Gardening With Kids
Gardening with kids is a great way to spend summer days. School is out and special garden projects are a wonderful way to get them interested and involved in gardening and even in eating vegetables. I have some fun gardening projects for kids in this post. See which ones you like best.
When I was little I loved conducting my own experiments. There was the one with tomatoes and tomato worms (don’t ask, it was a gruesome awakening to the laws of nature). I have noticed that when my young nieces and nephews come to visit they love being in the garden, exploring, picking flowers and discovering the tiny inhabitants living there. If you get children out in the garden when they are young, they will likely carry the love of gardening with them their entire lives.
Gardening projects for kids
There are loads of fun gardening projects for kids. I remember a property we redesigned a number of years ago that had raised beds for the kids so they could plant their own choice of plants. This place was a wonderland of flowers and kid-friendly produce. Kids love to watch things grow so plant from seed, there is nothing more exciting than seeing seeds germinate and grow into something you can eat. And it’s a great way to get kids to eat their veggies.
My little niece and nephew can’t get enough flowers perhaps all kids are that way. If you have a flower-lover in your family, encourage them to plant their own cutting-flower garden. Sunflowers, marigolds, calendula, hollyhocks, zinnias and alyssum are great choices for a kids cutting garden, they grow quickly and reseed themselves for many years of enjoyment in the future. At the end of the season show them how to collect the seeds and plant them next season. What could be more fun than that?
Here’s another project for the young ones. They can build their own summer “club house” by creating a tepee out of tree stakes or bamboo. Then plant the perimeter with beans, morning glory or perhaps thunbergia alata (black-eyed susan vine). Plant from seed or starts and watch it come to life, literally. They might even let you join them for a cup of tea if you are lucky.
Summer Berries-Yum!
Everyone loves to pick fresh berries, right? The easiest berries to plant and grow are strawberries. They are available this time of year in bare-root form or of course, in pony packs and kids love them. You can allocate a raised bed to strawberries or put them in pots. Be sure to give them full sun. One thing extra gratifying about planting strawberries is that they start pumping out those sweet juicy morsels of goodness in a week or so. I imagine the smaller members of your family running out to the strawberry patch each morning to see what they can pick for their morning cereal.
Last week I had a visit from a 5-month old boy named Eli who happened by (with his grandmother) when I was out in the garden. We introduced Eli to the chickens and toured him through the veggie garden showing him flowers, beans, cucumbers, squash and all the rest that was growing there. He seemed to enjoy himself. I’m hoping he’ll come back when he’s old enough to hold a trowel so we can have real garden adventures.Until next time, fill your garden with joy, and lots of children.xo Lisa