Explore the playscapes blog for some great ideas on nature play areas: http://playgrounddesigns.blogspot.com/

- Shade, lots of shade
- cozy places for kids that can turn into forts, pirate ships or just a place to chill - a weeping willow tree would be perfect!
- a hard surface under shade
- stumps for seating/tables
- an area with pea gravel - my daughter LOVES to dig and scoop the gravel
- bird feeders
- plants to attract birds and butterflies
- a sunflower house - google for directions
- a hill - we have one (previous owners built it) and we put a slide in the hill, with rocks for steps - great for playing - the neighbour kids never use their regular slides but always use ours

You want a big sandbox. I found one on Craigslist that looks like a wooden ship. It has a storage area and a padded seat. My boys (3 and 5) spend hours in it. They also love a pea gravel path I put in our garden.

Plant things that can offer wonderful sensory experiences. Have a vegetable garden, even if it's a small one. Pizza gardens are fun. Grow kid-friendly, low maintenance plants. These have proven indestructible (and cheap!): lamb's ears, daisies, hostas, day lilies, creeping phlox, mint and lavender (all perennials). The butterflies are crazy for our azaleas. Don't know where you live but find out what plants are native your area. Plant fast growing trees like crepe myrtles for shade. Better Homes and Gardens has free garden plans (bhg.com)

I love this piece - lots of great strategies!
http://wondertime.go.com/life-at-home/article/wild-things.html

As a kid, the most magical places in my backyard were where the plants made little caves. One was under some pine trees, which you obviously won't have for a while. But the other was where some honeysuckle vines drooped over next to a fence, which you could certainly do. Vine teepees would be great: http://www.sunset.com/garden/backyard-projects/vine-covered-tepee-00400000016381/

Even if you have playgrounds in the neighborhood, there will be times when you won't go, are too sick to go, don't want to share, so it's not a loss to have some play equipment in a giant backyard!

If I had that size yard, I'd put in a slide that can grow with your child, lots of trees for shade and future climbing/treehouse, a swing, a garden, something to climb, something to hide in, a sandbox (you can do custom shapes or whatever with Frame-It-All), a water play area . . .

My point is, don't lock yourself into one age or stage of childhood -- you want to be able to "grow" your fun as your kid's abilities grow.

How exciting! My little man loves his sand-box, his mud pit, and his own garden space. I think everyone else has great ideas. I've been dreaming of a blank canvas like this with a mad scheme to plant a field of mint and violets and rip out my zoysia. Just imagine the mowing experience!

I'd include a cement path that runs in a big loop around the yard for when he gets a trike/bike! Also good while he's little if you want to load him into a pram and roll him around and around and around.
A fish pond is always great! A friend used to have one that had a little "creek" that ran into it, manmade, and her kids would have boat races down it. It had big river pebbles in the bottom and was only a few inches deep 'til it got to the pond.
And for us, Dad built a cubby house on stilts, a ladder at the front, a slide at the back, and a sandpit underneath. He built it right next to a tree, so it was hidden away in the branches and the neighbours couldn't see us.

We have been trying to turn our yard into a more desirable place for entertaining and relaxing before summer hits. The key for us was first to build a fence that provided more privacy and was gated off. Second was to plant a lot of different fruit bearing plants and foilage.
If we have kids while we live in this house I love the idea of putting in a sand box and tree house/fort in the yard. I also love what my aunt has done with her son: they save seeds from all the fruit/veggies they eat and plant them in their backyard during spring time. They have been really succesful at growing their own plants/food. Plus my 5 year old cousin is so proud of his gardening skills.
Good luck with the yard! Here is where we currently are with our yard:
http://thewall-nuts.com/?p=108

I would definitely recommend laying some PermaLife lamdscape mulch. I didn't buy the playground grade kind but even the regular stuff is great to walk on. Very cushy.

I meant landscape.

I would definitely start with some shade trees ASAP! We don't have a lot of shade in our yard, and it is a pain in the summer to have to put sunblock on my kids just so they can go play in the yard. But, be sure to research the trees first, too. We got one fast-growing tree from my grandmother's yard, and it DID grow very quickly...but also sends up new little trees from all its roots! We finally removed those trees, but will be pulling up the little trees from the roots for a LONG time! Also, if you have the budget, you could start with some type of arbor or other shade structure. It will be nice for putting a little sand box and/or wading pool under until the rest of the landscaping is finished.

Thank you all so much for the wonderful ideas! I am relatively new to Ohdeedoh, and hadn't seen the My Great Outdoors series. It looks like it will be a treasure trove of inspiration! Same goes for the other fantastic links that have been suggested.

A few people suggested shade - and you are SO right. Our yard faces south-west and it gets hot here in the summers. I love the sun and heat now, but I do remember being sensitive to it as a child.

The rest of the ideas were so awesome and creative, too! I am getting so excited about it, I'd love to talk about them all... but I think I'd need to write a book :)

Thanks for all the inspiration!

Oh, I also wanted to reply to JennyBalch:

We do want to start some trees right away so they have time to grow! My Mom also had problems from a nearby poplar tree that sent up little trees throughout her yard. The problem became even worse once the tree was cut down. The stump was still in the ground, so she drilled holes in it and poured in TONS of weed killer (Round-up, I think). That did the trick! I don't know if you still have the stumps there, but if not, maybe you could find a root to drill into. Just an idea... :)

Hey, Sunset magazine did a feature of landscaping three different yards in a new development with blank square yards like this. Check out their website garden section, it's got to be there.

@Tara0702

Yes, it was two silver poplars that we cut down! My husband actually dug out all the roots of the main tree, so all that is left are the other roots. He is pulling them out a few at a time. If we don't "catch up" to them eventually, we may resort to something more drastic! We also planted a tulip poplar, and it is also a very fast grower, and doesn't spread like the silver poplar.