To Be a Kid - How to Build Successful Garden

What I have noticed recently is that parents these days try and fill their kids lives with good things good schooling, sports, computers, educational toys, for amusement we take them to theme parks and zoos. Quickly disappearing are the lazy outdoor afternoons where we as kids were allowed to explore. Fearing out kids safety in a dangerous world, and being busy ourselves we cut off our children from experiences only found in lazy outdoor afternoon. We as adults unwittingly think life only happens in offices and classrooms. when a child has questions about nature we offer them books and computer programs instead of taking them outside for a hands on experience. Kids today no longer know the value of plants be it the name or the purpose.



Parents now think there is something wrong with a child who cannot sit still and focus. Scores of studies have shown that healthy natural environments increase mental acuity, relieve stress and speed up physical healing. Humans put quiet simply react, heal, and behave better with a natural environment.



Some flowers that are easy to grow in a kids garden are: sunflowers, zinnias, marigolds, cone flowers, pretty much any pickable flower, thorn-less berries and vegetables. Pampus grass, Periwinkle, Lambs ear, Woolly time, and snow in summer all hold up very well to kids and pets.



The best way to have a successful children's garden is to make it stimulating to both the children and the parents. Elements to add to your children's garden that Will make it appealing to both parents and children are as follows:

• You should have a water feature in your garden even if it is a small fountain. The sound of the water is relaxing Kids love touching and seeing water. You should be able to see the water feature from any view point in the garden. You can make your own pond stream brook or fountain. Brooks and streams spark children's imaginations and are shallow for less fear of the child falling in. You can build your own pond, fountain, brook or stream. Real brooks twist and turn eventually dumping into a river or lake, keep this in mind when designing brooks and streams in your garden. man built brooks and streams work the same way water is supplied from a pump. Water runs up the tubing hidden in the ground or behind plants and bushes to the top of the stream and uses gravity to carry it back down to the collection pool cycling the water over and over again. If when you build your pond, brook, or stream and the water runs out to fast line it with rubber liner or clay. If you are still worried about having a water feature with a child keep in mind they have motion sensor alarms for water features that will sound if someone gets into the pool without parents turning off switch.
  


• You build a garden wild creatures will come. lol Gardens attract birds, lady bugs, rabbits, frogs, and many more little creatures that will visually and physically stimulate your child. Having beautiful micro habitats for these animals is visually stimulating to the parents. You always want to have a fresh water supply for the little creatures gardens attract. You want to go to the local wildlife office to find out what local inhabitants need for food, shelter and place to raise their young. Never use chemicals to keep your water clean of algae this will kill fish, frogs and other beneficial wildlife. Instead oxygenate the water and plant water plants such as water lilies and water hyacinth. add black trap door snails that eat algae. Do not use koi or carp they eat frog eggs and tadpoles that would have grow up to eat mosquito's. When you feed you birds do it by adding things that product berries, and nuts giving them a good variety of natural food sources. To make a bird house you can hang empty wooden boxes in private areas in the garden and decorate them with your child. Butterflies are attracted to sweet smelling flowers of the following colors: purple's, blues, oranges, yellow, white, pink and red. milk weed is a good food supply for a lot of butterfly's' for more info about butterfly gardens http://simplyhydro.blogspot.com/2009/07/butterfly-gardening-with-native-plants.html



• Children love playing in and hiding in little forts, play houses, dens and caves. Giving them a place to hide with a window outside stimulates their imaginations. A bean poll tepee is an awesome way of building a fun fort for a child to play. You can make them easy out of any strong wood or even bamboo simply tee then wood or poles at the top making a tepee shape then use seeds of anything vine that grows fast ex: beans, squash, cucumbers. You can even make long tunnels which the kids can hide in and enjoy watching the vegetables grow. always make sure the doorway is open and free of plants so the child does not stump on the plants. Arbors with vine plants make fun hiding places as well. using these technique you can make big natural caves for your kids to play. (picture at the top of this post is of a tepee hut made out of bamboo and trellis netting.



• Kids love playing with dirt, rock and sticks. While parents might not like these things kids love them and are able to create their own little worlds from their imaginations. So give your kid a place in the garden where they can dig, mound, and bury. Provide them with little shovels or kitchen spoons in the area they are allowed to dig and bury. Give your child little hills to play on. Allowing them to dig you will find not only does it stimulant there natural need to play with sand, or dirt but it helps develop there little muscles. A good way to give your child this area is a sand box. Allowing your child to play with sticks and stones might sound like a bad idea because the kid might use them as a weapon but if taught properly your child will learn to create buildings and sculptures.



• Children love climbing. Provide them with different levels of terrain will satisfy their need to be on top. Norway and silver maples are both fast growing hard wood trees good for kids to climb. Apple and mulberry trees are also good trees for climbing. Tree houses do not have to be far off the ground to please children nor do they have to be in mature trees. Always be aware of building codes for tree houses and follow them for safety reasons.



• Children's area needs to be free moving not constricting. Kids love to play, dance, jump, and run about. Try and provide them with adequate area to do so. Give your child a lawn to play, jump, and twirl. Slides and swings are a great way to stimulate your child while letting them move freely.



• Provide your kids gardens with visual stimulating things like mazes, trees in the shape of animals or designs like stars or even brightly colored mosaics. Provide them with little hidden oasis's with benches for sitting and thinking. Children love running in circle give them a path that goes in a circular pattern will stimulate them and give them hours of fun. you an make the fun plant animals by bending chicken wire in the shape you want and fill it with sphagnum moss and cover with ivy plants.

• In a successful child's garden neither the needs of the adult or the child will dominate.
  Patios and benches for adults with view of the child's activity's are very important for adults. The adults plants should be protected with borders and heavy duty containers. A child needs 2 things: they need to have room and space to move be it a grass plain or mulched area and they need places to hide and feel safe knowing they are not far from their parents.

A good way to help your child learn in the garden is to take on take like watering the plants and ask the kids to help you. Done regularly these rituals will teach your kids responsibility.

Making walls of plants will protect your children while letting them play and be themselves. Carfully placed mirrors with brightly colored frames are a good edition to the garden. Windows or peepholes are every popular for kids. Kids like square foot gardening it allows them to plant and weed in smaller scale areas. MOre coming on square foot gardening in near future.