 | Some plants just seem made for kids! Among the ornamentals, flowers, and, yes, even the vegetables, there are plants with such unusual habits and fun characteristics that kids have gotta love 'em.
If you are establishing a garden for kids to work in and enjoy, consider planting sunflowers. These huge beauties grow fast, then turn their large faces to the sun. When they are finished, they hang their heads while their delicious edible seeds mature. These seed heads can become snacks for people, or natural bird feeders. Watch and see if they are visited by red-winged blackbirds.
Another fun plant for kids is the pumpkin. By growing a pumpkin plant, kids can grow their own jack-o-lantern for Halloween. Pumpkin vines can be huge, and have huge leaves as well as huge fruit. Consider trying one of the giant pumpkin varieties, or the miniature types.
Gourds are an interesting pumpkin relative. Though inedible, the many sizes and shapes provide great craft material, and can be used to make decorations, birdhouses, and ladles. There are even varieties large enough to turn into toy boxes!
Lamb's ear is an ornamental plant that fascinates kids and is extremely easy to grow in a corner of the yard. It's velvety leaves truly resemble lamb's ears. It also sends up a flower stalk that can be dried for crafting.
The easy to grow mint family contains some members that feature interesting scents that kids are sure to love. Peppermint and catnip come to mind first, but don't fail to check out the lemony scented lemon balm.
Mints can also resemble other scents, such as chocolate and pineapple. The leaves can also be made into teas that when sweetened make a healthful alternative to soda.
Some flowers are very easy to grow and will delight a child. Marigolds (the Tagetes varieties, not the Calendula type) grow quickly and have a cheerful bloom, although the scent might seem stinky to some kids. You can explain to your kids that the bugs don't like that smell either, so they'll stay away from your garden. Zinnias also grow easily and can be found in a wide variety of colors, sizes, and blossom shapes. Snapdragons can often be found as bedding plants in the spring. These cute and colorful flowers can be squeezed gently across the opening to make the "mouth" of the "dragon" snap open.
A little corner of the flower garden can be devoted to flowers that attract butterflies. Dill draws the black swallowtails which produce the green, yellow, and black striped caterpillars that are usually found on this plant. Dill is an interesting plant in it's own right, with it's feathery leaves and pickle smell. Pretty orange butterfly weed can be grown from seed or bought at a native plant nursery. These perennials take a year or two to get started well enough to bloom. Lantana is another butterfly plant which is interesting because it's flat "landing pad" flower clusters usually feature blooms of several colors at once.
Plants with easy to pick edible fruits are always popular with kids, but watch out for thorny varieties. Blueberries, Nanking cherries that grow on a bush, and strawberries are all enjoyable to share with kids. Youngsters also enjoy mulberry trees, and so do the birds. The fruit aren't of much value for cooking, which leaves more for kids to pick and birds to eat.
In the vegetable garden, while many children don't care for radishes, they are fun to grow because they are ready so quickly. Look for the bright round globe types, or the multi-colored pink, white, and red combinations. Also, don't forget to plant cherry tomatoes with kids. They are good, nutritious, and fun to pick and eat straight from the plant.
Finally, when gardening with kids, remember that the summertime chore of watering the plants can turn into a great deal of sprinkler and hose spraying play. Be sure to dress accordingly and have fun!
|  |
|
