Little Gardeners
Spring is here! And of course that means daffodils are everywhere, their jolly yellow heads nodding happily, reminding me that we could have planted some bulbs back in October. Well, never mind! I’ll buy a bunch of daffs for £1 in Aldi and we’ll plant something else instead.
Lots of plants are great for little gardeners, and many can be planted in spring. I’m no Mr Bloom, but here are a few that I’ve tried with my own tiddlers:
Something Big
Sunflower seeds are nice and sturdy for chubby little hands. You can plant them in a small pot now and keep them on your windowsill for a while. You’ll need to transfer them into the garden or a larger pot after a couple of weeks. Slugs and snails love to lunch on sunflower seedlings, so don’t worry if your kids want to plant loads of seeds – you’ll need to allow for some losses once you take them outside. Look out for the giant varieties that will give you the edge in the sunflower competition, and don’t forget to leave your sunflowers in the soil after they fade – the birds will love to snack on the seeds.
Something Pretty
If you plant a pinch of pot marigold seeds in March, you will be rewarded with a mass of flowers in
mid summer. These are super easy to grow, whether in pots or straight into the soil, and the petals can even be eaten in salads!
Something Tasty
Even the pickiest eaters can be persuaded to eat vegetables that they grew themselves. Herbs and
lettuce leaves can be grown on your windowsill, and radishes only take 4-8 weeks to grow from seed so the kids will have something to munch on pretty quickly.
Planting With Kids in Spring