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:
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 could 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.
www.greeneducationfoundation.org | How to Build a Sunflower House
Gourds on a Fence
Planting a row of gourds along a fenceline 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, for rhythm instruments, or for homegrown birdhouses by hollowing them out.
www.foothillsfarm.com | Ginny’s Gourds
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.
www.allaboutpumpkins.com
Succulents in Clam Shells
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 the sempervivums that look like green roses. These plants, especially when grouped together, make truly lovely arrangements. The fun part is they can grow in minimal 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.
www.simplysucculents.com
You can spark your family’s interest in the great out of doors with these and similar gardening projects. For more fun projects to do together see
www.kidsgardening.org.
Great Introductory Garden Books for Kids
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.
