With spring finally upon us and even warmer weather just
around the bend, now is the time to start spending your afternoons and weekends
in the great outdoors, perhaps even cultivating a green thumb. But gardening
isn’t just for adults. Kids can join in on the “dirty” fun. —
No backyard? No worries! City children can dig right in and learn
a lot from planting and caring for flowers, herbs and vegetables in containers
that can be kept on the terrace, windowsill or even indoors. Toby Adams, Manager
of the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden at The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, maintains that
raising any sort of plant or flower can actually help children better
appreciate the food they find on their dinner plates.
“They get to be part of the planting and learn to take
responsibility for another living thing,” Adams says.
But the education doesn’t end there. “It also involves
learning about seasonalities—we can only grow some foods here in New
York, and some foods we only grow in the springtime
and others in the summer,” says Patricia Hulse, Youth & Family Programs Manager at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
“Watching a little seed become roots, stems and leaves and
then a flower that attracts butterflies and bees, with fruit developing, and to
know that you took part in that process—it’s a pretty powerful experience for a
child,” Adams continues.
To help guide the way to horticultural happiness at home,
Adams and Hulse share their tips for creating a container garden with kids:
Let your children
decide what to grow in their garden. “The fun part about being a gardener
is choosing what you want to grow,” Adams says. You can
even help your child choose a theme for the container garden. “You can do a
‘pizza garden,’” Adams suggests. “You can have a bush or
cherry tomato plant, a basil plant and some marigolds for color.”
Hulse recommends herbs, like rosemary and lavender, and
edible flowers, like nasturtiums. “Kids love being able to say, ‘This is a
flower I can eat!’” she comments.
Adams also recommends vegetable
crops, like loose-leaf lettuce, sugar snap peas, and basil.
Visit your local
plant exchange or hardware store for a solid container and the right tools.
Adams recommends a flowering pot with good drainage.
“Ceramic pots are nice because you can apply paint to them and they are
relatively waterproof,” he says. For a small container garden, kids won’t need
more than a watering can and their hands, Hulse notes.
As you plant, drop
seeds into the container at an angle. This will actually help the plant
grow upwards, Adams says.
After planting, Hulse recommends labeling each plant “to
help keep track of when that seed was planted and what it’s going to become.”
Take care of the
plants by watering, pulling out weeds and making sure your container garden
receives plenty of sunlight. Children especially love watering, Hulse says,
but make sure they are not over-watering—only water when the soil is dried out.
Little ones can also help with weeding. Parents should prune plants of bundles
of leaves and flowers growing too closely together. If you’re growing basil,
pinch off the seeds that form on the leaves and branches.
Great Programs For
Kids With Green Thumbs
Kids can get their hands (and knees!) dirty at one of these
great gardening programs:
New York Botanical Garden:
In addition to a schedule of family events and workshops (you might want to
take the kids to “Wake Up, Garden!” and “Wild, Wiggly Worms” in April and May),
the garden runs an ongoing children’s program for ages 3-12 years. Kids work in
pairs on their own plots to grow fresh produce in the Howell Family Garden.
For more information, visit nybg.org.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden:
The BBG’s Children’s Garden offers programs for “Trees & Saplings” (ages
2-3 years), “Seeds” (ages 4-6 years) and “City Farmers” (7-14 years), as well
as drop-in family workshops at their Discovery Garden. Plus, you may want to flip
through Gardening
With Children, the BBG’s guide to teaching kids about planting and
cultivating. For more information, visit bbg.org.
Queens Botanical Garden: For kiddos 5-12 years old, the HSBC Children’s Garden at Queens Botanical Garden has wonderful programing on spring Saturdays. In the mornings, children can plant
vegetables and flowers, harvest lettuce, spinach and radishes or visit
the bee garden. Plus, their next Children’s Garden Family Day is April 29. For more information, visit queensbotanical.org.
Public Gardens Worth A Visit
Did you know that New York City
has more than 600 gardens across its five boroughs? To find the one closest to
you, visit greenthumbnyc.org
and check out the handy map to locate your community garden. You’ll find great
information on membership, hours and the garden’s history.
Looking ahead, Earth Day is on Sunday, April 22. Be sure to
check our Family Calendar for local events and listings on how to celebrate the
green way with your brood!
