Four
FANTASTIC
GARDENING MINI-
PROJECTS TO DO WITH
YOUR KIDS
By Jan Pierce, M.Ed.
A
s winter melts away into spring, keep your eyes
open for those early spring blooms—crocus,
daffodil, and hyacinth. They’ll signal that it’s time
to get out and dig in the soil.
To children, gardening is a bit like magic. One simply
puts seeds, those little packages of mystery, into soil and
after waiting for a loooong time, as much as two weeks;
little plants peek up into the world.
You can capture some of that mystery and magic with
these four mini-gardening projects:
Sunflower Houses
Sunflowers are magnificent things to plant because
they have a short germination time, as little as seven
days, and they grow spectacularly tall. Children will love
planting their sunflower home and then watching it
16 | S T. J O H N S parent M A G A Z I N E
grow inch by inch over the coming months. You could
even do a little mapping and graphing as the home is
planned. And then, when the magic is done, the kids
can play in the house all day and sleep out in their
sleeping bags at night.
www.greeneducationfoundation.org | How to Build a
Sunflower House
Gourds on a Fence
Planting a row of gourds along a fenceline is a great
way to enjoy the growth of these beautiful and varied
plants. Kids love their beautiful colors and shapes.
Gourds need to grow and mature until all the greenery
has dried up. Then, when the gourds are thoroughly
dry, you can use them for decoration, for rhythm
instruments, or for homegrown birdhouses by hollowing
them out.
www.foothillsfarm.com | Ginny’s Gourds
Pumpkins to Jack-o-Lanterns
Pumpkin seeds are easy to plant in mounds of soil with
seeds spaced four to five inches apart. They’ll grow all
summer long and bloom with their trademark orange
blossoms. Then, in the fall, they turn from green globes
to nice, fat, orange pumpkins. Use them for cooking pies
and tarts, but be sure to set aside several to hollow out
and carve into Halloween jack-o-lanterns.
www.allaboutpumpkins.com