Improvements at The KidsUp! playground at Battle Point Park include some tough flowers and shrubs.

“They have to be hardy,” said Chris Andre, Bainbridge Island Metro Parks & Recreation District horticulturist. “And they have to endure a lot of trampling by kids.”

Dotting the playground are nine new trees, including Venus dogwoods, Sugar Tyme crab apples and vine maples. Four varieties of oregano provide ground cover, while waves of fragrant mint blanket the hillside next to a slide.

Kids have seeded the flowerbeds like the wind, so no one’s really sure what’s going to come up where. Clusters of blueberries are planted throughout. “Kids can pick a blueberry and eat it. It’ll be a fragrant, edible space,” Andre said.

While excitement has tended to build around KidsUp!’s array of inclusive new play features and the giant Ferry Boat, considerable thought and care went into plant selection and arrangement. Playground designer Chris Cain arrayed the planting beds to maintain clear sight lines, and most of the plants will be low-growers.

“Pretty much from anywhere you sit, you can see nearly everything that’s going on in the playground,” said David Harry, district construction supervisor. “Keep an eye on your kids, see where they’re at, see them, hear them.” The district is aiming for a Labor Day weekend opening, he added.