Arizona Landscaping Ideas for Play Areas

Lawn Alternatives

• When designing a play area, include a small section of turf planted with a low-water-use grass variety, such as bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon). Bermudagrass is drought- and heat-tolerant, tolerates heavy foot traffic and is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant hardiness zones 7 through 10, with some varieties hardy in USDA zones 5 through 6. A summer grass, it needs very little water in winter. Using efficient grass irrigation practices, such as watering the grass with "bleed-off" water from an evaporative cooler, also conserves water. The bleed-off water can be used on plants, including grass, as long as the water's mineral levels are not too high. Evaporative coolers are installed in areas with water shortages because they are more efficient than refrigeration air conditioners. Harvesting rainwater and using gray water are other common water-conserving irrigation practices.

  Another option is to install artificial grass in a small section of the play area. Although artificial grass is expensive initially, current designs look real and pay for themselves in a few years due to the facts that artificial grass isn't mowed or watered and requires very little maintenance.

Hardscape

• Before installing turf and plants in the play area, design and install the hardscape. Depending on the area's size, a patio, walkway, ramada, built-in planters or fire-pit could be included. Colored or plain concrete, bricks, flagstone and exposed aggregate are a few available hardscape materials. Consider arranging colorful artwork throughout the space and painting murals on a fence and house wall. Your children can even create original art pieces and help paint. The inorganic mulches that fill spaces around the plants also are considered hardscape, but they should be installed after plants are in the ground. Inorganic mulch choices include decomposed granite and crushed rock.

Softscape

• Fill the area around the grass with low-water-use succulents, desert wildflowers and shrubs. Plants form the play area's softscape. Planting a mixture of perennials that bloom in different seasons ensures year-round color. Shrubs that provide shade include leather-leaf acacia (Acacia craspedocarpa), which is hardy in USDA hardiness zones 8 through 11 and requires full-sun exposure, and four-wing saltbush (Atriplex canescens), hardy in USDA zones 6 through 10. Smooth agave (Agave desmettiana), hardy in USDA zones 9 through 10, and Jerusalem sage (Phlomis lanata), hardy in USDA zones 8 through 9, add color and variety to a landscape. By using drought-tolerant, native plants, you'll save water, and native plants need fertilizer less often than other plants because they are adapted to the soil's natural nutrients. Don't plant poisonous or thorny plants because they pose a hazard in a play area.

Playground Equipment

• Instead of using the precious turf area to hold playground equipment, keep the grass clear for children and pets to play on, and install a wood-chipped area for a swing set and slide, sandbox, playhouse and picnic table. Wood chips are the most popular playground surface because they are organic and decompose easily. Other options are recycled rubber and a unitary surface, such as rubber tiles and artificial turf.