by Kelly Marshall, Markham Board Member and Garden Designer
If you have young kids at home and haven't introduced them to gardening, I challenge you to make this the year that you introduce your kids to the wonderful world around them outside-and I don't mean on the play structure. Not only might you make some wonderful memories together, you may instill a love of gardening in them that lasts a lifetime.
As I write this, I'm reminded of my Mom and her garden. It was gorgeous-possibly the pride of the neighborhood. And, she's a great Mom, the best really, but we didn't get in much gardening time together that I remember. We had a vegetable garden, but grew mostly things I don't like, so I wasn't too interested in helping with that. Basically, our 'garden time' together meant her paying me a penny for every dandelion I dug up in the lawn. Yes, it obviously created a memory since I remember it 35 years later. But I'm not sure it's a wonderful memory.
What if you spent time in the garden with your kids, armed with shovels and gardening gloves in unison, cultivating the land, checking on the progress of your efforts each weekend, and celebrating the rewards as a family? There are all kinds of options for creating a garden that interests your kids and helps them look at the outside world in a different way.
Edibles
An easy and obvious choice, even for the most garden or time-challenged parents out there is an edible garden. Yes, we can all do tomatoes. But how about bumping it up a notch and doing a 'pizza garden' with basil, parsley, peppers, oregano, and onions? You can even grow it in the shape of a pizza, by sectioning off each part of the 'pie' for your plants.
Pumpkins are another fun choice, if you've got the space. There is something very gratifying for kids to grow their own Halloween pumpkins, rather than picking them out of a cardboard box at the store.
In our garden, we have an ever expanding berry garden because that's what my kids love more than anything. I must admit though, that when we 'harvest' them, they rarely make it to the kitchen because they are so tasty. Low chill varieties of blueberries (Vaccinum species) that do well in our milder winters include 'Misty' and 'Sunshine Blue.' And, they make beautiful shrubs with gorgeous red foliage in fall and winter. Last summer we added in thornless raspberry vines and rumor around here is that blackberry vines will be added this Spring.
Sensory Plants
Planting a garden to stimulate a child's senses is interesting and fun. Some plants have interesting textures, such as Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina), Artemisia (the 'Powis Castle' cultivar, and our native A. californica 'Montara' are good choices, but don't eat them because some sources list them as poisonous), Coneflower (Echinacea), Black-Eyed Susan (Rudebeckia), or any of a number of non-prickly succulents with plump, fleshy leaves, like Sedum 'Jellybean' or new this year, Sedum 'Crazy Ruffles.'
Plants that have enticing smells are also worth growing, so consider adding Chocolate Scented Daisy (Berlandiera lyrata), Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla), Grape Sage (Salvia melissadora), and Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) to your garden. Many of the mint plants not only smell great, but offer the added benefit of having leaves that can be the perfect accompaniment to a kid's tea party. Try Peppermint (Mentha piperita), Apple Mint (Mentha suaveolens), or Spearmint (Mentha piperita citrata). In some dessert recipes, kids can use Chocolate Mint (Mentha piperita cv Chocolate) or Banana Mint (Mentha arvensis) leaves for fun. Just make sure to grow any mint in a pot, since they can rapidly spread out of control in the ground.
Next time: Oddball plants that kids love and plants that create an experience in the garden.
