You’ve spent the summer teaching your kids to love, respect and enjoy nature. They’ve had a garden of their own and enjoyed the experience of taking care of flowers and reaping the harvest of their own veggies. But as the season draws to an end, how do you keep their interest in nature going? What can be done in the fall and winter so that the kids are excited again next spring to start the process again?
First, they need to do the same things in the garden that we do . . . clean up the leaves (collecting and drying many in a book or press for winter craft projects, of course), deadhead and cut back plants, and clean and store any garden tools and decorations that need to be put away for the season. Then it’s time to say goodnight to the outdoor garden and move inside. But we can still keep their interest going with their own indoor garden, or just a few houseplants. And as fall moves into winter, don’t forget to get them back outside to collect pine cones, and cut back some branches of berries for decorating.
Indoor plants are different from outdoor plants for kids, because we can’t depend on nature to provide water. So kids will need a schedule for watering the plants they have. And houseplants have different watering needs, as any adult who has drowned and lost a few over the years knows. Teach them to poke their fingers into the soil to check the moisture. If it’s dry, water; if it’s moist, wait another day, depending on individual plants. Explain how overwatering can result in drowned roots.
Lighting requirements are an important consideration in positioning a houseplant for kids to care for. Research the plant’s requirements if the tag doesn’t give good information. You don’t want your kids to lose their first houseplant because it’s in the wrong light. Humidity is also important. Some plants require a daily misting or a tray of pebbles to provide enough humidity in the air. Explain how poor lighting can result in leggy plants or pale leaves.
This is another good place for your kids to start a journal. All the plants, their light, water, humidity, and fertilizing needs should be listed. Kids can draw pictures of the plants they grow, or take pictures and include them in the journaling experience.
Take the kids to a local garden center and let them help pick out the plants they want to care for. They don’t need a location away from your houseplants, but let them be responsible for their own plants. Get them plants that will keep them curious and interested. Plants like Venus Flytrap or Spider Plant sound like fun to kids, and they’ll enjoy watching how the flytrap catches its food. Pick plants that have different textures and colors, like Croton and Coleus, or a tall Snake Plant with its white stripes on stiff, dark green spikes. An indoor herb garden in little pots on the windowsill provides fresh herbs all season, and can move to the garden or a sunny porch next spring. And don’t forget at least one flowering indoor plant, like a geranium (maybe one you brought in from the garden) or a flowering cactus.
Get a good houseplant book with pictures so kids can start planning future plants they would like to have. Before too long, you’ll have quite an indoor garden.
Encourage creativity by helping them draw caricatures of their plants – a funny little Venus Flytrap swallowing up a giant fly, or a Spider Plant’s babies with faces, dangling from the momma plant into little pots of their own; cactus flowers with funny faces on their colorful heads, or that snake plant wrapping around a table leg and hissing! Silly stuff they’ll look back on as they grow and share for generations!
Before you know it, you’ll be receiving seed catalogs in the mail and be ready to spend a few winter afternoons planning both your own and your child’s spring garden. Get those journals ready and have fun!
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