Children value unmanicured places and the adventure and mystery of
hiding places and wild, spacious, uneven areas.
Tessa Rose, Natural Play Spaces Blog
hiding places and wild, spacious, uneven areas.
Tessa Rose, Natural Play Spaces Blog
- a sturdy, solid-branched tree for climbing
- a shaded area, beneath trees or a climber-covered pergola
- a hardy grassed area
- swings or a playground area that may include rocks or tree stumps for climbing on or a sand pit to dig in
- plants with interesting features that invite inventive play, such as interesting fruit or edible plants
- a ‘hidden area’, screened by hedges or shrubs, with tree stumps to use as seats for secret meetings or picnics
- super-tough border plants
- plants that attract birds and butterflies
- a safe water feature such as a boggy area, birdbath, shallow pond or an old bathtub full of water. Rigid metal mesh can be placed over the top of deeper water features to prevent children falling in.
Some plants to consider include:
Trees for climbing
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Notes
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Black Apple (Planchonella australis)
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Small to medium tree with large, tasty fruit
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Coastal Banksia (Banksia integrifolia)
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Small or medium sized tree with flowers in the form of ‘candles’ containing nectar
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Red Cedar (Toona ciliata)
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Large spreading tree to 10 or 15m, deciduous, attractive bark
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Sandpaper Fig (Ficus coronata)
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Small low-branching tree with edible fruit that often grow directly from the trunk
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Scentless Rosewood (Synoum glandulosum)
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Small tree with white flowers and reddish fruit
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Cheese Tree (Glochidion ferdinandi)
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Small neat tree with glossy green leaves and interesting cheese-shaped fruit, crown can be shaped
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Brush Mutton Wood (Myrsine howittiana)
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Small tree with interesting blue fruits along the smaller branches
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Vines to cover a pergola
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Wonga Vine (Pandorea pandorana)
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Tough, large climber with attractive pink flowers
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Climbing Guinea-flower (Hibbertia scandens)
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Very hardy climber with glossy green leaves and yellow flowers
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Apple Berry (Billardiera scandens)
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Medium-sized climber with soft hairy leaves and edible fruit
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Purple Coral Pea (Hardenbergia violacea)
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Tough sun-loving climber with prolific purple flowers
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Coastal Jack Bean (Canavalia rosea)
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Vigorous climber with attractive leaves, pink flowers and fruit; full sun
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Tough lawn grasses
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Weeping Grass (Microlaena stipoides)
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Low, tough clumping grass, can be mown; full sun or part shade
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Coastal Rat’s Tail Grass (Sporobolus virginicus)
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Tough running grass, suited to dry sandy soils in full sun; not prickly despite its name
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Tough hedging and screening plants
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Native Rosemary (Westringia fruticosa)
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Shrub to 3m with small leaves and a neat habit; best in full sun
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Coast Tea Tree (Leptospermum laevigatum)
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Very tough shrub to 4m, with neat grey-green foliage and white flowers; full sun
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Lillypilly species such as Brush Cherry (Syzygium australe)
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Relatively fast growing, with edible fruit, to 4m or more; full sun or part shade
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White Correa (Correa alba)
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Shrub to 2m with grey-green leaves and pretty white flowers; full or dappled sun
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Plants with interesting features
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Coastal Wattle (Acacia longifolia subsp. sophorae)
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Large, spreading shrub to 3m with broad green leaves and edible seeds; full sun
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Hillock Bush (Melaleuca hypericifolia)
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Sprawling shrub to 2m with red ‘bottlebrush’ flowers; full sun
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Hedgehog Grass (Echinopogon ovatus)
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Slowly spreading grass with seed heads that look like little hedgehogs
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Super tough border plants
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Long-leaved Mat-Rush (Lomandra longifolia)
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Super hardy, strap-leaved plant; full sun or part shade
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Blue Flax-lily (Dianella caerulea)
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Tough with bright green leaves and purple flowers and fruit; full sun or part shade
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Swamp Lily (Crinum pedunculatum)
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Hardy long-leaved plant to 1m with white flowers on long stalks; full sun or part shade
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Tussock (Poa australis)
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Clumping grass with fine green or grey-green foliage; full sun
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Edible plants
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See Bushtucker gardens
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Plants for ponds or pools
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See Water and wetland gardens
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