Kids Stuff

A CHILD'S GARDEN

Gardening seems to be a natural progression in any child's life. Children have been read and told stories about gardens since birth. Contrary Mary had silver bells in her garden, Jack couldn't have saved the farm without the beanstalk, and Cinderella could not have gone to the ball without a pumpkin! When gardening with children, try to think like they do. A salad garden consisting of greens is better identified as Mr. MacGregor's garden. Here is a short list of other garden ideas for children.

FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN:

Cinderella Garden - pumpkins and lady slippers; ABC Garden -anything from asters to zinnias; Jack and the Beanstalk Garden- beans protected by Jack the Scarecrow; Pizza Garden - a round garden consisting of tomatoes, peppers, onions, oregano, and marigolds (to represent cheese); Nose Garden - full of fragrant plants; Rainbow Garden - arc-shaped garden with a "pot of gold" at one end.

FOR OLDER KIDS:

Historical Garden - choose a time in history and research plants for that period; Native American Garden - corn, beans, squash; Surprise and Identify Garden plant a variety of seeds, let kids identify plants. When gardening with children make allowances for touching, smelling, premature harvesting, and a few extra weeds.

WATCH OUT FOR WEE GARDENERS

One of the great benefits of gardening is that the whole family can participate. Even the smallest child enjoys digging in the dirt! But little ones are not always a low maintenance addition. They can uproot your favorite plant, get into pesticides and fertilizers, wander away and trim your prize rose bush quicker than you can wink an eye. By carefully considering plants and materials for your garden, and practicing a few safety tips, you can have a landscape that is beautiful and safe for everyone to enjoy.

Here are some helpful hints:

Enclose your garden area. Fences are great for keeping toddlers in and unwanted visitors out. With chain-link, crimp the top barbs to prevent cuts, punctures, or injuries to the face. For wood fences, use dressed board for fewer splinters and be sure that nails are hammered in and screws tightened. The ground surface should be cushiony, like grass, and as level as possible to prevent trips and falls. For walkways, gravel and mulch are a good alternative to stone and brick, which can be uneven, hard, and slippery when wet.

Beware of plants that are poisonous, especially those with poisonous berries - so tempting to little children. And save yourself from having to kiss a lot of scratches and dry a lot of tears, by saving the rose garden idea until the kids are older.

Be very careful when using chemicals - many pesticides and fertilizers look like punch when mixed. Follow instructions carefully, use milder formulas where possible, and always keep chemicals stored out of reach of children. Garden tools can also be hazardous.

Keep tools with you when working in the yard and store them out of reach of little hands.

WAYS TO INTEREST CHILDREN IN GARDENING

Find children's books about gardening and read them together. Go through seed catalogs to let children choose exactly what they want to grow (it helps to include plants that are easy and fast-growing).

Decide where to put the garden and individual plants; let them draw a picture of what they want the garden to look like. Start plants indoors using recyclable containers like egg shells, egg cartons, yogurt or cottage cheese containers, etc. Let children draw pictures of each plant on an index card; laminate and attach to popsicle sticks as row markers.

Help the child keep a journal: what and when you planted, insect or weed problems, etc. Start taking snapshots early on the adventure. Help, but don't do everything for them; help only where they cannot (insect control, watering, feeding, fertilizing). Finally, it will be time for children to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Help them look through some of your recipes or find new ones to sample the crop. Let them help cook where possible.

Encourage them to give excess away and can or freeze some, too enjoying the food in the off- season will be a confidence booster. During the non-gardening season, children can still garden indoors in containers, discover planting songs, create skits, make-up crossword puzzles, or write a story about their gardening experience.

Frame their initial garden drawing to hang on the wall or make a scrap book of the artwork, stories, pictures, and snapshots that tell of their exciting adventures in gardening.