Gardening with children
Gardening is good for us. Whether an adult or a child the activity of gardening is beneficial in many ways. Here are a few of those benefits.
1. Gardening encourages mindfulness. When carrying out any gardening activity you tend to find yourself in the moment, concentrating on the task in hand.
2. The physical activity of gardening is not only helpful for fitness and mobility but is also linked to improvement in mental health.
3. Gardening helps to connect with the earth and all that exists within the natural environment.
4. As gardening is an outdoor activity it encourages a healthier lifestyle by time being spent away from screens and in an environment where certain vitamins crucial for the body are obtained.
5. Gardening gives a better understanding and appreciation of the processes that take place for food to reach the table.
As you can see five amazing reasons why gardening is good for children. Start when they are small by sowing seeds of fast growing plants so they can see results. Get them involved with choosing what to grow, maybe a favourite vegetable of theirs. Children love watering if only to have an excuse to get wet and muddy. Harvesting then is the ultimate reward where children get to feel a great sense of achievement at the accomplishment of growing.
Bringing up Plants
Growing plants I’ve decided is much like having children. You nurture, love and care for them from a tiny beginning. You make sure their needs are met, you feed them, give them plenty of fresh air, water and sunshine and tend to them when they are sick. Eventually they’ll grow up to be good and strong having given you much joy and some stressful times along the way.
When older they need you less but you still care for them and love them for the individual that they are. Each with its own personality. Some plants grow up quickly, others less so. Some are bright and sunny and showy while others are delicate and dainty. Some love the limelight, others prefer to remain in the shadows, some can be thorny characters, others can be rather a handful and some stubbornly refuse to blossom for years but eventually come into their own and is wonderfully rewarding to see.
They all come in different shapes, sizes, colours, each is unique and each is beautiful just like your children.
Bert – the smiley tree
Earth Mother Nature Lover 