Children find wonder by exploring garden
In “The Sense of Wonder” published in 1956, Rachel Carson wrote: “If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.”
Now, more than 60 years later in a digital world, kids need that companionship more than ever. Gardeners can help! After all, we ourselves regularly experience the wonder of a seed sprouting, a hummingbird hovering, a spider spinning its artistic web. All we need to do is find a child or two with whom to share the wonder.
“Backpack Explorer: On the Nature Trail” (Storey Publishing, 2018) looks like a fun way to get started. A small spiral-bound book, it includes interactive outdoor activities, along with stickers and even a small plastic magnifying glass.
Kids have an affinity for playing in dirt and water, so having fun in a garden comes naturally. Even toddlers can poke large seeds such as beans or sunflowers into the ground and get a thrill when sprouts appear.
Learning the names of birds and butterflies comes easily at a young age. Watching earthworms wriggle is fun, even for those who think handling them is gross. Seeing milkweed seeds take wing from their pods is entertaining.
Edible plants like blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and grapes make for fun foraging.
Certain plants seem tailor-made for kids. They can stroke the soft, felt-like leaves of lamb’s ears or pinch open the “jaws” of snapdragon flowers. The Sensitive plant, with leaves that roll up when touched, delights children.
Balloon flower, a hardy perennial, has blossoms shaped like miniature balloons. Turtlehead flowers resemble, with a little imagination, their namesake. Four o’clock flowers open right on schedule every afternoon, and the huge, fragrant blossoms of moon vine open every night. Scented herbs such as lemon verbena and pineapple sage are fun to sniff.
Planting a little bog garden with water-loving plants such as papyrus and elephant’s ear makes a fun project for older kids. A bog garden can be in the ground or as simple as a large container with no drainage hole, filled with rich soil.
A lot of kids would enjoy creating fairy gardens with miniature plants such as creeping thyme and sweet alyssum, maybe with handmade accessories.
Even small children can plant and tend a container garden. By the time kids are in elementary school, many like to have a small plot they can call their own. In this space, a child can decide what to grow. Gentle guidance is appropriate, but ownership of both successes and failures belongs to the child.