EDUCATION
5 Tips
From toddlers to teens, children of all ages can benefit from learning gardening skills. Hanna Prince looks at how to raise green-fingered kids
for inspiring young gardeners
1
Tool up: Nothing motivates a little gardener more than their own set of gardening tools. Start with a pair of gloves, trowel and a watering can – you can add a wheelbarrow if they seem superenthusiastic!
2
A patch to call their own: Gardening is creative as well as practical, and older kids will love designing their own area. You can use the opportunity to talk to them about planting design, layout and soil types - ultimately, though, this is just about giving their imaginations free reign.
HOW DOES
YOUR GARDEN
GROW?
Gardening with the kids
S
mall children are natural gardeners. They love being outside; squidging happily around in the soil, digging for worms, moving earth around and carefully planting seeds. When it comes to the activities that adult gardeners find boring – watering, weeding,
pruning - they also have remarkable patience. I’ve watched my two-year-old solemnly holding a hosepipe on the apple tree in the back garden, until its roots were sitting in a paddling poolsized puddle. What’s more, gardening is good for kids. According to the Royal Horticultural Society
(RHS), children perform better at school if they’re involved with gardening and are more likely to be interested in healthy eating if they get to grow their own produce. There are other benefits too. What better way to get a daily dose of vitamin D than by helping in the garden? Teaming up on a creative
3
Quick results: Kids love planting seeds, but younger ones can get miffed if they take a long time to develop. Opt for quick and easy to grow seeds, such as sunflowers, sweet peas, nasturtiums, marigolds and poppies.
4
From plot to plate: What could be more exciting than growing something delicious in your back garden? Children’s favourites such as strawberries, carrots, peas and apples are all relatively easy to grow and sure to taste better than their shop-bought cousins.
5
Find what they love: Some kids are happy to spend hours watering the garden – others get thrills from clipping back hedges or even (if they’re old enough) mowing the lawn. Letting them spend time doing what they love will help inspire a lifelong enthusiasm for gardening.
June 2021 | SUSSEX LIVING 81
