© Janet Davis
Scratch a grownup
gardener and you’re likely to find a child trotting behind a parent or
grandparent, watching them cut sweet peas and deadhead petunias, or holding the
twine while dad stakes his prize tomatoes.
Many of us who love to garden owe more to the inspiration of our
childhood than to all the books we’ve read.
Even if we don’t recall having a gardening guru, I’m sure our
appreciation for nature was somehow shaped in our formative years.
My earliest garden memories stand out vividly against the blur of my
British Columbia childhood. I remember
the heady scent of my mother’s wallflowers in spring; they were a sunset-hued
haze only slightly shorter than me. I
remember sheets of English bluebells emerging from their strap-like leaves
under the trees where we built our forts, the milky sap from wild morning
glories we used as a tincture for imaginary battle wounds and the glistening
oval leaves of hedge laurel that became make-believe dollar bills when we went
“shopping”. I remember the strangely
beautiful colonies of yellow skunk cabbage near the rushing brook at the bottom
of the ravine, perhaps more tantalizing because they grew where we had been
forbidden to go. And how could I forget
standing in a lush convent garden, handing the nun who tended the borders a
shiny half-dollar for a giant Mother’s Day armful of peonies – fragrant orbs of
rose, ivory and carmine wrapped in a double thickness of newspaper.
In the half-century
and two climate zones stretching between then and now, I’ve learned that our
battle tincture was made not from morning glories of the genus Ipomoea but
from field bindweed of the genus Convolvulus. I know that yellow skunk cabbage is properly
known as Lysichiton americanum and cannot survive the winters where I now live, more’s the
pity. I’ve learned a lot, about gardens
and other things. Peonies? Mine are more likely to be in bloom for
Father’s Day than Mother’s Day. But
none of this really matters much. The
fact is that I was hooked as a child, and I still feel a childlike joy in the
natural pleasures of my grownup garden.
Turning Tiny Sprouts Into Grownup Gardeners
But for many
children, that first brush with gardening can often be more about rules than
rewards, so it’s no surprise that many youngsters become disenchanted when
their sole exposure consists of mowing the lawn and raking the leaves “to earn
your 
allowance”. And in this era of
heightened environmental awareness, it’s all too easy to weigh down small
shoulders with adult anxieties. Yes,
children should learn about recycling, greenhouse gases and wetland ecosystems,
but they should know how to make daisy chains, spot butterflies and raise
towering sunflowers too. Even the
crusading environmentalist Rachel Carson, who altered a nation’s view of
harmful pesticides with her 1962 book Silent Spring, wrote tenderly about awakening a child’s “sense of wonder”
in the natural world.
So how do we nurture
that little spark of interest that eventually turns a tiny sprout into a
grownup gardener?
Start them
young. Even toddlers can revel in the
sensory pleasures of a garden, so surround them with flowers, herbs and
vegetables with a larger-than-life appeal to the senses. Let them sniff the sweet perfume of
narcissus and the pungent spice of bergamot leaves. Lead their fingers over the velvety soft leaves of lamb’s ears,
the bristles of a globe thistle, the puckered folds of a giant hosta leaf. Delight their taste buds with a
freshly-picked pea, a sun-warmed cherry tomato, a raspberry, a leaf of
pineapple mint.
Let them in on some
old garden tricks. Show how to gently
press the blossom of an obedient plant (Physostegia
virginiana) so it “obeys” by staying in place and
how to use thumb and forefinger to squeeze the fat seedpod of an impatiens
flower to produce the explosive result that gives the plant its name.
Give Them Their Own Space
As they grow older,
make sure little ones have a small corner of the garden all to themselves,
perhaps even with a hand-printed sign that announces whose spot this is. The plot needn’t be big, but it should be
sunny and blessed with reasonably good soil.
If it’s too sandy and dries out quickly or is made up of dense clay
that’s hard to work, show them how to work in organic material like leaf mulch
and manure to retain moisture. (Manure
and fallen leaves are dynamic lessons in recycling, so take the time to explain
how nature’s own products can feed the earth.)
Let them start their own compost pile, and teach them how earthworms,
toads, spiders and honeybees are the gardener’s friends, eating harmful
insects, enriching the soil and making sure spring’s blossoms are pollinated 
to become summer’s fruit.
When it comes to
choosing plants, introduce
them to some with fanciful names.
What junior gardener, after all, wouldn’t want to grow her own
snapdragon, catmint, dogwood, spiderflower, turtlehead, sweet rocket,
Johnny-jump-up or balloonflower? And
be prepared to squelch your own “good taste” when it threatens your child’s
efforts. This garden is the work of a
mind unencumbered by grownup concepts of scale, balance and color values.
Donate a backbone of
rugged, easy-care perennials with colourful blossoms that will reward youthful
expectations by emerging promptly each spring and provide a season-long parade
of flowers. Good choices are bleeding
heart and columbine for May, peony and Siberian iris for June, anthemis and
beebalm for July, rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ for August and chrysanthemum ‘Clara
Curtis’ for fall. Make sure there are
perennials like purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) to attract butterflies and red flowers like coral bells (Heuchera
sanguinea) to lure hummingbirds.
Children love to pick
flowers for their own bouquets, so help them select plants they can cut. Pansies are particularly nice to buy as
boxed plants in early spring, and cheerfully shrug off early frosts. Columbines are also lovely in vases, and
will self-sow throughout the garden, adding a touch of serendipity. (“Look what’s popped up here!”) Feverfew (Tanacetum
parthenium) is another self-seeder with sprays of
sweet white blossoms for cutting. Don’t forget perky crocuses, fuzzy purple
alliums and other spring bulbs that can be planted in fall. And when your tiny gardener presents you
with a flowery nosegay, don’t be concerned if the stems are different lengths,
or if 
there are any stems at all.
Accept it gratefully and place it on the kitchen table where it can be
admired by all.
If there’s enough
space for a shrub or two, make sure you choose pint-sized cultivars that won’t
dwarf little gardeners. The diminutive
Korean lilac ‘Meyeri Palibin’ is a cinch to grow, has beautiful perfume and its
flowers are at just the right height for tiny noses. The butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) is a magnet for Monarch butterflies in late summer. And when its green leaves turn fluorescent
pink in October, dwarf burning bush (Euonymus alatus ‘Compactus’) will teach children a vivid lesson about
pigments and how some plants prepare for winter.
Of course, no child’s
garden would be complete without some flowers and vegetables they can grow
themselves from seed. Easy annuals to
start on a sunny windowsill or under grow-lights 6-8 weeks before the last
frost include marigolds, cosmos and zinnias.
Two to start outside right in the garden once the soil has warmed up in
late May or early June are nasturtiums and sunflowers. Two to scratch into the soil as soon as it
can be worked in April are bachelor’s buttons and Shirley poppies.
Help Them Grow Their Own Snacks
As for vegetables,
it’s a good idea to help them choose seeds of varieties that they actually
enjoy eating. Lettuce and peas prefer cool soil and can be sown directly into
the garden in early spring. Tomatoes are usually a taste treat and easy to
grow, especially prolific, vining types like ‘Sweet 100’ cherry tomatoes.
Scarlet runner beans grow by leaps and bounds, Jack-in-the-beanstalk
style, and
can even be used to create a bean teepee, which doubles as a child’s
hideway. Make it by inserting tall
bamboo stakes into the soil in a wide circle, leaving an entrance for your
little one to crawl through. Tie the
stakes together at the top, then plant one or two bean seeds (‘Kentucky Wonder’
is a dependable variety) beside each pole.
In a few months, the teepee will be covered in leafy vines with bright
red blossoms that attract hummingbirds; later, there will be loads of tender
beans for picking.
Show your tiny
gardener how to water carefully to keep his garden growing and teach him how to
use mulch to keep weeds from crowding out flowers and vegetables, but don’t
overwhelm him with tasks when he should be having fun. And if his attention wanders and he needs to
take a break, make sure the sandbox and swing-set are nearby. (But surround them with flowers!)
Plant that seed
gently in your little gardener now. It
may lie dormant for years and years, but one day, the adult who was that small
child will find herself on her knees, hands in the dirt, remembering how this
passion for growing things was nurtured by grown-ups who loved her.
Adapted from articles that appeared originally in
Canadian Gardening and President’s Choice magazines