Your grandchildren may be the first generation for whom nature is more an abstraction than a reality! Shocking as it sounds, so many children today live restricted lives and many of the traditional places where we used to play are now lost to them.
As a lifelong educator, I have seen how early experiences profoundly affect each child’s growth as they develop self regulation, language, cognition and social competence. But the world at large is becoming more impersonal; sounds of nature come from TV screens rather than real experiences. There is no question that the use of television and the Internet in the home is having a dramatic impact on physical activity and our connection with the natural world. Any school age child will be able to tell you the names of their favorite television show or video game but very few would be able to name the flowers or trees that grow in their own backyards.
According to Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder:
The best antidote to negative electronic information immersion will be an increase in the amount of natural information we receive. The more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.
So this is where grandparents come in!
An important role we can play is to encourage opportunities to explore and nurture the natural world together with our grandchild. We have an obligation to help create a future generation of children who love this planet and we can do that by getting our hands in the dirt! A garden is often one of the first elements to be introduced when considering a connection with nature. Whether you have a large backyard or a container on your apartment balcony, plant away!
Young children are most interested in plants that capture their attention through sensory elements—those with interesting or unusual characteristics, and those with funny or unusual names. Use plants of various sizes and those they can smell, hear, touch and taste. Involve your grandchildren right from the beginning, for example, they can draw where things will go, measure, graph out their project and go with you to the garden center to pick out their plants. You will want to choose some plants that grow quickly since young children are anxious to see the results of their efforts. Fast growing seeds such as radish, carrots, chard, arugula etc. are good picks but plants that have already germinated provide a head start. Here are some ideas for gardens that you and your grandchild might like to create together.
Gardening Ideas For Grandparents and Grandchildren
Plant A Little Garden: Get a head start on spring planting. There are many types of small seedling trays that allow for the start-up of seeds. Some quick to grow seeds are Marigold, Candytuft, Cornflower, Nasturtium (leaves and seedpods can be eaten) and Mallow. Most of these germinate in 1-3 weeks then plant away.
Pizza Garden: Choose herbs and plants that will be a welcome addition to a homemade pizza. You could make the garden in a circle shape just like a pizza. Divide into sections and add plum tomatoes, peppers, onions, parsley, oregano, garlic, sweet basil etc.
Salad Garden: Plant everything you need for a salad – radishes, beets, edible carrot leaf, lettuce (there are lots of varieties), cucumber, cherry tomatoes, scallions, and spinach!
Smelly Garden: Plant fragrant Roses, Lavender, Lemon Thyme, Sage, Lemon Balm, Geraniums, Sweet Alyssum, Lemon Verbena, Viburnum, Peonies, Phlox, Lilies, Marigolds, Sweet Woodruff, Basil, and Rosemary.
Name Garden: Look through seed catalogues, gardening magazines and visit a local nursery to find plants that have your grandchildren’s names and plant them in a special name garden – Jack-In-The Pulpit, Johnny Jump Up, Sweet William, Rowan, Joe-Pye Weed, Basil, Sage, Heather, Hyacinth, Iris, Lily, Rose, Violet etc.
Mystery Garden: Take a variety of seeds and mix them together. Plant and wait for the results.
Popcorn Garden: Fill a pie plate with potting soil and plant the kernels.
Sunflower Garden: Organize a picnic lunch to be eaten under giant sunflowers. Encourage the children to imagine what it would be like to be a little person. Think Gulliver’s Travels!
Plant A Fairy Garden: There are several wonderful books about Fairies. You might read these stories to your grandchildren and then plan and plant a fairy garden. A good read is Fairy Houses Everywhere! by Tracy Kane and add some homes for your fairies.
Butterfly Gardens: Butterflies love to visit certain plants and some favourites are Butterfly Bush, Marigolds, Zinnias, Asters, Borage, Nasturtium, Milkweed, Sedum, Cosmos, Black-Eyed Susan, Bee Balm, Phlox, Snapdragons, etc. Binoculars will help you get a close up look.