Gardening is a great hobby. It keeps you active, connects you to nature and is so good for your mental health.
Many gardeners become interested in it when someone older in their life shows them how to do it. In this age of screentime and social isolation, it’s important to get kids outside doing an activity you can both enjoy. Whoever the children are in your life, chances are they’ll love digging in if you show them how.
Young kids will relish the time spent doing an activity together and getting grubby in the soil. Older kids will love the responsibility and the element of planning and preparation that goes into a garden.
Here are some surefire picks to get kids engaged in gardening and give them a healthy hobby for life.
Sunflowers
There are few things as rewarding as growing a flower from seed, and for kids bigger is often better. While there’s a wide range of easy to grow annual seeds that will bring some real colour to the garden, it’s hard to top a sunflower.
They have big, easy to handle seeds that are ideal for little fingers, and you get enormous golden yellow flower heads. They’re great fun to grow with impressively quick results – ideal for children and as an annual you’ll get flowers the same year you plant them. Sow direct in spring in full sun.
Traditional varieties can grow 1.5-2 metres tall, so they do need a fair bit of space, but dwarf varieties are now available that grow only 50-60 centimetres high and need a lot less space. There are also different cultivars that come in different shapes and colours, too.
Snow peas
Snow peas are a snap to grow, and the snack-sized pods are hard to resist – even for the fussiest eater. Pulling ripe pods straight off the vine and popping them into their mouths for the sweet, crunchy flavour is a gardening moment they’ll remember for life.
Snow peas are an annual vine best grown from seed. Sow direct from autumn to spring in cool climates, or winter in warmer climates. Plant seeds two knuckles deep and 15cm apart and water in. Don’t water again until seedlings emerge; seed and plants can suffer fungal problems if too wet.
Cherry tomatoes
There are few greater pleasures in life than growing your own tomatoes. It’s also a great way for kids to learn that food doesn’t grow on supermarket shelves.
But the tomato can be a high-maintenance plant, particularly for a child-sized attention span. Fortunately, cherry tomatoes are a far easier crop, with no need to worry about fussy pruning and staking. Cherry tomatoes are also typically more vigorous and disease resistant, meaning the plant will be more forgiving if it’s getting some inconsistent care.
Adding to that they come in a variety of fun shapes and colours, all perfectly sized for little hands, and you’ve got a sure-thing snack-sized winner.
Mint
A classic struggle with children in the garden is watering. But not too little – far too much! Once kids learn they’re in charge of the watering can and making sure the plants get enough to grow, it can rapidly become too much of a good thing.
Enter mint. Many plants struggle and ultimately perish from overwatering, but mint can’t get enough. It loves soggy conditions, and it’s such a vigorous grower the kids will be able to pick and eat the fragrant leaves to their hearts content. Just make sure you pop it in a pot or an enclosed garden bed, as this plant can quickly get away from you and start trying to take over the rest of the garden
Succulents
Step into a toy store and you’ll notice kids love things that are cute, colourful and collectable. In the plant world there’s no group of plants more collectable than succulents. They come in just about every colour under the sun and truly awesome and alien-looking patterns and shapes. There’s a reason they’re known as the gateway to plant collecting.
Drought tolerant and tough as old boots, succulents like aloes, sedums and sempervivums are a lot of fun for budding gardeners to collect and cultivate. They’re widely available, cheap to buy and best of all easy to propagate. This means children can learn how to make even more, and give them out to friends and family, or even sell them and start their own retail nursery!
Do you remember helping your grandparents out in the garden? Why not share your memories in the comments section below?
Also read: Seed sowing for beginners
