Growing Interest

There is nothing quite like the joy of discovery when a child sticks a marigold seed in a plastic foam cup, watches it sprout and grow into an inch-high seedling, eventually outgrow the cup and finally become a blossoming orange flower, dancing in the breeze.

If you encourage a child to garden, you’ll be growing more than marigolds. You’ll be nurturing a love for the environment, building selfesteem and providing a place where kids can see tangible results from the work of their hands.

Gardening is also an inexpensive, easy way for parent and child to spend time together, requiring few materials and even less experience. If parents can look beyond the mess (difficult for some of us), the benefits outweigh the dirt.

Getting started

To get children excited about gardening, you need to speak their language. Provide instructions, tools and materials that are appropriate to their age level and appeal to their sense of fun. Look for children’s gardening books, youth-sized gardening tools, newsletters and seed starter kits, available in bookstores or garden centers.

Once you have sparked an interest, choose a place for the garden that gets plenty of sun, has fertile soil and is close to a water faucet. Experts recommend gardens in the ground of at least three feet by three feet. (Large barrel containers work well also, especially if you are spacelimited. They are more manageable for the very young gardener and cut down on the weeds).

Mark off the garden to signify the child’s space, then let your child name it, to personalize his or her garden.

“A child will think of Alice in Wonderland’s garden or Peter Rabbit’s garden or Jack’s Beanstalk,” says Jane Taylor, curator of the Michigan State University 4-H Children’s Garden. “A sense of personal ownership is extremely important. Adults may want everything in neat rows, but kids don’t care.”

And, she says you can’t expect the kids to do any extensive weeding, either. The parent can volunteer to weed or agree to live with weeds.

Taylor says, “Children may find the weeds as attractive as cultivated plants.”

Appeal to the senses

When choosing what to grow, a vegetable garden is usually a child’s first choice, since they enjoy tasting the finished product.

“Radishes are going to be your garden’s fast food,” says Kevin and Kim Gilbert Raftery, co-authors of “Kids Gardening: A Kid’s Guide to Messing Around in the Dirt” (Klutz Press). “Figure one month from start to stomach.”

For kids who say “yuck” to radishes, the authors say, “grow them yourselves and they’ll taste almost as good as sugar plums.”

Allow children to select the various plants and vegetables, but help them choose a variety of leaf textures, flower fragrances and plant colors. Touching, smelling and seeing color, as well as tasting, are important aspects of the child’s gardening experience.

Consider planting a Pizza Garden, suggests the National Garden Bureau. Grow oregano, green peppers, tomatoes and onions in pizza-shaped wedges. Or plant a Rainbow Garden, with broad stripes of different colors and a pot at the end of the rainbow full of gold blooming flowers.

“Children love snapdragons because they can pop their heads,” says Sydney McCrea, coordinator of the WSU Cooperative Extension/ Spokane County Master Gardeners, “and Thumbelinas are really popular with kids, with a fun name, as well.”

McCrea suggests choosing flowers with large seeds that can be planted directly into the ground such as cosmos, sweet alyssum, zinnias and nasturtiums. For vegetables, she recommends beans, which germinate quickly. There are smaller varieties of pumpkins and sunflowers available, too, which are good options, says McCrea.

To add whimsy to your child’s garden, help him or her make a scarecrow, using a broomstick, some old clothing and heavy twine; or a bird feeder from a discarded pie tin. These and many other activities are found in Coeur d’Alene author Laurie Carlson’s book, “Green Thumbs” (Chicago Review Press).

The garden as a teaching tool

In between trowling and pruning, parents can grab moments to teach their young the vital role plants play in providing food and shelter for wildlife, or the results of too much, or too little water in the garden. Explain that gardeners do not want to disrupt the natural environment, but instead work in it with care.

Make gardening a game by quizzing your child on the four necessities of a garden: sun, air, water and soil; or the differences between garden “friends” and “pests.”

Gardens are hands-on labs that can help children explore concepts such as composting, mulching, weeding, transplanting and fertilizing.

Kids should be encouraged to visit their gardens often, not only to work, but also to enjoy the beauty. Whether to grow marigolds or radishes, in a tiny pot or a big patch, invite your child to grab a shovel and begin to dig a garden of discovery.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: GARDENING RESOURCES “Counting Wildflowers” by Bruce McMillan (Mulberry Books, $4.95), introduces colors, flower names and numbers to the very young child. “One fragrant water lily. Two spiderworts. Three true forget-me-nots” and so forth, until the child has viewed 20 varieties of wildflowers in lovely photographs. “From Seed to Plant” by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House, $5.95), explains in detail the process of how a seed grows; including the parts of a flower, pollination and seed germination, all written in easy-to-understand language for children 5 and older. “Green Thumbs: A Kid’s Activity Guide to Indoor and Outdoor Gardening” by Laurie Carlson (Chicago Review Press, $12.95), is overflowing with more than 80 things to do and make using materials easily found around the house. This hands-on book lets kids learn about gardening by doing, and covers planting basics, as well. There are great ideas for making plant labels, a watering can, a tool tote and more, for ages 3-9. “How a Seed Grows” by Helene J. Jordan (Harper Trophy, $4.95), gives simple steps for turning a packet of seeds into a garden. Another “Let’s Read And Find Out Science” book for ages 3-6, with lovely illustrations throughout. “KidsGardening: A Kid’s Guide to Messing Around in the Dirt” by Kevin and Kim Gilbert Raftery (Klutz Press, $13.95), is an Indoor/Outdoor Activity Guide written in a fun format with pictures and simple instructions. Brimming with information on all aspects of gardening, it also comes with an attached child-size shovel and eight seed packets of vegetables and flowers. “Sunflower” by Miela Ford (Greenwillow Books, $15) is ideal for beginner readers. This delightful fictional story is about a young child growing a sunflower from seed to stalk that will entice young gardeners to want to try it themselves.