9 Unusual Kids Gardening Ideas – Fun Lockdown Garden Activities for all the Family

January 27, 2023January 27, 2023 by Matt

I like gardening, and you have actually most likely checked out in other places on the blog site that my garden is my sanctuary, a location not simply for growing and operating in however for household enjoyable and relaxation.

You can discover kids’s gardening motivation all over the web so I believed I ‘d created some various kids gardening concepts to attempt throughout lockdown. I’m talking enjoyable, wildlife, uncommon gardening and thinking of regional neighborhoods too (when we’re lastly freed!)

Gardening is terrific for health and wellness so it’s a terrific outside activity to motivate kids to attempt though it can be intimidating to get them begun.

Today throughout the Coronavirus pandemic great deals of kids are tired, fed up and having a hard time to discover interest in anything so I have actually created some various, enjoyable concepts to get kids into the garden, not simply to grow things however to just delight in nature and being outdoors.

Gardening for wellness

We have actually been a bit flat here at Kids of the Wild too.

Prior to lockdown we had actually thought up lots of enjoyable kids’s gardening tasks for Caroline and good friends to do with her Blackbirds gardening club however it certainly hasn’t occurred and might not for months, if at all this year.

Rather we’re utilizing lockdown time to strategy garden club activities for the future. Caroline and I will still do whatever we have actually prepared in the garden, it’ll simply be on our own instead of with all her gardening club good friends It will not be the very same however we count ourselves exceptionally fortunate to have an outside growing area at all.

We’ll publish a lot of updates here so that the Blackbirds can attempt things in their own gardens, and all you beautiful readers can try with your households too.

It’s a pastime I think highly in handing down to the next generation, as an enthusiasm in itself and similarly as an entrance to larger experiences and activities outdoors.

No garden? Grow inside

If you do not have access to a garden, take a look at my 22 cool recommendations for no-garden activities like growing astronaut food on the windowsill, or take a look at these 17 concepts for getting in touch with nature in your home– there’s LOADS you can do inside and even on the doorstep.

Things to do in the Garden with Kid

Believe Enjoyable!

To motivate kids to enter into it more, we require to make the garden an enjoyable area to be With kids in your home 24-7 throughout lockdown, us garden enthusiasts can’t be too valuable about our reward plants! Here comes the enjoyable …

1. Turn the garden into a fort!

My outright preferred concept for a child-friendly garden may sound anti-social to some however the kids will like it; turn a hedge into a castellated ‘fort’ or ‘castle’ wall!

Deciduous hedge trimmed to topiary style castellated castle or fort walls with trees behind and grass in front

In 2019 we changed this quick growing hedge into a castellated wall within a matter of weeks!

You can see where we’re still growing the space to make a castle door. This is an internal hedge separating our back garden from land we lease as a veg spot, however you might do the very same with any deciduous hedge. If the neighbours aren’t too eager it can quickly be grown back to typical after lockdown!

NB To change an evergreen hedge, you’ll require to look for skilled suggestions or grow it into shape, like topiary, instead of cutting down existing development, to prevent irreversible damage.

2. Offer kids autonomy in the garden

It’s apparent actually, however if we provide kids their own plots, they’re most likely to recognize their own gardening interests, which will be even more enjoyable than feeling ‘required’ to be out there by us tiring moms and dads.

Caroline has 3 little gardening areas of her own, 2 for flowers and one on the veg spot. Subsequently she’s growing 9 various ranges of Dahlia this year (consisting of a brand-new range called Tropical Breeze which we are being sent out to trial by Thompson and Morgan), all picked by herself as I’m not a fan of Dahlias! Watch out for our upcoming dahlia-growing post.

Pink, cream and pale yellow star shaped flower Dahlia Tropical Breeze from Thompson & Morgan — Though taking a look at this, maybe they’ll grow on me?

Permitting Caroline autonomy over her gardening options has actually caused both her being excited to get outdoors and me discovering a brand-new ability– I have actually never ever grown Dahlias prior to! Win, win, and thank you Thompson and Morgan for the motivation.

3. Plant pumpkins for Hallowe’en

What might be more enjoyable than seeing your own pumpkin grow through the year to harvest and sculpt in the nick of time for Hallowe’en ?!

Image of laughing girl in red and green top struggling to hold giant orange warty pumpkin

Choose your own farm-grown pumpkin for Halloween– they do not offer them like this in the stores!

We attempted this in 2015 however planted our seeds too late so our pumpkins weren’t huge enough by November; this year we have actually began them in the greenhouse, however a windowsill will do. It’s not far too late, get planting now.

Directions are on the seed package– all you require is a pot, some peat-free garden compost, pumpkin seeds and a decent-sized warm area to plant them into when sprouted. The seeds at the bottom of the page are offered in help of Kid in Requirement.

Learn professional strategies in our pumpkin sculpting guide, & & make scary technique or deal with pumpkin guts

Believe WILDLIFE

Time invested in the garden is a lot more enjoyable when accompanied by birds, beasties and even mammals from the animal kingdom. The majority of kids like the concept of assisting motivate and take care of wild animals, making their own ‘ back garden nature reserve‘. A basic method to begin is with a bee hotel.

4. Open an Air Bee n’ Bee

My sis purchased this one for Caroline for Christmas, and included the personalisation herself– Caroline was delighted. We have actually yet to invite any visitors however we’re enthusiastic!

Blue hexagonal wooden bee hotel box attached to shed wall with words Miss Cs Bee and Bee written on the side

Position the bee home a minimum of a metre from the ground, on a south or south-east dealing with wall in complete sun. Do not plant anything straight in front as the bees require a direct flight course to and from their brand-new house!

Girl in red hoodie hanging blue wooden bee hotel box onto shed wall

Attempt making your own bee hotel with this handy download from The Wildlife Trusts, and find an universe of interesting bee details in this stunning book The Secret Lives of Garden Bees.

5. Grow a grassy environment under the trampoline

Why have not I thought about this prior to?! This year we’re not cutting under the trampoline, to see what wildlife the resulting long lawn draws in to the garden. It conserves masses of yard cutting inconvenience too.

Garden trampoline next to leafy beech hedge with long grass growing under the trampoline

At first simply the felines were liking it however we have actually just recently discovered a young frog hanging out under there, the specific outcome we wished for.

Common frog in long grass

We’re going to grow long lasting peas up the legs and potentially even ivy, so it feels totally incorporated into the garden. Watch out for photos on Facebook.

6. Grow wildflowers to bring in bugs, bees, butterflies & & pollinators

This is a preferred kids’s gardening job and one that’s outstanding for the environment. There are great deals of various methods to grow wildflowers in your home:–

Bee bombs

In 2015 we were sent out a pack of Bee Bomb seeds to plant– little balls of clay filled with seeds that you just fling onto bare earth. I was extremely suspicious, however they flowered in 2015 and this year the area is overruning with plants once again.

Wildflower meadow

This year we have actually scarified the front yard and sown wildflower seeds to grow a correct meadow, however I have a tension it’s been too dry as there’s presently no indication of development! See this area.

Image of blue-wheelbarrow-planted-with-wildflowers-in-front-of-wall

Container wildflowers

Our extremely first venture into wildflower growing remained in an old recycled wheelbarrow. Truly basic and an enjoyable job to include the kids with too.

Check Out how we did it in my mini wildflower meadow in a container tutorial.

Believe Various

7. Grow a meal-themed veggie bed

Veg growing, whilst healing, uplifting and satisfying for much of us, may at first appear tiring for some kids up until they see and taste the outcomes later on in the year.

Image of smiling girl with dark hair and navy T-shirt holding up a bunch of freshly harvested carrots with soil and roots still attached

Make sowing veg something actually various with a themed plot such as a ‘ Christmas Supper Bed‘ (growing all the fruit and vegetables in time to harvest for Christmas supper in December), or or a ‘ Soup Bed‘ (with carrots & & coriander or leeks & & potatoes for a particular soup dish) or purchase a pre-sorted pack and grow your own pizza garnishes! ( There’s a link at the bottom)

8. Attempt native American ‘3 Siblings’ buddy planting

Black and white illustration of corn, beans and squash growing in Three Sisters vegetable bed
This year, we’re going actually various on the veg spot with a ‘3 Siblings’ bed. It’s a native American concept (so we’ll see how it operates in the UK environment), including buddy planting on a mound of earth to grow sweetcorn, climbing up beans and squash, with a flower or 2 included for prettiness too.

Vegetable patch bed with two round plots of soil and sweetcorn plants placed in pots with bean pole wigwam in background

I’m dealing with a complete post about this which needs to be out quickly however what I have actually liked up until now is seeing the corn seedlings produce their own water beads– I’m not exactly sure of the science behind this however will investigate it for the post.

Sweetcorn seedling with drop of water between two leaves — Among our sweetcorn seedlings with it’s self-produced water bead!

Believe Neighborhood

9. Hold a social day in your garden

When lockdown is over, what much better method to commemorate than to welcome good friends and neighbours to invest an afternoon in your garden– a terrific opportunity to reconnect with individuals after these strange months of seclusion. The RHS Schools Gardening Project established Grow Social this year with simply this goal in mind. Clearly Covid-19 has actually stopped it in the meantime however why not strategy to host a garden social after ‘freedom’!

More Motivation– Gardening, Outdoors, Lockdown

For more seclusion and lockdown activities, take a look at the Kids of the Wild’s gardening pages and read our why nature matters recommendations. Attempt this basic coconut bird feeder tutorial too or make a calendar tree to count the days of lockdown.

For continuous seclusion activities do not forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and register to the site to get the current posts to your inbox.

For more kids gardening motivation from Thompson and Morgan read their routine gardening blog site round-ups, consisting of some Kids of the Wild concepts. Have a look at their most current post here

Wild long for lockdown household enjoyable in the garden!