Hands up if you find it difficult to keep the kids (and yourself) interested in gardening during the winter months? Don’t worry, you are certainly not alone. It is often cold, wet and windy during this time of year and who wants to spend time in the garden with the kids when the conditions are like this? It can be difficult to find activities to keep kids engaged and entertained when they are stuck inside and the weather is dismal so I have come up with five indoor gardening ideas to help beat boredom and keep your children interested in gardening this winter. Continue reading →
Here is part two in our series on designing the perfect kids garden written by professional garden designer Helen Spry from Ezyplant. Helen is a mother of two very active boys and has been a domestic garden designer for 10 years. In this post Helen looks at equipment that can be added to a kids garden to encourage imagination, play, relaxation and exercise. To see part one where Helen discusses matters relating to productive gardens, turf and paths for kids click here. Trampolines provide hours of fun and physical activity and are available in a range of sizes. Apart from the physical benefits they can also be used for reading and doing homework. A quiet outdoor classroom provides a wonderful space for learning and can be helpful for remembering spelling words or math sums. Jumping on a trampoline or bouncing a ball while saying the word/sum out loud can make all the difference in retaining information for some children. Give it a try! Sandpits provide a creative space and will guarantee hours of play. The bigger the better especially if you are catering for more than one child. Essentially a 3m X 3m size pit will allow 2 children to play happily. If your garden allows, consider a huge pile of dirt for hours of fun digging, making mud pies and creating cities with roads and houses. Continue reading →
Today’s first guest post, in a two-part series, is by domestic garden designer Helen Spry. A mother of two very active boys, Helen has been a domestic garden designer for 10 years. She operates a garden design consultancy business, Eco Garden Design Pty. Ltd., and an online garden planning website. Greatly influenced by her great-grandfather and grandfather, who were both garden designers in their time, she has had the advantage of a lifetime of learning. Her passion and immense interest in domestic design led her to establish Ezyplant.com.au, a D.I.Y. garden planning website for the home gardener.
As parents we can struggle to balance our lives with the added pressure to keep a healthy balance in our children’s lives. With technology so accessible, it can be an easy option at the end of a long day to give in to their requests.
Imagine coming home and having your children racing to get into the garden! Here’s some important design elements you can incorporate into your garden to entice your children away from technology. Continue reading →
Wednesday, June 5th is World Environment Day (WED) and this year the theme is Think.Eat.Save. There is no doubt that global food production is placing an enormous strain on our natural resources however WED is the perfect opportunity to talk to your kids about food miles, food wastage and reducing their ecological footprint whilst celebrating our wonderful world. Here are ten activities you can do with your kids to celebrate World Environment Day and help reduce their footprint: Continue reading →
Just in case you haven’t worked it out by now, I love gardening with kids. Last week I asked our followers on Facebook “If you could use one word to describe what it is like to garden with little ones what would it be?”. The answers were wide and varied but overwhelmingly most people used positive words to describe gardening with kids. The most common response was ‘inspiring’ which in itself is inspiring to read. It is wonderful to read that so many people can understand the benefits of gardening with children. Other words used included: Continue reading →
Autumn leaves are not only beautiful and fun for kids, investigating and playing with them help develop skills in areas such as science, maths, communication, art and even music. Little Miss B and I spent this morning out in the garden collecting, playing, sorting, talking and creating with a pile of leaves we gathered. Here are five fun and educational activities you can do with your kids in the garden with autumn leaves this season. Continue reading →
Mackenzie shares with us her tips on worm farming for kids.Mackenzie Kupfer has been a lover of all things green since the age of six when she began gardening with her Nana. She is currently an online publisher for the provider of flower gardening supplies, Avant Garden Decor. In her free time, Mackenzie enjoys attending garden shows, hiking, and collecting ceramic tea sets.
Some gardeners take their craft so seriously that they forget the beauty of allowing children to help in the garden. If you are too uptight about your garden, it can create an unpleasant experience for both you and your kids. The trick is to make gardening an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. For kids to enjoy gardening, you need to work to make it fun for them and what is more fun than getting dirty?
Aside from helping you dig holes, the best way to let your kids get dirty is to involve worms. Kids love to play with worms and worms are great for your garden so it’s a win win! You can send your kids on a worm finding expedition and have them count the worms that you dig up while gardening. If you want to take it a step further, you can start a worm farm with your kids. Worm farms are great because you can turn your table scraps and yard debris into nutrient rich compost for your garden and a nice home for worms. It is also something that can be done year round. Continue reading →
This weed killer is eco and kid friendly.
Are you after a cheap, eco-friendly, kid-friendly weed killer that uses common ingredients from your kitchen AND works fast? If so, read on…
I hate weeding, I really do. I wish I could wave a magic wand and all the weeds in our garden would disappear. In the past I’ve resorted to buying commercial weed killer but it never sat comfortably with me and now I have kids I don’t want them to be around it. A few years ago I bought an eco-friendly weed killer from a garden show. I got home and realised it was basically a mixture of salt and vinegar. I paid around $6 for 500ml and as I had quite a few weeds to fight, I decided I could definitely make it myself cheaper. I mentioned this to an old gardening friend and they informed me I could indeed and all I would need to add to the concoction was a dash of dishwashing liquid to help break down the waxy coating found on many weeds. Simple! Continue reading →
Slaters are intriguing for children.
Call them what you will, but slaters (also know as woodlice, pill bugs, roly-polys or butchy boys) are fascinating for kids. They are found in gardens all over the world and kids love holding them and watching them roll into little balls. They are often collected as pets and are great to investigate when learning about minibeasts. Here are some facts you may not know about these intriguing little critters you can share with the kids: Continue reading →
Potatoes are a versatile vegie enjoyed all around the world.
Sunday, 17th March, is St Patrick’s Day and which vegie is most associated with the Irish? Why the humble potato of course! Potatoes are a much loved vegie not only by the Irish but by kids as well so here are ten facts about the humble spud to share:
Potatoes are cheap, easy to grow and require very little fertiliser making them an environmentally friendly crop and perfect for kids to grow in the garden.
Potatoes were the first food to ever be grown in space. They were taken on board Space Shuttle Columbia in 1995. Continue reading →
