Best Natural Landscape Materials For Play Areas

Children need a comfortable, nurturing, and engaging environment at home. That can help with their mental and physical development, ensuring they find their full potential eventually. Your backyard is the perfect place to create a stimulating environment. You can add a beautiful play area with swings, game courts, and other such entertainment options. The best way to create a safe space is to use natural landscape materials on the ground.

Natural Landscape Material Options

There are different kinds of natural play area surface materials available today, and every option has its advantages. Here’s a look at some of the most popular natural play areas soil products:

  • Use natural materials to enhance your landscape.

    Pea Gravel – Pea gravel is made up of small, pea-sized stones. They are ideal for play areas, especially under swing sets or monkey bars. This material is a little harder than mulch or rubber mats, but not as hard as clay ground or concrete surfaces. Pea gravel is strong, durable, and very affordable, making it an excellent choice for all kinds of playgrounds.

  • Play Sand – Play sand is a good option because it provides a soft and safe surface. It also can be a play tool as children can build sandcastles from the material. Sand is very affordable, readily available, and visually appealing.
  • Mulch – Mulch is also a natural material and can be used as a surface for play areas. It is affordable and readily available. However, it requires some maintenance, and the fragments can be a little rough for kids to play on.

Discuss natural material options carefully with experienced professionals to get a good idea about these materials before choosing. 

Benefits of Using Natural Materials

Parents want their child’s play area to be safe and engaging. Natural landscape materials are ideal because they don’t contain any harmful components. Plastic, artificial grass, concrete, etc., all have compounds that can harm children and the environment. Natural materials are more forgiving and safer to use. They are also readily available and more affordable, which makes them the right choice for outdoor places.

Natural materials are also suitable for all kinds of weather. For example, sand or pea gravel can handle rain, snow, or hot summer days easily. Materials like rubber mats or mulch, concrete, etc., will respond to different weather conditions differently. They are also more expensive to replace, which is why many parents choose natural products instead.

Contact us if you want to know more about play areas soil and other natural alternatives. You can discuss the playground plans and design with an expert to get their advice on different surface material options.