Building playgrounds in the garden

Designing real sports spaces in your garden is not a utopia: if the regulatory fields for the game of basketball or football may be too large, tennis courts, volleyball or bowls are achievable with even smaller measures than those of the regular courts. With the help of the right plants, you can then create real spaces for fun for young and old, directly in your own backyard.

WHERE TO BUILD a SPORTS FACILITY IN THE GARDEN

In order to find the right place in the garden for the creation of the sports facilities, a few precautions are necessary:

• The main axis of the field must be in a north-south direction, because, given the assumption that it is used in the afternoon, you must avoid glare phenomena
• The perimeter area of the fields must have plant screens to avoid glare as much as possible.
• The playing area must be suitably separated from the other areas of the garden and the house: trees or grills with climbing vines can avoid disturbing those who do not play and to get the ball beyond the perimeter of the field.
• The area surrounding the camp should be equipped with parking areas, with equipment such as chairs, tables, umbrellas, to allow those who just want to look, to stay quietly, to reduce the risk of balloons and to allow a better view, these areas should be provided along the sides of the fields and never at the header
• The plants to be placed in the perimeter of the field must be strong and not very sensitive to accidental shocks (often created by the balls): the foliage must be small, not too leathery and with flowers not too large; succulent plants should be avoided for this purpose
• Do not cover the perimeter with linden or maple, as honeydew makes their surfaces sticky and attracts insects.
• It would be advisable to purchase the field structures in removable kits, since by removing nets and posts and closing the holes left open by the post housing, it is possible to use the area for other activities.

SMONTABLE SET

A sports area in a private garden can be easily equipped by purchasing removable sets complete with nets and posts. The nets are usually adjustable to different heights, so that they can be used for both tennis and volleyball for example.

WHICH GAMES IN THE GARDEN

Certainly in the garden you can play various games, and many of them require an organized structure like “field”. Among these we point out for their diffusion and popularity

• balls
• volleyball
• tennis

We see the specifications and requirements in relation to the playground that can be set up in the garden of the house.

VOLLEYBALL COURT IN THE GARDEN

The game of volleyball is relatively young, it was born in 1896 in the United States, while in Europe it arrived even during the First World War with the allies. However, it only became an official sport much later.

The volleyball court must have a very smooth surface, either synthetic or made of wood. The shape of the field is rectangular and the dimensions are 18 metres for the length and 9 metres for the width, which can obviously be reduced at home. The field is separated by a net 2.43 metres high for men, 2.24 metres for women, which can also be reduced in height.

Around the field must be provided a buffer zone, within which the ball can fall, which is usually 3 meters, but in a garden could even be one meter. It is important that for at least 7 meters in height the entire field is free of obstacles, to allow the ball to be thrown even at the top. The ground for the volleyball court can be of any kind, as long as it is flat and horizontal; however, the most common courts are grass or clay, while for the garden it is better to prefer the same synthetic materials that are used to build tennis courts.

SUITABLE GARDEN FOR THE VOLLEYBALL COURT

The volleyball court should also be surrounded by plants to help delimit the area. Obviously, space must be left before the plants for the buffer zone mentioned above. For this field you need plants with small leaves and flexuous branches that are not affected by the shocks caused by the ball: carex riparia, betula alba, ornamental grasses are suitable plants for this purpose. Along the sides of the field, photinia hedges are recommended.

BOWLING GREEN IN THE GARDEN

The game of bowls is really ancient, we even talk about some manifestations of similar games in the Neolithic, around 7000 BC. The game of bowls then passed by the Greeks, Romans and even barbarians Gauls. But it was in the Middle Ages that the game of bowls became a craze even between the clergy and women, accompanied by betting and even violent quarrels. The doctors were then convinced that the game of bowls was a panacea for rheumatism. The game of bowls is also celebrated in the paintings of the ‘500.

It’s no coincidence that making a field for bowls is much easier than making fields for other sports, especially in the garden.

IDEAL GARDEN FOR THE BOWLING ALLEY

To build a bowling alley in the garden you need a strip of land 20 meters long (or less) and 2.50 to 5 meters wide, then narrow and long. Synthetic materials are the most recommended for bowls; however, concrete fields, although very expensive, are preferable because they are less dusty and more durable.

To make the bowling alley you have to prepare an excavation, bordered by curbs, in which to create a 10-12 cm thick foundation with the gravel, above which you must lay a conglomerate to form a screed of reinforced concrete, on which to play. Even kerbs in relief at the edges of the field, about 30 cm high, could be useful to prevent the bowls from leaving the playing area.

It is also possible to use removable kerbs, for example in wood, fixed to the ground with bolts or clamps.