Young children make for natural gardeners, enjoying hands-on activities, being outside in nature, and they don't mind getting a little muddy in the process.
Gardening with children from a young age has numerous advantages. For starters, it provides a fun family hobby that keeps everyone busy and allows you to spend more time outside. Gardening is also a fun method to teach kids about nature, where food comes from, and why it's important to take care of our earth.
Gardening Tools
Before you can begin gardening with your child, you must first make sure they have all the right equipment. “Grown-up” tools are too large and heavy, with many being unsafe for them to use. It will be much more exciting and special if they have their own gardening set, especially as young children enjoy imitating their parents, so when you get your tools out of the shed, they will be able to get theirs as well! You can get everything from a mini watering can and wheelbarrow to a small spade and gloves.
Things to Do
Keep your child's age in mind when introducing them to gardening. Children are impatient and expect quick results, so buying them plants with a fast, visible growth rate like sunflowers, sweet peas, cosmos, and wildflowers will keep them enthusiastic and these are also much easier for young children to handle. You can purchase a wide range of seeds and seedlings at Longstock Park Nursery.
Gardening with nature in mind is an excellent way to introduce children to the concept of wildlife conservation. You can have lots of fun creating habitats for your local wildlife, for example building a mini log pile to provide shelter or putting out a bird feeder and watching which animals come to visit. Bug hunts are a great way to capture children’s attention while also teaching them about how creatures interact with the soil and plants.
Not all your outside time needs to be dedicated to gardening either. Spending time outdoors is a great way to encourage children to interact with the natural world. It can be as simple as eating lunch in the garden, taking toys outside on a sunny day or getting busy with the watering can.
Longstock Park Water Garden
Our famous water garden has been named one of the best water gardens in the world while maintaining the feel of a private garden. Covering around six acres, the water garden is home to 100 different trees, a variety of 40 different water lilies and numerous aquatic and marginal plants for you to enjoy.
With free parking on-site and tickets available to purchase now, visiting our water garden is not only a lovely family day out exploring but also a great way to introduce and discuss several topics with your children around gardening and the benefits it has for them and their home.
Once you’ve finished taking in all that the water garden has to offer, take a break in our stunning Longstock Park Nursery which is surrounded by 80 metres of herbaceous borders, and relax at the Longstock Park Farm Shop and Café full of fresh, locally grown produce. For more information about the water garden please see here.
