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How Does their Garden Grow? Parents Can Help Their Children Discover the Joys of Gardening

By Martha Wegner

Way back in the early days, B.C., (Before Children) I could hardly wait for spring to arrive. When those first robins began to sing I knew it would not be long before I could pull out my gardening trowel and starting digging into the cool soil with my hands. The seeds I ordered from the catalog arrived daily, and I spent long weekend afternoons walking up and down the aisle of the nursery picking out impatiens and vines for my flower boxes and  carrot and lettuce seeds for growing my summer salad. That was a wondrous time in my life.

Then one summer day 15 years ago, my daughter Christine was born. I was so busy learning how to be a new mom, I barely noticed the wilting marigolds, or the overripe tomatoes hanging from the vine. Yes, when kids came into my life, gardening went out. And I know I am not alone. Notes Beth Richardson in her book Gardening with Children (1998, The Taunton Press): “How can you thin out a row of arugula or contemplate a fresh tomato-and-basil salad while a 3-year-old rips the cover off a sippy cup and pours the juice down your back? Many parents decide they can’t do both. Given the fact that the children a permanent part of their lives, a garden regrettably gets the heave-ho.” And so it was with me.

Can children be gardeners?

Now my children are older and more independent and I am tentatively paging through the seed catalogs and stopping at the nursery on the way home. I’m getting ready to begin gardening again. Alone. But I wonder, was it right for me to give up gardening for the sake of the kids? Maybe not. A number of gardening experts say I could and should involve my children in my gardening. According to the folks at “eartheasy”, (eartheasy.com/grow_ gardening_children.htm), children are natural gardeners. “They’re curious, like to learn by doing, and love to play in the dirt.”

While I’m willing to concede that perhaps kids would benefit from gardening, I shudder at the thought of handing over my plot to my children. The thought of them digging through my attempts at growing my beloved nasturtiums makes me wince. No need. The gardening gurus instead suggest consider creating a separate garden space for the kids, one they can maintain from seed to harvest.

What should we plant?

Richardson suggests that you choose plants that do well in your particular climate, plants that mature quickly (children become easily bored with plants that take forever to bloom), and family favorites. If your family particularly likes tomatoes, plant tomatoes. Experiment with different varieties. If you are choosing to plant flowers, Sharon Lovejoy, author of  Roots, Shoots, Buckets, and Boots: gardening together with children, suggests we choose plants that grow fast and  that have a beautiful fragrance, texture and color.

A few more tips

Start from seeds. Children will learn more by seeing the growing process as it begins with seeds. (However, some plants really do much better starting as seedlings.)

Give them serious tools. Cheap plastic child’s gardening tools can break easily. If you cannot find good child-size tools, let them use your tools.

Engage them through the entire gardening process, from choosing the plants, to planting, to watering, weeding, and finally harvesting.

Cheat a little: Depending on the age of the child, you may need to help out a little ‘behind the scene’ such as weeding and picking the slugs off the lettuce.

Finally, in order to tackle the dreaded weeding task, Lovejoy suggests a “ten-minute plan”: “Since children can easily feel overwhelmed by long lists of chores or extended work periods, chop gardening time to short blocks.” She suggests choosing a different area each day and working together for ten minutes.

Going all out

For those of us who are truly inspired by the thought of gardening with our children all summer (and I must admit I have not yet reached this stage), consider a thematic garden. In her book, Sunflower Houses: a book for children and their grown-ups (2001, Workman Publishing), Sharon Lovejoy suggests a number of garden themes including “Rainbow Garden”, “Butterfly Garden”, “Giant’s Garden”, and “Garden of Greens”.

I prefer at this stage to keep it very simple. I’ll prepare a little plot for my now 15-year-old daughter, and another for her 11-year-old brother. Armed with seeds they’ve chosen from the “Top 20” list, I’ll let them loose. “I wanted my children to work and dream and feel,” said Richardson.

Martha Wegner is a freelance writer.