The only thing more fun than gardening itself, says host Michele Driscoll Alioto, is gardening with children. Guest Lisa Castle offers these pointers for introducing even the youngest toddlers to the world of living plants:
- Common houseplants, such as the ribbon plant, ivy and pothos, make excellent "starter" plants because they have such a good success rate, says Castle.
- Let children decorate and paint flower pots for their plants to go in. Or suggest they paint "pet rocks" or other items to embellish plantings.
- Make a grocery-store garden using a toy plastic grocery cart. Inside the cart place garlic (started from a bulb), a sweet potato plant (started from a sweet potato) or beet, carrot, leek and turnip tops, all started from store-bought vegetables.
- Consider tiny, fast-growing "bonsai-like" plants, such as cress or alfalfa sprouts. These can be grown on a moist cotton ball--you don't even need soil!
- Grow citrus plants, such as oranges and lemons from seed.
- Plant wheat grass (available from health-food stores) or regular lawn seed in plastic cups or eggshells decorated with faces.
- Bean plants (grown from navy beans or mixed soup beans from the store) will germinate in about three days. Stake the growing plants with simple items such as curvy drinking straws or even a ruler.
- Grow a pizza garden full of tomatoes, peppers and herbs such as basil and oregano. Children can get their hands in the soil to see where their food really comes from, says Castle. "Pizza doesn't come from a box or the freezer--it actually comes from plants!" And it's good for children to make those connections.
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