Gardening is one of the most enjoyable and relaxing activities we can do. Although this activity is seen as one for older people only, even children can enjoy gardening if we find the right way to interest and involve them. Fortunately, there are many fun ways to make gardening a common and beloved family hobby. Here are nine of them!
A garden does not have to be a square area where you plant different items, it can be in any shape you want, even a pizza! In order for your children to take an active part in gardening, dedicate a special corner in the yard that will be theirs only and plant a colorful "pizza". To do this, use a tub and drill holes in the bottom. Divide the inside into the “slices” using plastic or wood dividers, or any hard and flat items you have. Pour the soil into the gaps, and get to planting. This method will make your child fall in love with gardening!
To bring some nature and color into the garden, and for your children to want to take part in gardening activities, try the next activity. Fill a planter with soil, and plant cacti, succulents and other resistant plants, and place dolls and figures that your children love, such as cowboys, dinosaurs, and even astronauts. Imagination is the key word here, and with it, your children will be able to create their own small and flowering world with their own characters and plants.
Children have a developed imagination, there’s no doubt about it, and their imaginary thoughts can be combined with reality by creating a unique fairy circle where they can sit, away from everyone and play with their siblings, friends or just by themselves.
To make this circle, choose an empty corner in the garden and place a wooden pole at its center. Attach a strong, sharp stick to the rod with a strong wire and let your child make a circle on the ground with the rod as shown in step 1. Then give your child a small shovel and ask them to dig up the line so plants can be placed in it (creating the circle).
Plant different plants and flowers around the circle and decorate the area with lanterns or chairs. This makes for the perfect little corner in which they can let their imaginations run wild.
Almost every garden has harmful insects that destroy quite a few plants and seedlings, so it is important to treat them. To do this, you do not have to purchase chemical pesticides, you can also prepare a small house for beneficial insects whose role is to eat those that damage your garden. Such insects, like ladybugs, for example, often look for a place to hide out from the winter cold and rain, and you can make one for them easily.
Just grab a wooden birdhouse and let your children paint in in red (the most attractive of colors). Fill the house with hollow bamboo rods, and there you have it, a house for insects and natural pesticides. If you wish, you can glue moss on the roof of this unique house so that the little insects will feel at home.
There is a global trend in urban cities where people throw seed 'bombs' in places surrounded by concrete buildings, to bring some nature into the grayness. You can take part in this trend right in your backyard by preparing seed bombs with your children. How can you make these seed bombs? Easily!
Mix 3 handfuls of dry clay (available in craft, home and garden stores) with 5 handfuls of compost and 1 handful of seeds of the plants you want to plant. Mix the ingredients together while adding water until you get a firm, uniform, sticky mixture. Make small balls of the mixture and let them dry on a tray next to a window.
After drying, plant your small bombs at the required intervals according to the type of seeds they contain, mark the area with the name of the plant, and watch with your children how small seed bombs become, in time, a dense corner of plants and color that’s a marvel see.
Whether you have a stock of old newspapers or colorful comic books, this is a great opportunity to teach your children how to recycle and cultivate a garden with their help. Using the newspapers and comic pages you can make beautiful planters where they can grow small seedlings before moving them into the garden, and you will not need more than a few minutes to do so.
First of all, gather the papers that you want to make planters from and fold them in half - lengthwise. Then, roll the paper along a tin can making sure to leave paper hanging at the bottom. Fold the extra paper at the end over the bottom of the tin can, as shown in step 2. Then, take the tin out and fold the top edge of the makeshift planter as in step 3.
Fill the planters with soil, plant the seeds in them, place them on a tray with a border or a wide box, and water as needed. After a few days or weeks, you will have lovely little plants that can finally be moved to the garden. Don’t forget to include your children in the moving process and in taking care of their new wonderful green corner that all started with newspapers.
A terrarium is a transparent, semi-open or closed vessel in which plants in need of unique conditions to grow best, such as ferns, petunias, mini-succulents, African violets and more, are placed. With simple glassware and colorful sand, you can create a beautiful colorful terrarium with your children with minimal investment and maximum results.
First, you have to choose the area of the house where you’d like to place the Terrarium and prepare and purchase plants that fit those conditions (light, moisture, etc.). It is recommended to take your children to the nursery so that they can be introduced to all the lovely plants and also learn about the plants that they’ll soon grow. Once you have everything ready, fill your glass vessel with layers of colored sand that can be purchased at craft stores and place the plants you chose into this small colorful landscape.
We all have plastic or glass bottles that are just laying around the house, so now instead of them just gathering dust, you can recycle them into beautiful garden markers. Gather a few bottles with your children and paint them in your favorite colors suitable for plastic or glass depending on the bottle you’re using. Once the paint has dried, write the names of the plants in your garden and put them in the ground so that you’ll always know where each plant is!
