Creating Gardens for Children

---

Creating fun gardens for children means involving the kids in the design and evolution of the garden, working together to produce something unique.

Once you have introduced your child to the basics of creating gardens and gardening, you will be amazed at how many and varied ideas they come up with themselves, let alone their enthusiasm!

Kiddie Gardens is designed to share some of the delights of gardens and gardening with you, from planting the first seed, creating a safe play or relaxation area for children from toddlers to teens, container gardens to simple ideas for garden art projects.

The aim is to keep the info simple and easy to understand, so jargon is kept to a minimum, and wherever possible, instructions are accompanied by photo guides.

Gardening with kids is not meant to be a stressful occupation, but fun!

Enjoy!

The Garden as a Learning Environment

Gardening with kids of any age encourages their interest in nature and enthusiasm early on in life, and will give them invaluable basic skills and an understanding of how the whole of the eco-system works.

Children have a innate interest in all things natural. They love playing with mud, planting seeds and watching them grow ... watching caterpillars and butterflys at close quarters on the window sill ... digging up buried treasure in the form of carrots, parsnips or potatoes ... working out a clever defences against slugs and snails ... the joys and adventures involved in gardening just carry on and on!

And with the enthusiasm, come questions. What better way to learn?

• Did you know there are flowers you can eat?
• Sunflowers that can grow so big you need a stepladder to reach the top?
• Monster plants that eat bugs?

Education is so much more than sitting in a class room and studying text books. Including educational snippets while gardening or just sitting outside and enjoying watching the birds and the butterflies, can teach children not only the theory, but more importantly, how they fit into the natural world, the importance of looking after our environment and recycling.

• Read more about Garden Learning Activities

Growing Vegetables with Kids

Some of the very easiest plants to grow are in fact vegetables. And as a parent, what better way to introduce my children to the idea of healthy eating than growing their own?

And there are just so many different varieties of vegetable to choose from. How about going for something a little different? Red carrots instead of the usual orange ones, purple-sprouting broccoli, or maybe black tomatoes? There are even miniature vegetables for miniature people!

Do you live in a flat or not even have a garden? The good news is that you don't need a massive vegetable plot or an allotment - there are many vegetables which can be grown in containers, either inside or out. So living in an appartment block is no block to growing your own vegetables! Just for starters, how about growing strawberries in window boxes? Or growing potatoes in tires or other planters?

Is this is your first exploration into growing your own veggies? Then start off with some of the easy vegetables to grow, from lettuce and chard, to courgettes and potatoes, before moving on to some of the fussier ones!

• Read more on Easy to Grow Vegetables

Really not too sure about exactly how to grow particular vegetables? When to plant them, what sort of soil they like, when to harvest them? Don't worry - our step-by-step growing guides will tell you everything you need to know, from different varieties, likes and dislikes, and companion planting, to just how to plant and tend the veggies until they are ready to harvest - all in easy to understand English!

• Read more on Growing Vegetables

Kids Garden Craft Projects

Fancy adding that personal touch to your garden? Making garden crafts encourage children to use their imagination and feel included in garden projects, but also to notice and develop a closer afinity to nature itself.

On a rainy afternoon, you could spend your time painting flower pots, in the winter you could prepare the garden plant markers for your vegetable rows - our clear craft projects show you just how and give you some ideas to start off with, but let your own creativity loose and design your own work of art!

• Read more on Kids Garden Crafts

Desperate not to miss out on anything new?

Subscribe to the Kiddie Garden Newsletter!

---

 

---