One of the greatest lessons we teach our children and grandchildren is how to nurture. Whether it be through pets or plants, when we teach our young ones to nurture another living thing, we provide them a structure for loving all throughout their lives. Here are five tips for planting a garden with your Grands this Spring!
5 Tips for Planting a Garden With Your Grands
If you don’t have space or inclination for a large garden, consider container gardening. Veggies, flowers, and herbs can be prolific in small spaces on patios. Grands can be a part of tending the plants and harvesting the same as with the large, traditional garden. Gardeners.com has great ideas and supplies! In preparation for gardening season, give a plant as a gift to your Grand. Start them in cups or egg cartons and help your Grands get ready for outdoor planting.
Research and cultivate plants that attract birds and butterflies. It will make your grand garden a double lesson in growing and caring for plants while at the same time enjoying attracting and identifying wildlife. Looking for help? There are several great books online to guide your discoveries.
Buy picture books with both plant species and birds/butterflies for your area. When grandchildren spot and identify a bird or butterfly mark the page with the date sighted. Over time the book will become a nice record of wildlife spotted in the garden.
Spend time working in the garden with your Grands. Teach them to weed, trim or tie plants to cages or trellises, and water. Every small task helps a young person learn to be a responsible adult.
Make sure the grandchildren participate in the harvest! Seeing the fruits of our labors is one of the great rewards in life. Teaching our Grands to work by letting them experience rewards is a great life lesson.
Our Family Garden
In the last two years my husband and I, along with one son and his family made a cross-country move and purchased some acreage. One of the projects which will begin this summer is a large garden. We all want to enjoy the benefits of fresh garden produce, of course. We also want to teach another generation to be responsible, grow and nurture living plants and animals, and tend to the needs of themselves and the land. The work to create a garden, and the tangible rewards from it, will help teach our Grands many lessons.
This summer will be the beginning of a gardening adventure in our family. Do you have gardening tips to share, especially when working with grandchildren?
Join the GPAZ community today for more activity ideas to enjoy with your Grands!
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