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By gardening
with your children or grandchildren,
you can help give them an awareness
and appreciation of nature and
the world around them that will
stay with them for the rest
of their lives. Even very young
children enjoy helping with
simple garden chores such as
weeding, spreading mulch and
harvesting. Older children love
to have their own special garden
to look after. This could be
as small as several containers
on the deck or as big as your
whole yard, depending on their
(and your) time, willingness
and patience. To start out,
you might give them a section
of your garden to plant and
look after.
First, be
sure to teach your budding gardener
the value of improving the soil
with organic material before
they begin planting. Explain
how organic material improves
the texture of the soil and
adds some food for the plants
as well.
Since improving
the soil will make them more
successful, they’ll be
willing to garden again next
spring. There are special kid’s
tools available, just right
for small hands to manipulate
and since children love getting
dirty, you’ll not be short
of volunteers when the digging
begins!
Next, help
your child select a combination
of plants that will make their
garden interesting and exciting
throughout the year. You can
do this by considering all five
senses:
Many colorful blooming plants,
as well as plants with unusual
flowers or seeds will appeal
to a child's imagination. Consider
smiling pansy faces and nodding
columbines in the spring; snapdragons
to snap and silver coins from
the money plant (Lunaria biennis)
in summer; and in the fall,
blue balloon flowers (Platycodon
grandiflora) and the bright
orange seed cases of Chinese
lantern (Physalis franchettii).
Stroke the silky-soft, silver
leaves of lamb’s ears
(Stachys byzantina) - now you’ll
know how it got its name. Or,
feel the papery flowers of thrift
(Armeria maritima) or strawflowers,
the ferny foliage of yarrow
or the succulent foliage of
sedum.
Growing vegetables is always
fun and rewarding for children.
If you have the space, it’s
always exciting to grow pumpkins
for Halloween or weird and wonderful
gourds. Other easy to grow vegetables
include radishes, lettuce, and
cherry tomatoes. At harvest
time let your child host a ‘salad
party’ to share their
bounty with family and friends.
There are many scented flowers
to choose from, including perennial
peonies and lilies, as well
as annual sweet alyssum and
heliotrope. Let them select
herbs with fragrant foliage
too. Mint is always popular
but be sure to allow room for
it to spread. Choose varieties
with interesting names like
chocolate, apple or grapefruit.
Use the pineapple flavored leaves
of pineapple sage in iced tea
and watch the hummingbirds gather
around this herb’s bright
red flowers!
Heliotrope
The whirring of hummingbird
wings, the song of a bird, the
rustling of foliage or flowers
in a breeze; these are all sounds
that you and your child can
share in a garden. Take time
out from your gardening chores
every now and then to listen.
So, bring in your child and
let us help you get started
on that most special garden
of all, a child's garden.
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