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Garden Gate:  Children's Gardens  |
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Lauram
True Blue Farmgirl
74 Posts
Laura
Moneta
VA
USA
74 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 05 2006 : 06:23:47 AM
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I have a 13 month-old daughter and I want to start planning a secret garden for her. I want some plants to have time to "grow up" so by the time she is old enough to understand having a secret garden there will be established plants.
Some ideas I have are:
a. Having Anna (my little girl) make her own stepping stones leading to her secret garden. I was thinking of doing one a year and so she could put certain objects in the stone reflecting her summer vacation or interests that year. For instance, seashells from a summer vacation.
b. I would like to go to one of those pottery places and have her make a birdbath that she can paint herself.
c. Sunflowers flanking her stepping stones as a path to her secret garden. It would be like a secret path because the sunflowers would be tall.
d. Thought we would get her a little patio set and bench for her garden, and also include a water feature for the area.
e. There would be another path leading to her play house.
f. I would put a sign in front of the main path that says, "Shhhh! Anna's Secret Garden This Way."
I was thinking it would be neat to include some plants that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Does anyone have any other neat ideas to make a child's secret garden magical? |
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2006 : 06:48:36 AM
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Plant a young tree .. whatever age she is .. and take a photo of her standing beside the tree .. the same month (or each season) of their lives .. to see the growth rate of both of them. A precious memento. xo
True Friends, Frannie |
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Rebekka Mae
True Blue Farmgirl
965 Posts
Rebekka
Moscow
ID
USA
965 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2006 : 11:16:33 AM
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Laura- you could use three stumps from a fallen tree, one bigger for the table and two smaller for chairs- as your patio set. That way things are natural and flexible (later your girl will hop from one to the other as stepping blocks) - also free!!! Most anyone will share their wood with you if you ask and tell them it is for your girl. Actually, Mary Jane gave us a stump that Isabella loves from one of her trees on the farm.
Be Well,Rebekka
Make sure much of this is wild- if we plan too much there is little left to the imagination- leave many thing open ended so that the garden grows with her.
Frannie- I love your idea about the tree! |
Edited by - Rebekka Mae on Jan 05 2006 11:17:48 AM |
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2006 : 1:03:31 PM
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oh .. we bought a tree stump and two chairs for Lucas to have picnics here at the farm. ws only $30. i'll take a pic of it. Hank could have made it .. but didn't know when he'd get around to it. xo
True Friends, Frannie |
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lurban
True Blue Farmgirl
61 Posts
Vermont
61 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2006 : 2:01:51 PM
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| Check out the book Roots, Shoots, Buckets, and Boots for lots of great ideas for getting children involved in gardening. I used it as the basis for a themed Easter Basket one year and it was a big hit. |
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manda
Farmgirl in Training
49 Posts
amanda
corralitos
cA
USA
49 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2006 : 7:13:46 PM
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I have always tried to include my daughter in gardening from very early on. I have done these garden ideas: Tie together tall bamboo poles to form a tepee and grow beans up it to create a secret hideout inside, grow milkweed and watch the monarch caterpillars and butterflies, plant lots of pineapple sage for hummingbirds, have a toad house and LOTS of birdfeeders, keep an area unplanted for just playing and digging in the dirt, plant organic strawberries, blueberries, cherry tomatoes, snap peas, and stevia for fun munching. We also planted a scent garden with lemon scented geraniums, chocolate cosmos, lemon verbena, chocolate mint, pineapple sage, lavender, pizza herbs (basil, oregano). lemon thyme, sweet peas. The key is to make it fun and always let the kids play in the dirt.
Manda |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2006 : 9:27:43 PM
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Roots Shoots buckets and Boots is a wonderful book..great suggestion. Another book, also by Sharon Lovejoy is called Sunflower houses..it has lots of great ideas for children's gardens too. I have met Sharon a couple times and used to sell my hooked rugs at her best friend's shop ..both had shops in Cambria Calif and I loved them both...Sharon has since sold her shop and so has Julie..but they sure left a legacy..neat place (Sharon's shop was called "heart's ease" and is still in business under new ownership as far as I know) the books are wonderful for inspiration. Sharon also writes a column in Country Living Gardening Magazine. (called Heart's Ease)
Jenny in Utah
It's astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen...Frances Burnette
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ |
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Lauram
True Blue Farmgirl
74 Posts
Laura
Moneta
VA
USA
74 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2006 : 03:37:01 AM
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Boy am I glad I asked all of you for some ideas. How exciting! My mother seems to think because we live in the country that my daughter is going to have a boring childhood but I totally disagree. I want her to love and appreciate nature, and starting her with a secret garden is the perfect way to encourage that. In fact, my girlfriend and her family just bought an 18-acre farm around here and it will be so neat to have her visit their farm (they will have animals) and play with my friend's two children. Fellow farm kids!
Thanks for all the great ideas, and please keep them coming! I'm for sure going to check out that book and buy it tomorrow if I can find it at the book store. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
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sleepless reader
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
CA
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2006 : 1:34:21 PM
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Jenny, you sure have met the most interesting people!
Sharon
Life is messy. Wear your apron! |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2006 : 2:28:16 PM
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I have!! Sometimes I am just so amazed at the people I have crossed paths with!
I met Susan Branch once too (she writes really wonderful cookbooks for those who don't know) at Sharon's shop actually when she was there for a book signing. She was very sweet and fun. Sharon is a chatterbox and full of ideas!
Jenny in Utah
It's astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen...Frances Burnette
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ |
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Lauram
True Blue Farmgirl
74 Posts
Laura
Moneta
VA
USA
74 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2006 : 3:53:55 PM
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| Thanks for the website! I will for sure get this book! |
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Julia
True Blue Farmgirl
1949 Posts
Julia
Shelton
WA
USA
1949 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2006 : 9:25:25 PM
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You could probably find a rose bush with her name to plant in her garden. David Austin roses, though a bit more spendy are wonderful stock. She could dry petals, make rose petal sandwiches to have tea with, on her stump furniture, make rose tea... I always gave my girls a bit of earth, for their own gardens as they were growing up. My oldest and her DH just bought their first home. She is looking forward to planting her own garden this spring. And so the legacy goes on, the best part of teaching wee ones how to keep the garden.
"...the setting sun is like going into the very presence of God." Elizabeth Von Arnim |
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Judes
True Blue Farmgirl
156 Posts
Jude
OH
USA
156 Posts |
Posted - Jan 06 2006 : 10:16:47 PM
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We don't have kids yet, but my husband & I have been dreaming up our "children's garden" ever since I saw an article (can't remember where!) about them. One family built teepees & tunnels (big enough for kids to play in) instead of trellises....then grew strong, viney plants like chherry tomatos & beans over them. They started small, while their kids were still babies & let the garden grow with them. Over time, they basically created an entirely organic playground for their kids. If I can find the article I'll send you the link. It's very inspirational! I just think it would be awesome to have a place for little ones to play, get a little shade from the sun, snack on homegrown goodies, and learn about gardening as well!
http://schoolstreet.typepad.com
www.jac.etsy.com |
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CountryGirl85
True Blue Farmgirl
225 Posts
Laura
Oswego
IL
USA
225 Posts |
Posted - Jan 12 2006 : 10:40:39 PM
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Such wonderful ideas! All of it reminds me of my favorite book in the entire world, "The Secret Garden." When the time comes for me to have children, I would like nothing better than to see them spend hours outside in their very own gardens than spend hours playing video games or watching TV. I know something you could add to a children's garden: fairy houses. There's a series of books and a dvd about fairy houses. I checked out the dvd from the library a while back and thought these were a really cute idea. Here's the website: http://www.fairyhouses.com/home.html If anyone has their own secret garden/children's garden, I'd love to see pictures!
Much love,
Laura |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Jan 27 2006 : 12:02:25 PM
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HEY! This book was my favorite too. I could still sit and read it today. So happy I married a horticulturist and we live on a farm!
Would a koi pond be out of the question And don't forget gourd bird houses and bird feeders.
Try fennel and parsley for swallowtail butterflies.
Here's something else too for anyone. I grew up in Ohio. Anyone famillar with Ohio natural history knows about the glaciers. (If you don't I can fil you in someother time) As a result, Southern Ohio is incredibly fertile and the fossils in creek stones are really neat-O. If there's something I truly miss here in the South, it's the huge flagstones chocked full of tiny fossils in the creekbeds. SO, if anyone is planing a road trip through this region this summer, try taking a back road and see if you can find a winding creek. If the car isn't loaded down, take a few stones with you. My folks moved last April, and that's one item I took back for our garden here. We only had room for a few stones...nevermind the weight and those good 'ole West Virginia mountains! Can't tell you how may truckloads I hauled for my parent's garden MANY years ago!
Much happiness to you and your daughter hopefully she'll have the same appreciation |
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Garden Gate: Children's Gardens |
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Children's Gardens
