How to Interest Children in the Garden

Okay, so my daughter comes in the house with the most beautiful 5-year old's smile on her face, and the most beautiful bouquet of peonies in her hands....only there were no stems on the flowers. What could I say, but the most tender words of appreciation while looking down at my very first crop of sweet smelling peonies. Perhaps I could float them in bowls of water...

Do you have stories like this to tell? Or maybe you are like my friend Dave. After spending hours tilling he soil, making lovely raised rows of tomatoes, carefully chosen for their varieties and harvest schedules, his young son decides to help. "Daddy, Daddy, look at all the weeds I found in the garden! They're all gone now, cuz I pulled them out for you!" You guessed it. The entire flat of tomato plants lay drying in the compost pile.

Of course, we want to encourage our young ones (or even the older ones) to help out. I woul like to offer a few ideas to engage them in one of our favorite activities.

1. Starting young, when they love playing in the dirt, helps. But it's never too late to capture their hearts if you reflect joy and the love of gardening while in the trenches.

2. Consider your child's interests and abilities. Perhaps you have an artist who enjoys designing the layout of the garden with you. How about if your child is allowed to choose the color arrangement? Can they choose, build, or place a birdfeeder to attract birds to eat the insects? Does your child enjoy digging for worms? Digging in the garden can be turned into a treasure hunt with guidance. By taking advantage of your child's interests, you may help them develop their best traits while they learn how to share those skills as a family helper.

3. Choose age appropriate activities. Just like adults on a team who balance each other's strengths and weaknesses, we want to do the same with our children. How much are they able to handle without becoming overwhelmed and frustrated (cranky)? Which tools can be safely handled? Do I need children's tools? How developed are their motor skills to complete a skill successfully? Perhaps your child can learn to dead-head flowers and collect seeds for the next season. Starting out with small, manageable tasks builds confidence and a joyful sense of accomplishment.

4. A patch of their own. My children are most satisfied when they take ownership. If there is a small area for them to own or be responsible for the results, your child will have the opportunity to shine with pride. If your child can grow a pumpkin, flowers, tomatoes or potatoes and share them with others, you will have a successful gardener on your hands. This type of success develops memories for a lifetime, often with plans for repeats in the future.

5. Share time and experiences. While sharing gardening time, teachable moments will appear for great, quality conversation. What is a perennial or biennial? Why do we prune plants and when? How do we recognize the flowers and vegetables from the weeds? How long should the stem of the flower be when cut? What do we do about pests? How much water and food do plants need? The list goes on, and so does the conversation and bonding time. Before you know it, you have a best friend in the garden who is teaching you a thing or two.