Gardening with naturals -- children

"Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves,
and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them." ~Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, 1943

May is such a beautiful month for going out and getting your hands dirty in the garden. And one of the many beautiful things about homeschooling is all that the children can learn when they are right in there with you. Before I began homeschooling, gardening was one of those chores that I tried to get done while most of the children were at school. I never really thought to include them, because I thought of it as a chore. Would I include them in cleaning the toilets?

But since I began homeschooling, I can see the joy that the children get in the garden, and my attitude has changed as well. It's so easy to understand about God and our faith when we see the beauty that He has created everywhere.

We've expanded our gardening to include vegetables as well as flowers, and while I used to have very tidy flower beds, I now see that almost everything in the yard is welcome by someone.

Eight years ago we moved to the the house we now live in. I remember when we were house hunting and we first came to look at this house, we did not walk through the front door, like most people do when they look at a prospective home. We walked through the side gate and into the greenest back yard I could have ever imagined. Though we were right smack in the middle of a populated suburban city, it felt like we walked through the gates to a lovely woodland. While it was not filled with magnificent gardens (frankly there was really not one organized space) the trees were, and are, huge -- over 80-year-old Oaks, with saplings of Maple, Cherry, Hickory, and Walnut scattered in between, and wild honeysuckle filling in between those. And down in the lower yard is a creek -- not too large unless it rains hard, but large enough that you can hear the trickle of water.

As the parents of three young boys (no girl yet at that time), Doug and I looked at each other that day and knew that it really didn't much matter what the inside of the house looked like. We loved the yard. We bought the house for the yard. And while we've replaced just about everything inside the house (it really wasn't so great), we mostly enjoy spending time in the yard and relaxing on the deck.

In the past eight years we have not changed a lot about the yard. I realized shortly after we moved that there was really far too much "garden" to manage at the tidy-flower-bed level I had in the past. There was no mulching these beds. We really just had to kind of let them go as nature would have them. We manage a little bit in the upper yard, planting mostly perennials, and weeding a lot, but we have to let the entire lower yard go, except for providing some wood chips under the swing set.

Of the changes we have made, one is that Doug terraced off the sunny side yard (really one of the only parts of the yard that gets sun) and created a much-wanted vegetable and herb garden for me. Unfortunately we spend a lot of time figuring out ways to keep the bunnies out and the pests away, but that's the life of the vegetable farmer, eh? We don't grow enough to rely on for food, because it's such a small space, but what we get is a treat.

We also created a fire pit, somewhat rustic, with seats made from a huge tree we had to take down. Doug and the kids really enjoy it, and it's fun when we have company to spend time outdoors after dark.

But history has sidetracked my intent of this post, and that was to share "gardening with children." While we have children ages five to 17, the younger children really have the "joy de vivre" in the great outdoors. No one gets as excited about earthworms and butterflies and even grubs as a young child. And there is so much observation to be done in the outdoors. With an observant child, even adults can learn a lot.

We've learned about all of the gorgeous colors that nature offers.
The bluish purple of bugleweed.


The fuscia of azalea.

The deep purple of wild violets.


The bright gold of Chinese roses.


We've learned about different textures and shapes.
The spikey, smooth grass-like leaves of chive.


The soft, swirl of a hosta leaf, fresh from the earth.


The furry, jagged leaves of the yellow archangel.



And then there are lessons about what not to touch.
Leaves of three, leave it be
(poison ivy is the only plant I can think of that is absolutely not welcome).


Except when it comes to the Trinity.
Usually an undesirable -- clover -- how can we dislike a plant
that teaches us about The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost?


Another generally unwanted plant -- the dandelion.
But when your little darling brings a bouquet
because she loves you,
how can that be a bad thing?


Even the insidious garlic mustard (and it's partner in crime, the honeysuckle)
are a thing of beauty when they prevent erosion along our creek bed.
I told, you, not much is unwelcome here. We find a place for everyone.


The creek is a place where the children have learned about wildlife.
Even though we are in a populated suburb,
we have great bird life, including ducks who nest on the creek banks;
owls, who we can hear hooting to each other in the evenings;
and a Great Heron who fishes here frequently.
We also have a muskrat who lives in one of the banks,
along with tons of squirrels, chipmunks, and even some fox.
And the children enjoy feeding the fish--
they hunt for worms and grubs to feed the small trout they see in the water.


The creek is also just plain dirty entertainment.
We have rubber boots in every size from XS to XL,
so that everyone who visits can share in the dirty fun.

Mostly the creek just provides a place for quiet water therapy.
Who needs electric fountains with a creek back there?
I can even see it from my kitchen window,
which is very pleasant for passing time doing dishes.


The swing set is on the banks of the creek
(the creek is on the other side of the fence).
This location is really ideal because the swing set stays cool in the summer
and it feels like you're in a tree house.


I think the most fun the children and I have in the yard is in the
vegetable garden. It's just fascinating, even for me, to grow food.
And when you sit down to a salad with lettuce from your own garden,
it just seems to taste better, even if it doesn't.
It's convenient too, especially to grow herbs.
Just head out to the side yard for a handful of flat leaf parsley
or mint for my sweet tea.
Pictured here are our sugar snap peas.
They got a late start because of the cold we had in April,
but they'll get here.

In about a week these leaf lettuce seedlings will be thinned
and we can add them to our salad, or just eat them with ranch dressing.

We'll also grow a couple of beds of tomatoes, some cucumbers,
a couple types of squash, sweet and hot peppers, flat leaf parsley, chives, cilantro, oregano, rosemary, and lots of peppermint and spearmint.


And in no time, these pretty white and yellow flowers will be ripe, red strawberries.


This bed of mint of not only great for iced tea,
but it fills an empty bed against a fence --
a place where nothing else seems to grow.
And Peach loves to pick the mint while we're out hanging laundry,
just a few leaves to put in her pocket and smell all day.

And lastly is a picture of our fire pit last fall (with the gang).
I accuse Doug of being a pyro, but I have to admit
that it is alot of fun to relax with a cold beer by the fire --
any time of year.


Be sure to stop by Jennifer's Loveliness of Gardens Fair.