How to Make Gardening Fun!

Foster a love of nature in little ones with sweet gardening activities that can be both fun and fruitful...

There’s plenty of research that shows engaging with the great outdoors has a multitude of benefits for humans great and small. And a great way to spark interest in nature from a young age? You guessed it – gardening.

And don’t worry, you don’t need a huge outdoor space to get started. You can grow on windowsills, worktops, balconies, in raised beds and beyond. The thing that really matters is that you and your child are having fun getting to grips with gardening. And remember, every failed plant is a learning opportunity! Right…?!

Start Small

As is the old adage, so is true of gardening: from tiny acorns great oak trees grow. Start small, trying out seeds that will give your little one a speedy result.

Growing something edible can be a fun way to encourage kids to be excited about both growing and eating – a 2-4-1 on making both gardening and mealtimes fun. Cress is notoriously easy and makes a silly hairdo for a character if you know what you’re doing. Draw a face with markers onto an empty, rinsed-out eggshell, fill it with a little soil, sprinkle on some seeds, keep things watered… and as if by magic, a wild wig for your shell-head!

The best bit is your child can give their new pal a haircut with some safety scissors! (Coincidentally, we’ve got some fun advice on actual first haircuts here). When you’re ready to eat your cress, simply snip off the tasty little shoots for use in salads or sandwiches.

Other easy seeds for kids include sunflowers. Their rapid growth is really encouraging, and they’re forgiving, needing very little maintenance (perfect for little ones who might forget to water them...). If you have more than one child, or want to involve some friends, why not create a competition to see whose sunflowers grow the tallest? You could create several categories so that each child gets to win a prize – but we’ll leave that up to you!

Plant party

Once you’ve mastered the basics, it’s time to move on to more advanced gardening: plants! If you have room to grow – yep, we mean both physically and metaphorically – then creating a colorful bed with kids can be a joy to watch unfold. If you don’t have outdoor space, you could try a window box or an indoor planter for the same amount of fun.

Encourage them to get involved in every step of the way by researching plants together and coming up with a combination of different colors and shapes you like. You could even plan out your planting using LEGO® DUPLO® plants and flowers, to see what you think of the color combinations and arrangements!

Why not theme your plants to add extra interest? Kids love something a bit silly, and a pizza garden is a great example of this. It only takes two plants, and most supermarkets will have them come summer: tomato plants and basil plants. Happily, these two are perfect bedfellows, and are super happy growing side by side. Pop them both in a sunny spot – with the basil at the base of the tomato plants – at the start of summer in some good-quality compost, and keep them watered. Come July you should be able to take your first harvest. Just add a pizza base and some cheese. Buon appetito!

Bugs, butterflies and bees

Part of the reason that gardening is so wonderful is that it creates a world for all kinds of special little creatures. Children love to see bees and butterflies enjoying the bounty they’ve grown, so it can be fun to tailor your gardening to attract little critters!

For older children, making a bug hotel from bundles of bamboo offcuts or sticks can lead to conversations about our changing world. Kids love learning about nature and it’s great for developing their EQ skills, too.

Younger ones might just enjoy looking at pretty butterflies (and who wouldn’t?) and counting how many they see. To help things along, choose plants that these fluttery friends enjoy, like lavender, primroses, cornflower and marjoram.
When you’re knee deep in muddy fingerprints, try to remember you might just miss these days in the future! Hopefully you’ve found an idea or two to try out, and if you do we always love to see your creations – tag us on social!

Rainy day? Don’t worry! Role-play gardening with your little one with the LEGO DUPLO My First Organic Garden and LEGO DUPLO Peppa Pig Garden and Tree House sets!