Whimsical backyard berry patch just for kids

For some time I’ve been wanting to plant blueberry bushes and strawberry plants, because my children could eat their weight in both types of berries. I have tried before, haphazardly to plant them. This time I decided to get serious about it. And have a little fun at the same time.

We are not handy here and our DIY skills are very limited. But some sort of fence was necessary to keep our dog from barreling though the space.  She is very territorial and barks at anyone passing our yard, running along the fence – ALL along the fence!

This one….

That was what sparked my inspiration for this berry patch in our backyard. Then the ideas grew, the girls got involved, Dad got involved, we made upcycled stepping stones for the space, painted the sign and together we named it Sweet Times Berry Patch.

The simple, inexpensive fence was made using garden stakes, drilling a hole through them and stringing clothesline wire through the holes. And believe it or not, this barrier is enough to stop Lulu in her tracks from running straight through our berry patch.

I bought two gallon blueberry bushes to give us a goodhead start on berries.We have six total, including the two small bushes I transplanted from my previous attempts at growing blueberries. We planted 15 strawberry plants. To keep the bugs out of our berries, Farmer Megan gave me a mixture of clover, herbs and flowers that naturally deter bugs, and we planted the seeds all along the permitter of the space.

The project turned out really fun, whimsical and lovely for the kids. And hopefully, it be full of yummy berries for years to come.

Here’s a few more shots of the space. 

The ladder you see from this angle is how the kids climb up to get on the zip line. And yes, we have a zip line going though our backyard. It is the most fun you can imagine for a kid in the back yard.

Now I’m hoping the berries will be the yummiest thing in our backyard!