Gardening projects, ideas and activities for kids

There’s a special affinity between grandparents and their grandchildren and, with the long school holiday upon us, there’ll be time to enjoy them and educate them about their food and the environment in a playful way.

Take them out into your garden, or take them to a nearby garden, and they’ll remember it forever. It could even lay the foundation for a lifetime of gardening, or a horticultural career, because grandparents are a key part of a child’s life. As my sixteen-year-old granddaughter India says - grandmas hold their grandchildren’s hand for a moment and their hearts for a lifetime. It’s time to stretch out your hands and encourage the younger generation. You might even consider allowing them to have small garden of their own.

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In the garden

Get some child-friendly tools

Children can’t manage to wield full-sized tools, or carry a full-size watering can. It’s worth investing in some quality wooden-handled metal garden tools that really work, because the plastic alternatives won’t do the job. Burgon & Ball sell a good quality children’s hand trowel and hand fork and they can also supply a 1-litre can that any child can lift. If the gardening bug really strikes, they can also supply a kneeler, children’s spade and digging fork. These tools will last and you’ll be able to pass them on to others as the grandchildren grow up. They won’t end up in landfill after a few weeks!

Burgon & Ball have a range of child-friendly gardening tools available.

Watering

If your grandchildren have their own can, they’ll really enjoy helping you to water the garden and the garden’s normally in need at this time of the year. Teach them to be waterwise and not wasteful. Try to get them to water in the mornings or evenings, so that the precious water doesn’t evaporate.

Sow some seeds

The most magical part of gardening (for any age group) is sowing seeds. If you’re working with young children opt for larger seeds. Dwarf French beans are large enough to handle and a fast-maturing, non-climbing variety like ‘Stanley’ will crop in autumn if sown in early August.

Larger bean seeds, such as broad beans and runners, can be grown in jam jars. Line the jar with damp kitchen paper and place the seeds half way up on the visible side of the paper. This will allow the children to see the seed germinating. The seed splits to show the cotyledons, the radical root goes downwards and then the leaves develop.

You could also sow lettuce seeds, rocket seeds and mixed salad leaves during the summer months. Spinach might also germinate.

These seeds can be watered by the children and then the crops can be harvested and simple lunches made. This will help them appreciate where food comes from.

If your grandchildren are very young, mustard and cress seeds produce a crop in 10 days or less. They can be used in various ways. Write their names on kitchen paper in large lower-case letters – eg James or Jess. Don’t use all capitals. Get them to sprinkle the seeds onto the writing and their name will appear in cress. Or use empty egg shells. Get them to draw a simple face, fill the empty shell with compost (or soil) and then sprinkle the seeds on top. Place the egg in an eggbox or eggcup and them ‘hair’ will spring forth.

You can also sow some of the hardier annuals now and, once again, the most child-friendly flower seeds are the larger, easier to handle ones. Calendula (pot marigold) and blue cornflower can be sown directly into the ground. Sunflower seeds should go into pots. These three will be hardy enough to withstand cooler autumn temperatures and they may provide a later show of flowers if the weather is favourable. Nasturtiums will also germinate now, although they are frost tender.

Plant and grow

It’s worth gambling on growing a few potatoes if you own a greenhouse, although they may not be ready for Christmas. They are the easiest crop of all for children to grow. Make a note to plant some first or second early seed potatoes next April, either using the garden or large potato pots. They are very frost-susceptible and can’t survive winter outside.

By the end of August, garden centres will have spring bulbs such as crocus, daffodil and muscari. Most spring bulbs can be planted at the beginning of September – in containers or in the ground. This is an easy task for children, but do make sure that they wash their hands afterwards because handling bulbs can irritate the skin.

Tulips bulbs are they exception. They aren’t planted until November, because they suffer from a fungal disease called tulip fire (Botrytis tulipae). If it’s warm when they’re planted, they go down with it, so wait for cooler weather.

Productive gardens to visit with children

If you don’t have your own garden, try to visit a productive garden near you.

National Trust gardens

Felbrigg Hall, Felbrigg, Norwich NR11 8PR Packwood House, Packwood Ln, Solihull B94 6AT

Wimpole Hall, Wimpole Estate, Arrington, Royston SG8 0BW

Knighthayes Court, Knightshayes, Bolham, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 7RQ

Attingham Park, Atcham, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 4TP

Beningbrough Hall, Beningbrough, York, North Yorkshire, YO30 1DD

Chartwell, Mapleton Road, Westerham, Kent, TN16 1PS

Clumber Park, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, S80 3AZ

Hughenden, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP14 4LA

Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 6QN

Trengwainton, Madron, near Penzance, Cornwall, TR20 8RZ

Blickling, Blickling Estate, Aylsham, Norfolk, NR11 6NF

More productive gardens

West Dean Gardens, West Dean, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0RX

Audley End, Audley End Rd, Audley End, Saffron Walden CB11 4JB

Heligan, Pentewan, Saint Austell PL26 6EN

Cambo Gardens, Kingsbarn, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 8QD

Hatfield House, Great North Rd., Hatfield AL9 5HX

Walmer Castle, Kingsdown Rd, Walmer, Deal CT14 7LJ

Look at trees

Trees will be shedding their leaves by mid-August, especially in our cities, and this will give children the opportunity to name some of our commonest trees.

There’s plenty of variety and they can examine the leaves and seeds and learn to identify our common deciduous hedge plants and trees. Obvious choices include horse chestnut, oak, sycamore, ash, beech, birch, elder, hawthorn, hazel, holly, lime, walnut, willow and yew. They can also make rubbings by laying the leaf down, so that the veins are facing upwards, and then rubbing wax crayon over them. Get them (not you) to cut the leaves out with safety scissors and then get them to stick their leaves on to paper with Pritt Stick. Easy shapes to make are owls and hedgehogs – but let them choose. This will improve their hand-eye coordination.

Learn about the birds, bees and butterflies

If you’re in a garden on a warm, sunny day there will be several types of bees about. Bumblebees are rounder in shape than slender honeybees. Watch them drinking nectar and try to see which bees have pollen sacs on their legs.

Butterflies will also be about and peacocks, tortoiseshells and red admirals are easy to identify. One of my granddaughters started like this and now, aged 15, Ellie has seen almost all of our British butterflies and photographed them too. She is far better than I am!

Set up a simple bird feeding station containing peanuts, sunflowers and fat balls. They each attract different birds. If you’re lucky you may get a great spotted woodpecker on your peanuts. Always provide some water in hot weather, but water containers must be given a daily clean because they can spread avian diseases. A dish on the ground often attracts a hedgehog once night falls.

Go on a night-time walk with a torch, blanket and a flask of hot chocolate

The nights draw in in August and September and then the stars will appear in good weather. Leave at dusk and keep an eye (and ear) out for bats, moths and hedgehogs. Bats often congregate near churches, although they fly long distances when looking for food, using mature trees and hedges as navigational aids. Listen out for tawny owls: they’re at their most vocal at this time of the year.

Then enjoy a hot chocolate and admire the stars. You may even see a shooting star, if there’s no moon. The Perseid meteor shower is active between 17 July and 24 August in 2022 and it’s always at its best in mid-August. The peak day this year is August 12th.

Children can help harvest edible crops. Photo by Val Bourne.

Do encourage creative play

Children are very creative and they love to make a den with things they can find, from cardboard boxes, to clothes airers. An old bedspread or sheet will make it a personal space to play in.

Be active and have some fun

Set five-minute challenges. How many daisies can you get into a chain? How many cartwheels can you do? How many press ups? If this sounds a little brutal, children are energetic creatures with fitness levels that emulate Olympic athletes. One walk per day is a great idea – but no phones!

Pick some flowers

Don’t let your grandchildren have free rein with the scissors. Allow them to cut five or ten flowers and arrange them. Dahlias make particularly good flowers and the more you cut, the more you get! Try to teach them the names of the flowers.

Harvest some crops

August is harvest time and your garden may have edible crops they can help with. If you don’t have any, try to visit a pick your own farm near you. There’s a list on - www.pickyourownfarms.org.uk

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