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From the Archives
Apprentice Gardeners
Kathy at Cold Climate Gardening wrote a wonderful post recently in which she reviewed three gardening books for kids. Her selections were wonderful—I ended up ordering one of them right away–but what really struck me was that we have the same philosophy of children and gardening. Kathy says:
“I prefer to regard children as apprentice gardeners, gradually acquiring more skills as the years go by, working their way up (at their own pace and interest level) to journeyman and eventually master gardener. As much as possible, I like to let them choose their own projects, plan the execution of them, and solve their own problems.”
Exactly. My kids do plenty in my garden, from weeding, to watering, to planting their own seeds, yet these are things they’ve decided to do on their own. Much of it is modeling, of course—at this young age (my “garden girls” are 3 and 4) they want to do what mom and dad do. Weeding seems fascinating; planting small seeds that sprout into pumpkin vines is a magic unparalleled. I have made a point of never saying the words “garden chores” or “working in the garden,” because I want them to see gardening the way I see it–fun, relaxing, and full of surprises. Emily, my oldest, understands already that that gardener gets to experience Christmas morning almost every day of the year: a plant blooms here, a tiny tomato appears there, and that weird-looking kale stuff is actually pretty tasty.
The most fun we’ve had together (besides eating the fruits of our labor) has been planning the girls’ gardens. We started doing this last winter. Each girl gets a little plot of their own. Last year, it was large container gardens, but this year they’ll probably each get a small bed to garden in. We looked through catalogs and garden books together, and talked about what kind of veggies they liked best and what color flowers they wanted. They ended up growing cherry tomatoes, yellow pear tomatoes, ‘Empress of India’ nasturtiums, and ‘Yellow Gem’ marigolds. They planted the seeds, monitored growth, watered, and transplanted. And they got to harvest as well.
What I liked about this project was that not only was is a sustained activity that kept their attention for 6+ months, but it also taught them a lot about how plants grow, what they need, and how to keep them healthy. They watched the bees fluttering among the marigolds, and noticed that the nasturtium was pretty unhappy once it got hot, yet started growing again in the fall.
More than anything, it gave them ownership of a small plot of land (even if it was in a pot) and they were responsible for that piece of Earth. The plants, the soil, and the insects became theirs, and they made sure they took care of them. I think, maybe, that’s the best lesson we can hope to teach our children.
This post was my entry into this month’s Garden Blogger Design Workshop, hosted by the crew over at Gardening Gone Wild.
10 comments
10 comments to “Apprentice Gardeners”
Kathy from Cold Climate Gardening, December 1st, 2008 at 8:57 am:
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Ownership is a very important component–it has to be their project, not something a grownup thought would be a good idea for them to do.
Katie, December 1st, 2008 at 10:07 am:
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Great post Colleen! I am glad you are cultivating another generation of gardeners.
Jim/ArtofGardening, December 2nd, 2008 at 3:56 pm:
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Just about the only thing I can get my 10-year-old daughter to do is pick an occasional plant to add and water her “Harry Potter Garden” (which I’ll post about soon for the Garden Blogger Design Workshops soon).
Of course, her watering generally devolves into watering the swing set, driveway, house and herself.
Annie in Austin, December 3rd, 2008 at 10:46 am:
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Hi Colleen – just found your new site.
Your kids look like they’re enjoying being out there with you, and that you like being with them.
I sure never did anything as organized as you or Kathy but all four of my kids grew up to be interested in plants and gardening. I have no idea why…maybe I’ll go ask them.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Dave, December 4th, 2008 at 7:31 am:
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I bring my daughter out with me all the time. Unless its during her naptime she’s with me in the garden everytime I am. It’s a great way to get them outside and teaches them about plants. She had her first garden this year with zinnias and sunflowers. Easy plants that are sure to grow!
Nan Ondra, December 4th, 2008 at 12:49 pm:
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Thanks for sharing yoru thoughts for the GGW Design Workshop, Colleen. Your approach with your kids is the same my mom had with me, and it sure worked for us! Somehow, I missed that you have a new address, so I’m headed back to update your link at GGW.
commonweeder, December 6th, 2008 at 7:29 am:
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Colleen, None of my children turned out to be gardeners, but I certainly have seen how a parent’s passion is transmitted. One 8 year old learned about the 3 Sisters at school and with her gardener mother they not only planted a sizeable 3 sisters patch at home, Mom (who works at the summerschool) now has a public 3 sisters patch with her daughter and the other students. The garden is right where everyone can see it and visit.
Amy, December 8th, 2008 at 9:38 am:
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Wonderful post! This year we gave each child a section of raised bed and let them choose what seeds they wanted to plant. Some of our children were most enthusiastic than others, but that was fine. I think they all had fun and learned some new skills.
Blackswampgirl Kim, December 12th, 2008 at 9:26 pm:
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Nice post, Colleen! I think that you definitely have the right attitude, and hope that you are getting “buy in” from the girls on the whole gardening thing.
By the way, did you ever plant those green zinnias? Just curious how they performed, if you did…
GBDW - Gardening with Kids Wrapup, December 31st, 2008 at 1:37 am:
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[...] Apprentice Gardeners (Colleen at In the Garden Online): Giving kids a space of their own, as Colleen has done for her two “garden girls,” is a great way to get them off to a great start in their gardening career. [...]