The Sound of Children Playing is Music to the Ears

By Kevin O?EUR??,,????'?????<

This view from back of garden looking towards entrance shows the large stones set around the perimeter. These allow kids a place to sit for weekly story telling held every Thursday afternoon. Photos Courtesy of Lifestyle Landscaping, Inc.

The Lorain County, Ohio Metroparks approached local landscapers to help them in the construction of a children?EUR??,,????'?????<

The garden was built at the Schoepfle Arboretum, formerly a private garden that was donated to the Metroparks in 1969.

The master plan for the children?EUR??,,????'?????<

To help control the cost of the project, we called upon Kipton Quarries who did the rock Nagy Decorative Concrete who did the sidewalk.

To construct the ?EUR??,,????'?????<

First, we used the pause symbol for the shape of the garden walkway. Stamped and dyed concrete was used to build the walk because of its durability and low maintenance. A dark grey color was chosen to resemble a note on a page of music and was textured for safe footing. The straight walkway leads to circular area that circumvents a bubbling stone water feature. Large seating stones were positioned around the feature for enjoyable viewing. All the stones in the garden were set prior to pouring concrete. This trick gives the perception that the stones had always been there and the garden was built around them.

Ferns texturally soften the look of the stone water feature. Viburnums conceal the perimeter fence and offer a sense of enclosure.

Second, incorporating a water feature seemed almost a no-brainer. The sight and sound of water is like a kid magnet and is the focal point of the garden. We built the feature to be interactive and ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Over 200 perennials were used in large drifts on the ground layer by Willoway Wholesale Nurseries and with consistent use of myrtle throughout the garden visually tied it together.