Many people see a mini garden as the extension of the kids’ playroom. Kids often spend their playtimes in those specially tweaked grassy areas. Filled with short shrubs and plants, kids love to play in a mini garden. They get to play physical games with their pets and playmates, and bask in the warm temperatures of daytime. Let your kids thoroughly experience the beauty of their childhoods by turning your garden or a portion of your lawn into a mini garden for kids.
The kiddy mini garden is characterized by its combination of vegetation and play structures. The garden is predominantly a grassy area where kids can run and play. It has a sandy play area filled with metallic structures that serve as playing equipment for kids. Turning a portion of your garden into a kid garden is a bit tedious but you will probably do anything to paste smiles on the faces of those cute little creatures.
The hardest part when creating a mini garden for kids is gathering all the necessary items, tools and equipment. The appearance of the play structures vastly differ from each other, which means you have to have various kinds of metal molds and metal-manipulating equipment, not to mention a large supply of metal at your disposal. A visit to the junk shop and a few phone calls can make things a lot easier for you.
Creating a Garden
The first step when creating the garden is to plan what it will look like. Take note of the sizes of the garden proper and the playing area. When you have finally decided on the dimensions of your garden and its areas, sketch everything on a blueprint that will serve as your guide throughout the garden-building process.
When the location of the garden is already set, fill the garden area with soil and Bermuda grass. Press on each patch of grass to ensure that it totally sticks to the ground. Surround the area with small garden shrubs. If you want to be creative with your garden, you can create a theme using those small shrubs. You can even use them as area dividers if you choose. The important part is your kids have an open area large enough for them to run around.
Playing Area
The playing area is the heart of all mini gardens for kids. In fact, it is the where almost all of the fun lies. You should designate a playing area that has enough room to hold all the necessary play structures.
When you have decided on the location of the playing area, dig out the entire area (4–5 feet) and cover it with sand. Set a boundary for the area to avoid accidents. You can use shrubs or fences to make sure that kids will easily see it while they are running around the garden area. After setting-up the playing area, your next job is to create the fun structures that you will install in your playing area.
Playground Equipment
Playground equipment give character to every kid’s mini garden. The staple structures found in most play areas are the swing, slide, monkey bars, and the seesaw. It is highly advisable that you include all these structures in your playing area so that your kids will have some variety during playtime.
Swing
The swing is one of the most popular destinations in any mini garden. It lets kids swing through the air, supported by a wooden seat, a couple of chains and a sturdy metal base.
Materials Used:
wooden strip (medium density)
metal chains
metal boiler
metal mold
forge and hammer
metal strips
welding equipment
mechanical drill
To create a swing, you should first create its metal stand. You can visit a junk shop and grab some metal scraps. Place metal strips and scraps inside a metal boiler and wait until they liquefy. Place the liquid in the metal mold to give the metal its tubular shape. Repeat the process of molding metal until you produce five 12-foot rods. Grab two pairs of rods. Weld one of the ends of each pair together then weld each pair to each end of the remaining rod. You can now stick the swing’s base into the sandy surface of the playing area.
Drill two holes near each end of the wooden strip. Get a couple of chains and slide them through their respective holes. Now, tie the chains to the topmost metal bar of the swing’s base. Give the swing a few dry runs to ensure that it is durable enough to carry your kids. When ready, you can start calling your kids to play with their new swing, while you work on the other fun structures.
Slide
The slide is every kid’s favorite inclined plane. Kids can experience the thrill of defying gravity even if the structure is just a few feet above ground. Who knows, your kids might become legendary skydivers in the near future after spending their childhood playing on a slide.
Materials Used:
thin aluminum strip
metal strips
small metal ladder
welding equipment
forge and forge hammer
metal boiler
metal mold
hammer
nails
The slide is a bit harder to build than the swing since you need to bend a lot of metal to produce a safe inclined plane. Get several metal strips and place them inside the metal boiler. When they melt, place them in the metal molds to produce a metal sheet. Put the metal sheet on the forge then hammer it to produce a slightly curving inclined plane. Get the aluminum strip and place it in the forge. Mold it to match the shape of the metal sheet then nail it to the metal sheet’s surface. The aluminum strip’s slippery surface will let kids slide safely, minimizing the risk of injuries.
To further minimize the risk of injuries, create safety bars. Get several metal strips and melt them in the boiler. When the strips have melted, place the molten metal in the molds to produce metal rods. Get the metal rods before they completely harden then hammer them to match the shape of the metal slide. Once the rods harden, weld them to the opposite sides of the slide.
At this point, you are halfway done with the slide. Your next target is to create the elevated surface that will serve as the slide. Grab several metal strips and melt them in the boiler. Place the molten metal in the mold then transfer it into the forge. Now, you can pound away to produce a square metal sheet.
Through the metal melting and molding process, produce four long metal rods and eight shorter rods. The four long rods will serve as the slide’s stand while the eight shorter ones will be the safety handrails of the slide’s elevated surface. Weld the four rods on each of the bottom ends of the metal sheet that you produced awhile ago. Now, arrange and weld the eight short bars on the upper surface of the metal sheet.
To give an entrance to the elevated area of your slide, weld the mini ladder to the slide’s elevated surface. You can finally finish the fun structure by welding the slide to the elevated surface. Give your slide a little quality control check and if it passes, your kids will enjoy this exhilarating tour de force of a playground item.
Seesaw
Together with the swing, the seesaw is probably the simplest among all playground equipment. It is an enjoyable up and down ride that never fails to please kids and even a few adults. After building a seesaw, grab a partner and try it out yourselves. You will realize that sometimes the simplest things are the most enjoyable things in this life.
Materials Used:
metal strips
metal molds (metal platform, metal bars, metal handles, metal cuffs)
boiler
2 treated plastic slabs
set of nuts and bolts
welding equipment
First, get a significant amount of metal and place it inside the boiler. When it has completely melted, transfer the molten metal to the molds. Wait for a few moments until the molten metal hardens and forms the components of your seesaw.
Get the long metal platform and weld it to the metal cuff. Assemble the bars of the stand and weld them together. After that, affix the metal cuff to the stand then secure the cuff using your set of nuts and bolts. Weld the metal handles and the plastic slabs to the opposite ends of the platform to complete your seesaw. Now, you have a playground item that is popular with the kids. It will not even come as a surprise if you find yourself competing with the kids for a chance to ride the seesaw.
Monkey Bars
Monkey bars are not only fun, but also promote the physical fitness of kids. They look like several interconnected ladders that allow kids to climb, hang and do pull-ups. Since the monkey bars can be used as a device for exercise, this playground item is also found in army training camps. As you can see, the monkey bars are quite useful for both kids and adults.
Materials Used:
metal strips
welding equipment
boiler
metal molds (long and short bars)
When you are going to build monkey bars, imagine that you are creating several metal ladders. Get several metal strips and place them inside the boiler. Once the metal strips melt, transfer them to the metal molds. Get six long bars and fifteen short bars when the molten metal hardens. You can pair up the six long bars and assemble them to form an upright half-rectangle. Now, weld the vertical pairs to the horizontal pair to create a standing structure.
At this point, there is one thing left to accomplish, attaching the short bars. Imagine that you are creating a ladder, where the short metal bars are equidistant to each other. In ladder-like fashion, spread the short bars in between the pairs of long bars. Weld each end of every short bar to the long bar beside it. At this point, you already have your own monkey bars to be enjoyed by you and the kids.
After installing these four pieces of playground equipment, your mini garden is ready. You can reward yourself with a little trip to your childhood days by having a go at all the features of your mini garden. Better do it fast before the kids begin swarming the area.