Lily of the Valley Remind Me of my Grandmother
Gardening and kids seem to go hand in hand. Many avid gardeners have fond memories of gardening side by side with a parent or grandparent. I got my first transplants, some Lily of the Valley pips, from my grandmother’s garden. To this day, they are still one of my favorite flowers.
New friend, fellow garden blogger and brand new grandmother Joene Hendry of Joene’s Garden is doing what many of us do – dreaming about the memories she’ll make with her child, or in this case grandchild, as she shares her passion for gardening with the next generation. Getting and keeping children of any age interested in gardening is easier than you might think.
A garden designed to cultivate your child’s sense of imagination and play will be a learning experience on many levels. Children will learn the basics of gardening – the importance of site selection, plant choice, regular watering and feeding and the joy of watching the plants they’ve pampered for weeks finally reward them with colorful flowers or foliage. Children can also be encouraged to make their own plant ID tags and keep a gardening journal.
Kids who garden not only learn about the rhythms of nature, they also learn valuable science, language and math skills, without even realizing it. Important life skills such as patience, responsibility and dealing with the inevitable successes and failures of gardening are all worthwhile lessons learned while tending a garden.
But any old garden is not going to be enough to hold your child’s interest for months at a time. You need a garden designed specifically to spark your child’s sense of imagination and exploration on a daily basis. You want a garden that will foster a healthy dose of daydreaming and creativity during each visit. A garden that is not only custom-designed to match your child’s individual interests because it will be chock full of his favorite ‘friends’ but one that is also a beautiful and welcome addition to your landscape.
A storybook garden is just the ticket to months of fun for both you and your child. Not only will you have a fun, shared activity where you won’t have to compete with the TV or video games for your child’s attention, if you plan it right you’ll also have the ideal spot to lie on a blanket or sit in a hammock and read a book with your child.
A storybook garden is actually pretty simple to plant and to customize to your child’s unique interests. There are scores of readily available plants whose common names are the same as many of your child’s favorite literary characters. As a special welcome to Joene’s granddaughter Avery, I’ll start out with a garden full of Disney characters that many of the youngest gardeners will simply love. Click on each plant name’s common name for more information:
- Donald Duck (Tulipa ‘Donald Duck’)
- Eeyore (Begonia rex-cultorum ‘Eeyore’) – scroll down the page for Eeyore
- Lion King (Iris ensata ‘Lion King’)
- Minnie Mouse (Cuphea ‘Minnie Mouse’)
- Peter Pan (Solidago ‘Peter Pan’)
- Piglet (Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Piglet’)
- Pooh (Dahlia ‘Pooh’)
- Tinkerbell (Syringa meyerii x microphylla ‘Tinkerbell’)
Check back again soon for information about other storybook gardens filled with plants from classic literature, Disney princesses and fairy tales and myths. In the meantime, I’d love to hear about your earliest gardening memories and special ways you have to get your children, or grandchildren, involved in gardening.
Oh, and of course, have fun reading a good book and building memories with your little gardener.
I love this idea and have a cool plant suggestion … Allium “Hair” – see my post at http://www.joenesgarden.com/. Though not a Disney named plant, it could really get a kid’s imagination going. Think of the stories you might get if you asked a youngster to construct a tale using “Hair” as the main character! I’ll have to keep this in mind for when Avery is older.
Joene,
I agree. ‘Hair’ would be a wonderfully imaginative plant for a child’s garden. It would probably be at home in a Dr. Seuss garden with other wild looking plants like some of the weeping conifers.
I too have memories of my grandmother’s lily of the valley and all the flowers she had in her garden. For my friends with small children who are fascinated by everything in my garden I always try and have them plant some seeds in a pot to take home with them. Lettuce is a favorite because it grows fairly rapidly (and we all know how quickly most kids will lose interest without results) and it is actually pretty useful for their parents. I’ve noticed that almost every kid is excited by growing their own food!
Heather,
You’re right, kids do love growing their own food. I think growing veggies is an ideal way to get kids to eat them. That concept even works on me as an adult!
When I work with clients on starting an edible garden I typically give them starter plants and seeds so the kids don’t lose interest in the process. As the starter plants are beginning to flower or fruit, the seeds are just poking through the ground.
[...] you have a child who loves Walt Disney characters, click here to see a post about a Disney-themed storybook garden. And don’t forget to stop by again [...]