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Nature Baby

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“Mama, I want that one!” My youngest daughter points to rows of plants on the racks of the local home improvement store. “And that one too!”

It is early April and time to plant our garden, including a special section of the yard set aside just for her. The space has been cleared, the weeds removed and the soil loosened.

And while we happen to be organic gardeners and even keep a flock of chickens in the middle of the city, the most you really need is a pot, some potting soil and a few seeds to get started. Last fall, my daughter collected some seeds from an overgrown section of the yard, brought them inside and put them in a glass terrarium. She watered them faithfully—a little too faithfully, which necessitated a discussion on how too much water can cause some plants to rot—and we set it in a sunny window.

As the days passed and the seeds erupted into seedlings and then began to grow at a high rate of speed, I knew I was looking at weeds. After a month or so, the plants, which look like some kind of rather aggressive vine, formed flower heads. I didn’t have the heart to throw them out—here in this controlled environment, they are actually doing quite fine, and she loves watching them grow. Outside they would be a menace!

A few days ago I dug out the weeds and blades of grass in her garden spot and then handed the hand trowel to my daughter. She happily tackled the task of digging into the soft ground. Afterwards, we covered everything with a layer of mulch. This will make the planting easier and reduce the number of weeds. A circle of rocks defines the space, but just to make sure, we will include a sign, “Emily’s Garden,” so that there is no question who cultivates this small patch of dirt.

She picked out several viola plants in small 4-inch containers, as well as packets of zinnia and nasturtium seeds. We plant everything at once, the violas for immediate visual results. The seeds will sprout soon, poking their heads up within a week or so, to eventually grow into a mass of beautiful blooms of color.

As she digs in the soil she chatters away, “I want to put a fairy garden in too, Mama. The fairies will love the flowers!”

We discuss the house we will make of sticks and a “garden path” of flat glass beads for the fairies.

Encouraging our children to interact with and learn from the natural world becomes more and more important in our technology-dependent world. When 9-year-olds sport cell phones and have a better grasp on how to play games on the computer than we do, you know it is time for a better balance of nature and technology. As Clare Walker Leslie wrote in her book Nature Connection, “…wherever I go, I find that kids still love being outdoors. They just need to be shown how. A curious adult can make a wonderful companion!”

Set aside a little space and time for you and your child to garden this year. Here are a few supplies and suggestions to get you started:

Supplies Needed:

Fun plants to grow include flowers, vegetables, even herbs. My daughter loves mint (but be careful, mint is highly invasive!), and plenty of flowers. Consider planting edible flowers like pansies, violets (NOT African violets) and nasturtiums.

Non-edible varieties of flowers to consider are marigolds, zinnias and sweet William.

Get started today. Those moments spent digging into the soil and making a special place for your child to garden and dream will be well worth it!

Christine Shuck lives in historic Northeast Kansas City with her husband and youngest daughter in an 1893 Victorian. She keeps chickens, gardens organically and teaches community education classes throughout the KC metro.

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