Easy Steps to Make Your Garden Kid-Friendly
Simple ways to make your own kid-friendly garden in Central Florida
There is nothing more timeless than the power of contact with nature. We cannot deny that nature, contact with the fresh air, natural foods, and all elements around us, have a direct correlation with our overall well-being. For homeowners, the ability to have quick contact with the outdoors is such an added bonus. Simply open the door and you can be barefoot outdoors on fresh grass or simply breathing fresh air for a few minutes!
If we know that nature is important for all of us, then why not create a kid-friendly garden. This can be one of the best ways we can create a loving space for the children in our home or the children that visit our home. The best part is, the kid-friendly garden can be as small or as intricate as you choose.
We’ll give you some tips below on how to get started:
Essentials for a Kid-Friendly Garden
Start with the Senses: One of the best ways to make a garden friendly for everyone is to engage the senses. Plant a mixture of plants that vary in smell, color and taste. For taste, start with some herbs like basil, mint, and rosemary. These three can successfully grow in Central Florida climate and will allow children and adults to engage their senses in the garden. You will have fresh mint for some pineapple mint juice in the summer or strawberry basil lemonade for relaxing by your pool. In addition to planting fresh herbs, finding special places to plant vibrant color plants and flowers. The key to a kid-friendly garden is discovery. Have your garden be a place to discover new tastes, textures, and colors.
Recycle: With discovery in mind, your garden can be an amazing place for children when you think outside of the box with planters! You do not need to have a huge fenced in backyard to have a child friendly garden, you can begin a garden in your enclosed screened room with unique planters. Gardens are unique to you and your family. Outgrown children’s toys, wagons, and even galoshes are all on the table to be used as planter options. How about a little dump truck that has some fresh mint growing in the back? Or an outgrown wagon that is now used to grow lettuce varieties. Discover what fun items you might have around the house that could be incorporated in your garden. This could even look like allowing children to place one of their small toys as garden decoration in certain sections of the garden. Make it personal, and make the garden a space that is playful and personal to all.
Elements of Play: The element of play is such a secret to not only a child-friendly garden, but perhaps to a happy home. Consider areas where you can add new elements of play to the outdoors. For homes with backyards with bigger trees, maybe this involves the classic painted tire swing for some old school fun. For homes with a more tropical feel, perhaps this means adding a hammock for some garden relaxation. Other homes even added a swing hung from the beams of a shade pergola! How fun would it be to let kids pick out their own basil for some pizza under the pergola and allow them to be playful kids and swing while you all enjoy your time dining with friends and family under the pergola. Playfulness can be added in many ways and your garden is definitely a place to play in the outdoors.
Bird Feeders: Gardening is what you make of it! You can have an entire greenhouse and raised beds for pumpkins and collards or you can have smaller containers with some fresh herbs. The real secret to a kid-friendly garden is to invite all ages to appreciate and enjoy the gifts that nature gives us. A classic bird-feeder is a great way to welcome nature in. Bird feeders can be paired with elaborate bird baths or they can be a small do-it-yourself project together on a Saturday morning. Does anyone else remember the pine cones with peanut butter? Whether you decide to make something small and classic or buy a fun DIY kit and build one together, a bird feeder is a small but powerful reminder to be good stewards of the earth. You never know what impact a small gesture towards nature can do for a child’s wellbeing and sense of belonging.
Nature has such a power impact on our health and wellbeing no matter what age we are. These small ways can make your home and garden a place that is playful and inviting for kids and kids-at heart. Whether you add a swing to your pergola or want to bring fresh herbs to your cooking outdoors, your home is your own canvas and you can make it a space that is inspiring and uniquely your own.
For more ways to make your home a space that is perfect for you, contact us today at 1-407-237-3128.