As winter melts away into spring, keep your eyes open for those early
spring blooms – crocus, daffodil and hyacinth. They’ll signal that it’s
time to get out and dig in the soil.
To children, gardening is a bit like magic. One simply puts seeds, those
little packages of mystery, into soil and after waiting for a loooong time,
as much as two weeks, little plants peek up into the world.
You can capture some of that mystery and magic with these four
mini-gardening projects:
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Sunflower Houses
Sunflowers are magnificent things to plant because they have a short
germination time, as little as seven days, and they grow spectacularly
tall. Children will love planting their sunflower home and then watching it
grow inch by inch over the coming months. You can even do a little mapping
and graphing as the home is planned. And then, when the magic is done, the
kids can play in the house all day and sleep out in their sleeping bags at
night.How to Build a Sunflower House
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Gourds on a Fence
Planting a row of gourds along a fence line is a great way to enjoy the
growth of these beautiful and varied plants. Kids love their beautiful
colors and shapes. Gourds need to grow and mature until all the greenery
has dried up. Then, when the gourds are thoroughly dry, you can use them
for decoration or for rhythm instruments, or hollow them out to make
homegrown birdhouses.Ginny's Gourds
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Pumpkins to Jack-o-Lanterns
Pumpkin seeds are easy to plant in mounds of soil with seeds spaced four to
five inches apart. They’ll grow all summer long and bloom with their
trademark orange blossoms. Then in the fall they turn from green globes to
nice, fat orange pumpkins. Use them for cooking pies and tarts, but be sure
to set aside several to hollow out and carve into Halloween
jack-o-lanterns. -
Succulents in Clam Shells
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Succulents are those interesting plants that retain water in their fat
leaves and come in all shapes and sizes. They are the “hens and chicks”,
the sedums and sempervivums that look like green roses. These plants,
especially when grouped together, make truly lovely arrangements. The fun
part is they can grow in a minimum of soil and are perfect for a kid
project. Take a large shell (or other interesting container), and drill
several small holes in the bottom for drainage. Then place a layer of wet
sphagnum moss in the bottom. Top with potting soil and then add several
succulent plants close together. These make nice gifts, or just place them
in a spot where you and your children can enjoy them throughout the year.
You can spark your family’s interest in the great outdoors with these and
similar gardening projects. For more fun projects to do together see
kidsgardening.org.
Great Introductory Gardening Books for Kids
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“Garden to Table: A Kids’ Guide to Planting, Growing and Preparing Food” by
Katherine Hengel. -
“Gardening Lab for Kids: 52 Fun Experiments to Grow, Harvest and Enjoy Your
Garden” by Renata Fossen Brown. -
“Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots: Gardening Together with Kids” by Sharon
Lovejoy. - “Square Foot Gardening with Kids” by Mel Bartholomew.
