I've always found a place to plant a few things no matter where I've lived, even when I lived in a NYC high rise. However it never ceases to amaze me how many big kids (and adults) can't recognize common plants. Have your kids been exposed to gardening? If so, where?
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I don't typically have much success with gardening, but a recent move to an area with a warm and beautiful climate built my confidence so we are giving some fruits and veggies a shot this year! My kids also do some gardening at school, which I think is so great. It's really fun to see how excited they get about watching the plants sprout and grow, and I've been pleasantly surprised by their interest in helping with watering, etc.
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I agree, gardening is an important concept and life skill for kids to learn! However, we can't seem to prioritize the responsibility of caring for one as much as I'd like. We dabble a bit in other ways: spring annuals are traditionally planted in our lawn (kid's choice of flowers) and they've be exposed to awesome nature camps in our area too (Chicago Botanic Garden).
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Yes! Gardening and being a part of growing our own food (at least in a small way) is a value I've always wanted to share with and impart to my kids, but in practice, it has been so hard to prioritize the time it takes to cultivate a garden. At the very least, I am hoping we can commit to growing 1 or 2 plants each spring/summer - tomatoes and zucchini for us this year, as those seem to thrive even when we are not as attentive as we should be! Oh, and chives. Those seem to last no matter what, and come back every spring despite our rough Chicago winters.
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Tomatoes and zucchini for us this year, too! Along with peas and (fingers crossed) watermelon!
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Last year my daughter brought home a sunflower seed and it grew to a massive sunflower in our backyard. We also grew lots of herbs but have yet to try veggies.
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How cool to be able to look in your yard and remember that you all took part in growing that lovely flower together!
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Oh, and I meant to add -- Joanna Gaines and her kids just released an amazing picture book called "We Are the Gardeners" about cultivating their first garden as a family, setbacks and all. I stumbled across it in the "New" section at our library, and it's truly one of my new favorites. I rarely buy kids books at full price (we're more of a thrift store or yard sale family), but that one is going in my Amazon cart ASAP!
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We purchased our first house when I was pregnant with my first kiddo, and it sits on a mostly-open 1 acre lot. I've been dreaming for years about what we could do with all that space, and this spring/summer we're finally going to start our first vegetable garden. So excited to share that experience with my kids....even if everything wilts!
