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  • From: Melanie <melaniev@optonline.net>
  • To: gardenwriters-on-gardening <gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [gwl-g] Children's Gardens
  • Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 09:45:17 -0400

Miranda's post is excellent, filled with lots of great ideas.

At the last flower show we had a bean teepee on the plans but it evolved.
The smooth floor of the arena floor made it virtually impossible to put down
the supports. Instead of bamboo I used 10' copper plumbing pipes. They are
quite reasonably priced, less than $5 a piece and much sturdier than bamboo.

To keep the pipes from sliding on the floor I made a circle of interlock
block alternating one laying down and one standing up. They looked like a
sand castle so we filled the center with sand. At the top of the copper
pipes we slipped in chinese paper parasols. It created a dream sandbox and
was the hit of the show.

Miranda's also right on the money with insects. Insects are wonderful. We
have magnifying glasses and a jewelers lens for the children to look
through. A few weeks ago we gathered up all the preying mantis cases in the
lavender and distributed them around the garden. About a dozen cases in all,
we use twist ties to attach them to different shrubs, usually butterfly
bushes. They should be emerging any day and the kids just love to watch
them!

Yesterday we found a snake skin so today we'll keep our eyes open for it's
previous owner. Also box turtles abound and we're waiting for their return.

I don't focus as much on the specific plant material as others here have in
their posts. I think think the concept of having a good time while in the
garden is what attracts the children. But there are certain plants here I've
noticed they enjoy. They love herbs that they can "scratch and sniff".
Cherry tomatoes are always a big hit, cucumbers too. Platycodon (balloon
flowers) are big attractions, daisies (he loves me, he loves me not),
dandilions in the lawn to blow upon, huge hosta leaves to fan oneself with,
lunaria (money plants) because money does grow in the garden, butterfly
attracting plants such as our favorite nepeta "Dawn to dusk", roses (they'll
mind the thorns), anything with great seed pods that they can wave about
such as dicentra (yes they know not to eat it), and huge grasses.

Since my focus is on children older than kindergarden age, poisonous plants
and thorns aren't as big an issue. To me, anybody under 18 (and some of us
over 18) are kids. It's easy to capture a 5 year olds attention while
planting a bean in a cup. Try getting a 14 year old though when the
computer, TV, mall, cell phone, x-box and such are calling and you have a
real challenge.

My favorite plant for children? Daylilies! Every part of the daylily is
edible, they're grown as a food crop in China. They handle the abuse of a
bicycle going through them or the dog jumping into them. They make wonderful
ice-cream cones and look fabulous on your plate stuffed with chicken salad
(egg salad, shrimp salad, and everything else). You can pick as many
daylilies as you want and adorn your hair "Hawaii style" because more will
open tomorrow.

During daylily season I feel like the pied piper. I live head my daylilies
every evening so each morning there's a new palette of bloom. This takes
about an hour and I fill several wheel barrows with colorful blooms. The
kids put them in their hair, spell messages with them across the front lawn
for planes to read, decorate their radio flyer wagon and so on. Last, they
go on the compost heap and kids love the whole idea of compost!

Melanie Vassallo
melaniev@optonline.net







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