Little Green Thumbs: Tots in the Garden

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By Diana von Appen

If you like to garden, you already know about the joys associated with nurturing growth and beauty. It is natural to want to pass this appreciation on to your children. And you don't need much to do it just a little love, a little patience, a little dirt, and, of course, your little one. In fact, children as young as 18 months old can grasp the basics.

Here are some pointers on how to introduce the young preschooler to gardening and to a life-long respect for nature and the outdoors:

• Start small: a 1 ft. by 1 ft. square of the garden, a planter box on a balcony, or a pot on sunny windowsill will be more than sufficient.
• Choose a sure-fire plant already in bloom: annuals are best as they offer immediate rewards (very small children may lose interest in a perennial that may not bloom for weeks and then only for a short period of time). Choose the appropriate plant yourself and limit your child's decision making to colour. Make sure that the plant you choose has a good chance of surviving the season (or can be easily replaced!). Here are some possibilities:
  • For full sun: zonal geraniums, petunias, marigolds, salvia
  • For semi-shade: impatiens, browalia, begonias
  • For deeper shade: flowering annuals are hard to find, but try varigated ivies, or a small striped hosta or fern
• Provide the right tools: here's an opportunity to teach a little about ownership and responsibility. Provide your child with a toy watering can, and a light plastic hand spade and rake.
• Intervene just a little: it is important for a small child to have a successful first experience so, if the plant is near death's door, see what you can do to save it without taking over.
• Teach your child a little about the plant they are caring for: what it's called (yes, even the botanical Latin name, if you know it!), what colours it comes in, how long it lives, how tall it gets, etc. On walks, see if your child can spot 'their' plant growing elsewhere. Encourage your child to check out other plants they see and describe how they look, smell, feel.
• Start a garden scrapbook: paste in pictures of your child and her plant as they both grow throughout the season, include drawings or even a dried leaf, flower or seed.
• 'Close the garden' at the end of the season: just as the grown-ups do, it's time to tidy up the plot, turn the soil or put away the pots, and clean and store the tools for the winter.