‘Kids love a project – we build bee and bug houses constantly’
RUTH MONAHAN is the owner of Appassionata Flowers (appassionata.
ie). She is a keen gardener and lives with her family in Dublin. She says: “We live near the city centre so we like to encourage wildlife into our garden. We have a cheeky robin who visits daily and lots of birds. During the winter, I have bird houses in place to keep the birds visiting. The kids love keeping their feathered friends fed with seeds and fat balls. Maya is nine and Roman is seven, and they both love a creative project, so we make bee houses and bug houses constantly: this gives them great fun as they check on who has been visiting their constructions while they are out playing. “We spend a lot of time in the garden once the weather brightens. The kids love helping with planting. Their favourite thing is to plant up and personalise their own pots — they love colouring the pots and wooden pegs. This keeps them motivated to look after their flowers.
“I plant the beds and also pots with herbs and flowering plants, which specifically help to attract insects once the weather gets warmer. I have an apple and a pear tree so it’s important for me that the bees keep coming back to us.
“This year, I have cut my climbing roses back hard in an effort to have gorgeous scented heads to bring the bees and butterflies in. I also have beautiful seeds to grow: nigella, cosmos, delphinium,
lavender and rosemary, which will provide a nectar party when they bloom.
“Working with flowers for a living, I am highly aware of the damage being caused to the bee and butterfly population, so we have educated our kids about the problem. Obviously, it’s nice visually to have wildlife in your garden, but I also think a child’s curious nature can be brought out by playing around in a garden — seeing how worms and insects cohabit in the soil, and experiencing how all things beautiful grow from a tiny seed to a bloom that could feed a bee or butterfly for a day.”