Dig into gardening with your kids
Photo by: Chris Meyer
Themes can help adults and kids create a garden the youngsters really dig.
Would you like a sunflower house in your backyard or a worm tunnel to climb through? Developing a garden with a theme is a great way to get children involved and interested in gardening and can work with patio container gardens as well as in larger backyards, said Stori Snyder, assistant director of Hilltop Garden and Nature Center at Indiana University Bloomington.
Snyder said it is important to pick plants that all require the same environment, such as plants that require good drainage or full sun. Potential themes are limited only by the imagination.
"Flip through a seed catalog and see what catches your eye, keeping in mind you want to avoid non-native invasive plants," Snyder said. "Is it the color that attracts you? Does the shape remind you of something, such a butterfly or a hat for a fairy? Do you want to try something new, like growing a giant pumpkin or tall sunflowers?"
Snyder said themed gardens also can be enhanced with manmade creations -- such as fairy houses, painted plywood sunflowers that can double as child growth charts for the summer, water features and bird feeders -- that could encourage children and wildlife to visit the garden more frequently.
Here are some examples of possible themes:
- Sunflower house: Literally immerse your child in the garden by planting a sunflower house. Alternate sunflowers and climbing plant varieties, such as morning glories (morning glories reseed themselves very easily so be sure you want them in the same place next year), climbing sweet pea or green beans. Mark out a square on the ground, including at least one door that is at least two feet wide. Plant the sunflowers approximately 18 inches apart and the climbing plant three-to-four inches from the sunflower -- one climbing plant is fine per sunflower, and even two per plant can be used but no more than two is recommended. When the sunflowers are at their highest, they will fill in the space between them. More "rooms" can be added or walls erected. The perennial chamomile makes a nice carpet. Straw also makes a soft place to sit. For fun, bring a book or take a nap.
- Worm tunnel: For building materials use rebar or other strong round metal stakes, a stiff, rubber hose or bio-based plastic tube (no pvc) and netting. Decide how long you want your tunnel. Tunnels can also have intersections -- imagine a birds eye view of a lower case "t". Place two rebar or round metal stakes in the ground approximately three-to-four feet across from each other (tunnel width) and four-to-five feet from each stake to mark the tunnel walls. Leave two-to-three feet of the stakes above ground. Continue in this fashion for however long you want your tunnel to be. Place the stiff rubber hose or bioplastic tube over the ends of the exposed stake, making a "hoop". Use the netting to drape over the hoops, securing the net with zip ties or twisty ties. The remaining step is to plant peas, beans, morning glories or other climbing plant all along the outside of the netting. The tendrils will grow and climb up and over the netting, covering it completely. If you plant peas, you will also need to plant beans or morning glories or another productive grower in the heat of the summer. Mulch inside the tunnel as a weed barrier. For fun, start a worm bin to compost your food scraps, host an archeological dig and have party-goers dig for critters or play bingo using pictures of common soil critters as the playing card.
- ABC garden: Go through the seed catalogs and find one plant that starts with each letter of the alphabet (use common or botanical name). Either purchase premade wooden letters, prime and paint with an exterior color and attach to a wooden stake or draw or print letters out and color using crayons or markers and laminate and attach to a wooden stake. Grow three of the same plants together and place the wooden letter on a stake in the middle of the group. Arrange the letters according to order and use the garden as a way for your child to learn their letters and how to care for assorted plants.
- Pioneer garden: If your children enjoy historical fiction, such as the American Girl series or the Little House on the Prairie series, compliment this interest by researching which plants would have been grown in a pioneer's garden. Make labels using natural materials like wood and sticks. Learn how to make cordage from grasses, grow gourds that you can dry and make a dipping spoon from. Add a weather-protected rocking chair in the space so your child can be submersed in the garden as they read the adventures of their favorite character.
- Pizza garden: Draw a circle in the ground and then slice the circle into four pieces. These lines will represent your paths and should be 18 inches wide. Mulch this path. For your pizza slices, select vegetables and herbs you would use to make a pizza. The pizza can always be enlarged if you need larger slices.
- Sunflower spiral: Place a birdbath, chair or sundial in the middle of your circle of sunflowers. Make sure you plant an edible variety if you plan to snag some seeds for snacks. Make a sundial using only a stick. For fun: use this time to learn about solar power by making solar ovens to bake cookies or cobblers. Measure at what rate your sunflower grows, recording the data for the whole summer. Save some seeds to plant again next year.
- Nutrition garden: Find a good resource book at the library to learn which vegetables provide the minerals and vitamins we need to be healthy. Grow all the vegetables that are good sources of vitamin A together in the shape of a capitol letter "A" (bird's eye view). Do the same for the vegetables that provide vitamin B and C and so on.
- First aid garden: Research herbal medicine or traditional Chinese medicine. Discover what plants have been used for healing purposes. Numerous herbs can be grown and harvested for use in teas, tinctures or salves that can help with upset stomachs, sore throats, fevers, cuts or burns. For fun: Learn about different health care professions, the chemistry of plants, poisonous plants as well as edible plants or plant folklore.
- Fairy garden: If your child is interested in fairies, select plants with delicate blooms and miniature varieties to plant in a shape that will allow your child access to all of the plants. The idea of flying and free movement should be encouraged for your child fairy. For fun: Make wings out of cardboard, fabric and elastic. Host fairy parties (be sure to have fairy dust on hand; glitter) and have the party-goers create fairy houses using natural materials such as seed pods and dried grass. Decorate your plants in this garden with these houses to encourage fairies to come and visit your garden. Read stories about famous and not-so-famous fairies, pixies and sprites.
