Turning tips into memories

Get started Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Kids
  • Benefits
  • Membership
  • Get Started
  • Membership
  • Benefits
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Kids

Gardening for kids is essential outdoor play and learning - and we don't need to leave the house to do it

By Jen Barton Packer on 17/3/2020

Wondering how to cultivate a green thumb in your little ones? Gardening has myriad benefits for children - here's how to get them planting.

Gardening is a fun activity for the whole family - and one you can do at home. Photo: Jelleke Vanooteghem
Gardening is a fun activity for the whole family - and one you can do at home. Photo: Jelleke Vanooteghem
People talk about stopping and smelling the roses, but for the next generation, it's about stopping and planting some, which is why gardening initiatives are blossoming around the country, in schools and through various community projects.


As we enter a period of social distancing and more time spent at home, getting our urban kids into gardening - whether turning old welly boots into planters or dedicating some garden space to making things grow - is ever more important.


Why is planting the seed for an interest in gardening so important for children? Let us count the ways: gardening can get children to spend more time outdoors and away from their screens. It can help educate them about the environment - after all, mass tree planting can help combat global warming (we hope). Gardening is also a mindful activity, promoting a feeling of being in the now that can help ease anxiety and worries.


Gardening can also teach kids that all-important lesson of where food comes from - crucial if we want our children to learn to eat healthily, and integrate lots of fruit and vegetables into their diets.


For London kids, who may not have gardens at home, spending time in the soil can be hugely beneficial. As the RHS's Alana Cama, Schools and Groups Programme Manager, says:


"Getting children gardening is a great way to spark their interest in the natural world. It’s an easy way to help them discover where our food comes from, improve their health and wellbeing, and teach them to look after the environment."


Here are some tips and ideas to inspire a love of gardens - and gardening - in your children.





Find a friendly gardening initiative


Whether you're an urban mouse or a country one, there are plenty of initiatives around the UK to get kids planting, from Innocent's Big Grow, Grow Your Own Potatoes, The Garden Classroom and the RHS Campaign for School Gardening, which has resources, competitions and more for kids to get stuck into. Alana Cama gave us a few of her top tips for getting kids excited about gardening:


  • Give them their own garden
Whether it’s a sunny patch of bedding or planters on a patio, help your young gardener to plan, plant and care for their own bit of land. They could even help to pick out their favourite plants to go in their patch.


  • Get MUDDY!
Get elbow deep in mud! Besides being fun, real hands-on learning will help children to feel more connected to the earth around them. Put them in some old clothes and get stuck in!


  • Choose quick growers
Quick-growing plants such as radishes and salad leaves will offer near-instant results before little minds lose interest. You can paint faces on your plant pots, plant marrow fat peas and watch tasty shoots become hair! Keep kids engaged initially and then build up to plants that require a little more patience.


  • Go wild with a bug hotel
Encourage wildlife into your garden and build a home for creepy crawlies. A great opportunity to recycle odds and ends, your new creation will welcome a whole host of residents. You can even add in some bee-friendly planting!


  • Make a mini pond
Whether it’s an old basin or a washing-up bowl, you can use anything to make a mini pond in your garden and help encourage the declining population of pond wildlife. Just add some pebbles, pond plants and rainwater. You can sink your mini pond into the ground or have it sitting on top; just make sure animals can get in and out with ease.


  • Try something tasty
Fruit and vegetables don’t come in a packet! Teach your kids where their food comes from by growing tasty treats in the garden. From this activity they’ll begin to understand about seasonal eating, the energy that goes into food production and might even be more open to tasting new things.


  • Introduce the weird and wonderful
Grow something wonderful. Find a plant that’s out of the ordinary to encourage interest in gardening whether that be a touch-sensitive mimosa plant, a fascinating cuca-melon or purple carrots.


  • Garden for good!
Calculate the food miles in a favourite dish and try to replace with items grown in your own garden or locally. Help your children see that they can garden for a purpose and make a real difference to the world!


  • Cook and eat
Harvest vegetables, salad leaves or fruit you have growing in the garden and make something tasty. Can you make a yummy soup, fruit salad or vegetable cake?


  • The cycle of life
Make an origami seed packet and collect seeds from your flowers as they finish blooming, ready to plant next spring.



Embrace biophilia


A lack of outside space doesn't mean you can't create an urban oasis in London: just decorate your urban interior with plants to embrace the most natural thing in the world, our connection with nature (aka biophilia).


If you need some inspo on how to do this, check out coworking space Second Home, a plant and light-filled oasis with live moss and hanging ferns to ensure nature is always there, even when you're mid client-call.


At your actual home, a few plants in the kitchen is a good start - and getting the kids to learn to take care of them (water, sunlight), is even better, while house plants in baby's nurseries are having a moment in interiors right now. Some families may even be interested in schemes like Rewild My Street, which offers resources to help encourage wildlife back into your street and garden.



Share:

Kids

Things to Do

Outdoors

Indoors



You may also like:
  • Help them eat the rainbow with these plant-based tips. Photo: Vince Lee

    How to get the kids interested in Veganuary

  • ALMA Deli in Belgravia

    ALMA Deli London is the kid activity space of every parent's dreams

  • These rainy day brands protect kids from the wet and look great, too. Photo: Holly & Beau

    Kids' rain gear to get them through those showers in style

  • Nutritious baby food brand Little Tummy is now available on Deliveroo

    Baby food delivery services in London

  • Staying home with the kids can be an adventure too. Photo: Paige Cody

    Things to do with the kids – when you're stuck indoors

  • Third Space Islington's Little Space kids' gym

    Third Space opens Little Space to the the delight of active kids and their parents everywhere

Your update on what’s on in London from theatre to visual arts, from fashion to pop-ups and more…
minimum six characters
 
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Your update on what’s on in London from theatre to visual arts, from fashion to pop-ups and more…
You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter. Stay tuned! (And check your email).


  • The Culture Whisper team
  • What is Culture Whisper membership
  • Corporate membership
  • Give a gift membership
  • Retrieve a gift membership
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper


Sign up by Email or Facebook.

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we sent newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×