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When creating a garden for your kids, you accomplish two things. First, you are nurturing the child’s natural curiosity for their surroundings especially when it comes to living organisms, not to mention allowing him the freedom to express himself through his ownership of the garden. Second, you are providing for avenues to bond with your children over a shared hobby like gardening.
Here are some practical tips to help you create a garden for you and your kids to enjoy together.
Choose The Space
Children need their own spaces in the garden to make them feel responsible owners that, in turn, will develop their self-confidence, and self-pride in the work that they do. Furthermore, the spaces need not be large since they need to start small to awaken their interest and develop their abilities, after which bigger spaces can be provided. Even a small sandbox or a square meter of land will do.
Choose A Theme
Children as young as three years of age have definite ideas of their likes and dislikes. Thus, you have to solicit their opinions and ideas on the theme of the garden, no matter how ridiculous it might seem to an adult. This way, their interests will be sustained because, after all, it was their idea for a circus-themed garden.
Choose the Plants
Based on their chosen themes, you can then help them find the best plants to suit it. Of course, you will have to guide them as there are plants that need constant attention, not to mention, can cause allergies in small children.
Easy-to-care for plants like primrose, pansies, lavender, forget-me-not, and lamb’s ears can be suggested. Also, there are seeds that are easy to grow, which can provide delightful discoveries for children, like beans, gourds, pumpkins and sunflowers.
Of course, the bright colors and attractive foliage will play a role in their choices. Thus, it is best to provide them with pictures of the flowers and plants in full bloom in addition to the characteristics that they might like. Even the humble mimosa, with its ultra-sensitive leaves, can be of great interest to children!
You can also include vegetables that your kids like to eat. This way, you are encouraging them to eat more of the good stuff especially when they helped plant and harvest them. Or better yet, have another plot for vegetables that they might like and introduce these plants in a more positive way.
The important thing is that your children helped to choose the plants and you helped them choose the best ones according to their gardening skills. Again, this is a good time to bond together over a shared activity or a visit to the nursery.
Choose the Accessories
Yes, the children’s garden will not be complete without the accessories. It can be as simple as their name tags on the plot, or a child-size garden utensil set, or a small fairy statue, or a plastic dinosaur. The goal is to make your children feel like true-blue gardeners and their gardens their own source of confidence.
