Spring Activities for your Kids in the Garden

This Spring

Spring is a great time to get working on your garden for children. There are loads of kids garden activities for you to do even though it really is a whatever the weather season. Plan how you are going to use the garden once the daylight hours grow longer. Plan how you want to design your children’s garden. Don’t forget to involve your children in the garden plans. You may be surprised!

Ideas for A Kids Garden

Grow plants in a wacky containers to inspire and hold you kids’ attention. It is a great way to recycle. Wellington Boots are the classic. What about old toys, that Fireman Sam Helmet, old lunch box and you could try a no longer needed potty. Decorate those yogurt pots with stickers, paint terracotta pots and stick glitter to those loo rolls.

More information on how to paint flower pots and stones.

If you are growing runner beans or other trailing vegetable why not try and create a teepee. We are growing beans up our son’s play den so he can play and pick at the same time. It is a great form of camouflage.

WildlifeGarden

Your children can start to spot spring visitors to the garden. If you have a pond then in early spring you could see frog spawn starting to appear. Frog spawn is laid in clumps whereas toad spawn is laid in strings. The Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust gives lots of tips and information about creating a frog-friendly garden.

The British Trust for Ornithology estimate that there are now 5-6 million bird boxes in UK gardens. You can put one up in your garden at any time of year. Early spring is a good time if you want to see spring chicks fledge from it. If you already have a bird box then give it a spring clean. Why not put up another one. Be aware that whole peanuts in feeders at this time of year could choke young fledglings.

Butterflies will arrive with the warmer weather. Brimstone and the small tortoiseshell are two of the first to be seen in gardens. Early spring flowers provide really important nectar for all butterflies emerging from hibernation.

Become part of Natural England’s Big Wildlife Garden and turn your garden into an oasis for wildlife. We have listed 10 steps to create a Bee friendly garden .

What to Plant in Spring: Ready Steady Sow

You can start sowing seeds indoors from February and outdoors from April/May. We have detailed advice about choosing and sowing seeds with your children. Check your seed packet for particular details.

Child-friendly easy grow annual flower seeds include Candy Tuft (Iberis umbellata), Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus), Love in A Mist (Nigella damascena), Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus), Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis) – Quick growing, Sunflower (Helianthus annuus). Check out our sunflower seed birthday cards and other growing kits in our shop www.kidsinthegardenshop.co.uk.

Large seeds such as Sunflower and Nasturtium are the easiest for young children to handle and can be placed in the ground at intervals so negating the need to thin. Have a look at growing these in more detail. We have more information about Easy Grow Flower Seeds.

We have lots of tips and hints about growing fruit, vegetables and herbs with your children on our kids gardening pages.

Children’s Garden Activities

Fine tune your children’s listening skills and take a look at our ideas for sound in the garden. Harness those March winds and make, buy, collect and hang out wind socks, windmills, ribbons, mobiles and wind chimes. Tie feathers, flags and floaty fabrics to the washing line.

Take advantage of those April showers and get the kids to explore the rain by:-

Making a rain catcher from different sorts of containers to measure our rainfall.
Having chalk available for drawing around puddles.
Adding washing up liquid and/or food dye to create bubble puddles.
Placing an acrylic mirror on the ground and watch those raindrops splutter down upon it.
Getting out those child-sized brooms to sweep up those puddles.

If you cannot get out into the garden make plant markers using, ping pong balls, lolly pop sticks, or wooden spoons. The children will have fun and they can be especially important to mark ownership their own plot.