead grass.

Any suggestions as to what I can use as groundcover that would work for all 4 seasons here...snow, rain, heat, mud?

I've considered gravel but Elliott still puts things in his mouth...yesterday I found a 2" zipper in his poops.

[Tracy A.]

When they start putting plants out, go over to your local home center- they market some ground cover called 'stepables', they are for high traffic areas in the yard- They have several different kinds, I think one of them just might work for you. I planted one last year for the path to/from the pool, it was a fast grower...

Tracy

[mrskti]

Our girls play yard looks like it has the chicken pox!!! I'm thinking of taking the skid loader in there and just scrapeing off an area and letting them dig there. I'm thinking maybe it will keep dori from trying to dig up the posts! She's a wicked digger.

[toomanypaws]

Our backyard is mainly sodded w/ mulch around the plants. They don't mess w/ the mulch. Last year we noticed one area getting worn, so we fenced off that area until the grass came back. I keep a roll of chicken type wire if I need to section off an area.

[Maggie15]

we have 'pea gravel' around a fire pit area (10' diameter) and maggie loves to dig in it... its quite literally pea sized round stones, so they are big enough to not get caught in her or our shoes and small enough for her to dig... they drain quickly so its much cleaner than mud or sand... I probably wouldnt do the entire yard, but a portion of yard for play could be nice. You could vary the size of the stone in certain areas for visual interest or to manage doggy digging (i.e. go to 1.5" river wash stone for around plants, 12" around fences to prevent digging -and you wont have to trim grass!)

a

[CathyAnn]

Kay....just a word of warning from a novice gardener......be careful of what you plant. Some ground covers can become quite invasive and end up becoming a major maintenance headache. And, it can vary from zone to zone on how nuts it goes.

We planted Pachysandra under this tree:

It is fairly easy to pull up if it creeps out of hand. I would talk to your garden center, but sometimes even they give bad info. If you have some in mind, let me know and I'll try to help.

Cathy

[bubba]

I too was going to suggest pea gravel. It's what we have for them up at the lake and it is easy to keep clean. When or if it gets smelly, we just soak it down w/the hose. They are not in this area all the time, mainly for potty breaks or if we are outside working, otherwise they are inside w/us or on the enclosed deck that is escape proof as far as they can tell! I think if you were to put down about 6"-8" of pea gravel, you might be happy with that...ours have never eaten it that I know of.

pat.

[kayharley]

Thanks everybody...

The pea size gravel might just work although I wonder if it's tough on their little paws and I'd have to watch Elliott like a hawk that he didn't try and eat it.

The area is roughly 20' x 25' and the back part seems to be worst as far as drainage and mud. A few months ago we had about 6" of standing water/muck and Elliott was in heaven!

Like you, bubba, they spend more time on the deck but this part of the yard is their bathroom, look-out area for neighborhood pets out walking, has agility toys , their swimming pool and of course DIRT!! I could never take away their dirt, only their mud.

I guess I'm off to redesign...

[savannahsmom35]

We use mulch and pinestraw in our beds and it does fine. The only thing with mulch is don't get the kind that is tinted red. We got that kind and when it gets wet the first few times, the dye washes off. Savannah had red feet for a few days! THe only bad thing about pinestraw and mulch is that eventually it will wash away and have to be replaced. I think we replace ours about 2 times a year.

[bubba]

Don't worry about the pea gravel being rough on their paws. It is tumbled so the edges are all smooth. I have never found a cut or injury on our dogs feet because of it. Up at the lake, we have quite a bit of it spread and I often walk on in barefoot when it is warm enough...like from July 27 to July 28th!!!!

pat.