Play Matting

[mullin]

Well with the summer hopefully on the way I'm lookng at getting the garden ready for the kids to go out a leap about in it generally destroying everything and turning the lawn into some sort of mud field.

Now I remember seeing somewhere (probably on one of those Tommy Walsh/Garden makeover type programs) some sort of rubber matting that was laid over a lawn, the matting was in a mesh type form (well it had holes in it anyway) and apparantly the lawn was able to grow through the holes so eventually the matting was fully covered and all that would be visible would be a "normal" looking lawn.

Has anyone else heard of or used such a material and able to give me a name or something I can use to try to find out where to get hold of some, tried "googling" for rubber matting but with over 190,000 results I am hoping someone may be able to give me more of an idea as to what it's called.

Thanks in advance for any help given!!

 

[masona]

Have a read here about half way down.

Another one here called Verdegrass.

 

[mullin]

Thanks for that Masona, looks like Grassblock is the type of stuff I'm looking for......now to try to find a supplier in Ireland!!

Thanks again........

 

[Thermo]

are you putting climbing frames etc over the stuff or are you just trying to prevent the lawn turning to a wilderness?

 

[Dewy]

They used that matting in car parks at local beauty spots so the place looked lush with grass but had the soil protected by the matting.

 

[mullin]

Theres the usual swings, slide and soon to be trampoline in the garden now. It's for a bit of both really I suppose, give the little dears a bit of a more gentle landing and to stop them bringing in have the bogs of Westmeath into the house.

After reading it though think I may also look into using it to try and keep the drive under control too.

 

[Dewy]

The play area I set aside for my kids swings, climbing frames etc had a 6" layer of bark chips so they didn't land on hard ground.
The bark had a few bags added each year.
By the time they gre up enough to no longer use the kids toys the area had the lower layers rotted into the soil enough to become a flower bed.
The bark chips still on top act as a good weed suppressant and the clay underneath has been changed over the years to become a nice loam soil.

 

[Thermo]

that was where i was leading to dewy. I would make a raised bed around the play area and go for bark chippings, much safer if they have a fall. The rubber matting is still hard to fall on from a height. Have a look in yellow pages etc for a local landscaping supplier. They normally deliver in bulk and its very cheap compared to the diy/garden centres.

 

[mullin]

Thanks for the replies chaps, the bark chips sound like a good idea too have to look into that. Is it ok to just lay the bark on top of the soil or would it be better to put some sort of membrane type stuff below it to stop the weeds and grass growing through?

 

[Thermo]

The bark will act as a mulch and will suppress any weeds. you may get the odd one that actually grows in it, but that will be easy to oike out. Make sure you go for playground bark. Looks nice too!

 

[mullin]

Thanks again Thermo

 

[Dewy]

One thing to have a look for when emptying the bag of bark chips is that there are often a few stones in them.
I get mine from one of the large DIY/garden centre sheds and the bark is scaped off the ground when filling the bags and a few granite stones get in.
It only needs a quich fork over when spreading it to see these so they are soon removed.

 

[Thermo]

much better off getting it from a landscape supplier. theyre cheaper and because its what they make their living selling, they have a reputation to uphold. Most will deliver too

 

[Dewy]

Different things sell at different times of the year.
DIY sheds/garden centres sell it off cheaply to get rid of it to make room for things that are more likely to sell at that time.
This is when I buy it, never at full price.

 

[Thermo]

i do love a bargin