Children's garden

[phoenix78]

Hi, new to this board. 3rd year gardening a small urban backyard plot. While I consider all our garden a "children's garden" I want to add some specific kid-friendly elements this year. So far, have planted a butterfly garden and just bought supplies to create a bean-covered tee pee for a fort for my 4 yr dd. Tips for teepee? Other simple ideas for meto create with dd? Thanks

[salt_phoenix]

I'm doing a children's garden too. Along with the bean teepee, I've got strawberries planted along the length, a cherry tomato and a ground cherry. I wanted kid favorites that would be suitable for them to pick and eat directly off the plant while playing in the area.

[SandyMom]

We did a really cool spiral shaped garden one year that the kids loved - it was a bit of work to set up - but worth it.
Other things we've done:
Tea Garden - chamomile, mints, etc. that my girls loved to pick and "brew".
Wildflowers - a small plot of flowers that they could pick freely in. (This was really helpful when there were other areas I didn't want them picking freely in!)
We did a reflexology foot path one year - different sizes of stones curving through the garden that we'd walk barefoot on to stimulate foot reflexes. Kids loved it!
Specific plants that my kids love(d)
Snap Peas (I always grow LOTS b/c they love to graze!)
Beans
Chamomile (they love the smell!)
Mints (ditto)
Catnip (obvious!)
Borage (the star shaped blue flowers are gorgeous and can be frozen into ice cubes - very fancy - or tossed into salads. And the leaves are edible - taste like cucumbers.)
Cherry tomatoes
Calendula
Strawberries
gourds
pumpkins
melons
squashes (we've had lots of zuchini "baby dolls")
nasturtiums. The leaves collect dew puddles, the fowers are gorgeous in salads and the seeds are big and easy for kids to collect. We dry them - they look like wood - and string them into bracelets.)
cucumbers (get eaten right out in the field - even by those who won't touch them at the table)
lambs ear (soft!!!!)
Mullein (grows long gorgeous spikes.
Holly hocks (you can make holly hock dolls)
I know I'll think of more - but that's a good start.

[phoenix78]

Thanks

Appreciate the ideas, esp for specific plants! :

[canadiyank]

Originally Posted by SandyMom

Borage (the star shaped blue flowers are gorgeous and can be frozen into ice cubes - very fancy - or tossed into salads. And the leaves are edible - taste like cucumbers.)

Kind of off-topic, but do you just eat the fuzzy leaves plain, cut up, what? I grow it in my butterfly garden but have never tried to eat it. TIA!

My kids like peas and hunting for ripe tomatoes a lot. Sunflowers are also popular. My friend made a "sunflower house" one year but planting them in a square. Neat idea!

[bstandlee]

Our local university extension garden has a children's garden. They do a gourd teepee. I noticed they looped soaker hose all the way around the base for watering and their supports are really long and strong. I was hoping to use bamboo stakes but don't know if the ones I have are long enough. I really wanted to do one this year...maybe next year! They also have pots with faces painted on them and thyme growing in it for "hair". I think chives would make great hair too! I've seen "pizza" gardens with cherry tomatoes, basil, oregano or rosemary.

[canadiyank]

Oh, what a cute idea about the "hair." I'm kind of addicted to thyme...I have a bunch of types.

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

Originally Posted by canadiyank

Kind of off-topic, but do you just eat the fuzzy leaves plain, cut up, what? I grow it in my butterfly garden but have never tried to eat it. TIA!

I find the leaves kind of prickly to eat plain. I like to juline them, cut them in narrow strips. They are also nice finely chopped as a garnish on top of cold soup like gazpacho or mixed into potato or pasta salad.

[canadiyank]

Thanks!

[phoenix78]

Double thanks - great ideas, now I just need time! I'm doing scarlet runner beans for the tee pee and got these pretty heavy duty 8ft stakes at home depot. Was afraid bamboo might not last through a Buffalo storm, we have crazy weather patterns here. I love the idea of the thyme heads!:

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by salt_phoenix

I'm doing a children's garden too. Along with the bean teepee, I've got strawberries planted along the length, a cherry tomato and a ground cherry. I wanted kid favorites that would be suitable for them to pick and eat directly off the plant while playing in the area.

That's us - the front yard has the "boring" stuff, the back yard has all the kid tasty edibles and instant snack foods.

Originally Posted by SandyMom

We did a really cool spiral shaped garden one year that the kids loved - it was a bit of work to set up - but worth it.

Oh wow, I love that idea. Off to look at my front yard with new eyes!! (Thinkin' spiral out from the cherry tree...)

On a related not, there's a small part of our front yard that is quite shady - anything edible that would be good to grow there?

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

In our garden, it's important to have a place where kids are free to dig. A sandbox works but a plot of soil that is there own is even better.

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by Rhiannon Feimorgan

In our garden, it's important to have a place where kids are free to dig. A sandbox works but a plot of soil that is there own is even better.

Soooo.... how did you get them to a place where all the garden isn't free to dig in ?

[canadiyank]

Originally Posted by mamafish9

Soooo.... how did you get them to a place where all the garden isn't free to dig in ?

With my kids they have a designated dirt pile they can dig in, make into mud pies, etc. so I just redirected them there. They understand about not disturbing plants/seeds.

[columbusmomma]

I'm having my kids and their friends paint my flower pots. I think the bright colors and their creativity will make our gardens look great!

[Owen'nZoe]

I love all of the children's garden ideas, but they haven't been a huge hit with my boys (we've done a pizza garden and a sunflower house). I remember having my own garden when I was a kid, and my dad let us pick whatever we wanted to put in it. We LOVED it! So, I think I'm going to go that route this year - no fun theme, just take the kids to the nursery center, and let them pick out the plants they like for their garden.

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

Originally Posted by mamafish9

Soooo.... how did you get them to a place where all the garden isn't free to dig in ?

Well we're still not completely there yet! However, when there is a designated digging spot, I can redirect them there if they start digging in my newly planted lettuce bed.

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by Rhiannon Feimorgan

Well we're still not completely there yet! However, when there is a designated digging spot, I can redirect them there if they start digging in my newly planted lettuce bed.

Yeah.... we're definitely not there yet, LOL. My two year old (who is autistic and limited in his receptive/understood words as of yet), thinks it's very fun to step on plants (he likes to watch them bounce back up - which oddly enough, they stop doing eventually ), and try to climb tomato cages. I think I need tougher tomato cages .

This is why I like the ground cherries. I figure anything that looks like a tomato will be a serious DS-attractor, and any "almost invasive" plant might handle my mini-Godzilla a little better than my actual tomatoes .

[phoenix78]

Yeah Mamas! Keep the ideas coming! I've only been avg about a half hour in garden a day but dd is SO excited about her garden and has become most enthusiastic about her "job" in taking stuff to compost bin of all things!

[Mizelenius]

Does anyone have photos of what they've done? Amazing ideas!