Plant a Children’s Garden

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Planting a Children’s Garden

Childhood is a time of wonder and joy.  Our children appreciate the new ideas we share with them through books and conversation and the mysteries of life that we attempt to teach them in our home and natural environments.  A garden is one of those mysteries of life that can be a great joy to children and parents alike.

Gardening provides so many good experiences for our kids.  In addition to being able to witness and to have a hand in bringing forth new life, kids benefit from being involved in an outdoor activity that enhances our health and an appreciation for natural environments.

Here are some suggestions for key components of a child’s garden:

  • There should be somewhere to play in and around the garden
  • Kids love to hide things so a great child’s garden should have a garden ceramic or plants that encourage the hiding of objects or little giggling people
  • To assist kids in observing and caring for plants, create tiny walkways in between sections of the garden.

Digging in the soil will always be among the top things children love about their garden.  Purchase size and age appropriate tools for your kids and allow them to plan seeds in soil (that you’ve prepared and softened) during the early spring months.  Set up a watering routine on large chart paper and use markers and dates to indicate when and how often the plants should be watered and fed plant food.

When the first sprouts poke through the ground, have your kids mark that on the chart paper.  If you have a camera take a picture.  Better yet if you have a digital cameral you can take pictures and upload them to your computer. You can then insert the pictures into your child’s gardening document and then do all updates using the computer.  Once done you’ll have a chart complete with pictures showing the plants’ actual progress.  You may, however, prefer the hand drawn chart because it will contain the hand written markings of your children, which will likely be of greater sentimental value to you and your kids in the years to come.

Don’t forget to plan vegetables in addition to flowering and other plants. It might be best to use fast growing plants like nasturtium and vegetables like peas.  Kids love to see the results of their hard effort fast!

When choosing which plants to include in your garden, remember that some plants are poisonous and they include:

  • Foxglove
  • Daphne, and
  • laburnum

Other safety tips:  keep adult tools and garden pesticides away from your children and let them know that those items are not to be touched because they are not safe and require adult supervision.

Have fun with your children’s garden. It will be a source of great outdoor activity and memories for you and your kids for years to come.  It will also provide an opportunity for educational learning and for adding some wonderful flowers and vegetables to the family garden.