Category Archives: Garden Activities for Kids

Top 10 Blog Posts During 2012

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As we approach the end of the year many of us start thinking about goals for the future. A few of the obvious keep popping into my mind but I’m quite enjoying the Christmas cocoon and not quite ready to pin down any in particular for 2013 just yet. The time will come soon enough, perhaps when our children return to school and there’s some quiet time in our home once more. For now I’m enjoying every moment of the here and now and pondering over lessons learned during the past 12 months.

One aspect of my life that I’ve particularly enjoyed over the past few years has been blogging. Being chosen as a finalist in the 2012 Ireland Blog Awards in two categories was a particular highlight… In an order that’s impossible to choose between, I blog for me, I blog for my business and I blog for you. I enjoy blogging so much I started a new personal blog this year which you can find here.

In case you missed some of the Greenside Up posts, here are the top 10 blogs that you looked at in 2012 starting with the most popular:

Black SlugSlugs ~ How to get rid of them organically

A huge problem this year and fingers crossed we don’t see a repeat of the slug invasion during 2013! If we do, you’ll know what to do without automatically reaching for the slug pellets!

Srawberries

Strawberry Cheesecake

A lovely recipe when strawberries are in season but do use the best ingredients as the cheesecake might not set if you opt for cheap and cheerful.

 

Hippy scarecrowHow to Make Mini Scarecrows

There was so much rain this year, perhaps you were all looking for indoor projects but this one is fun for young and old alike.

nettlesHow to Make Comfrey and Nettle Fertiliser

If you’re gardening organically making your own fertiliser is great for your vegetable garden and free!

 

homemade greenhousePolytunnels and Greenhouses – Is cheaper better?

From my own experience I can wholeheartedly say that vegetables grown under cover fare much better in the Irish climate than those grown outdoors. I’ve been asked many times over the past year for advice and with budgets smaller, many of you have been building your own polytunnels and greenhouses. This post came as a result of questions asked on twitter and facebook looking for your feedback.

Dandelion ClockHow to Make Dandelion Honey

Zwartbles posted the recipe for dandelion honey on twitter and Foxglove Lane provided this beautiful image for the recipe that was replicated on my blog. Did you try it? Once it was made correctly, I was surprised how tasty it was!

Recycled FlowersGardening with Kids – How to Make Recycled Flowers

I was delighted to see that many of you are looking for ways of reusing your rubbish and these flowers certainly brightened up our own dull garden at times.

Companion Flowers

 

Teenagers – Doing it For Themselves

2012 was the first year I worked with teenagers and children having spent my previous two years in business teaching adults. What a revelation! Teaching the Bridge Boys from Goresbridge about flowers and vegetables and seeing the end results was tremendously rewarding. Take a look at the post for pictures of a fantastic bench the boys built. Their achievements were mentioned in the Sunday Business Post as a result of this post.

Could the American Dream Be Wrong?

My personal favourite as this blog post was written whilst the children and I were spending some precious weeks with Mr G who was working in the U.S. for most of the year. This piece provoked some insightful and thoughtful comments.

Broad BeansHarvesting Broad Beans

An excellent crop for beginners, broad beans can be eaten in many ways. This post describes several of them.

 

Thank you so much for reading and taking the time to comment, it’s very much appreciated. I hope these and other posts have helped you in some way. I’ll be out of hibernation in the next week or two filling the pages with many more for a busy gardening year in 2013.

 

How to Make Mini Scarecrows

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Hippy scarecrowAre you looking for an indoor activity that will entice kids of all ages away from the TV or computer for a couple of hours? If so these mini scarecrows can be easily and cheaply made by young and old using household odds and ends.

Scarecrow couple

All you need to make these scarecrows are wooden spoons, pipecleaners or lollypop sticks for the arms, permanent markers to draw on the faces (with googly eyes optional) and a selection of wool, fabrics, buttons & beads. Glue, staples or needles & thread can be used to fix the ‘clothes’ on or just tie them with wool or string. (We found the easiest way to attach the lollipop stick arms to the wooden spoon was by tying them with wool.)

mini scarecrowI found this activity really calming for all involved and enjoyed sitting down, letting the imagination run away with itself, and seeing how differently each of the mini scarecrows turned out, developing personalities as we clothed them.

ScarecrowChildren might enjoy having a puppet show with the scarecrows when they’ve finished making them, before they’re finally placed into the garden to scare the birds away.

The joy of this activity is seeing where the imagination goes. Armed with the same bag of bits and bobs, every mini scarecrow is different.

If you’re looking for some more ideas that will help to keep kids away from the TV or computer during the rainy summer holidays, you might like some previous blog posts here.

Gardening with Kids – How to Make Recycled Plastic Flowers

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Recycled Plastic Flowers

Recycled Plastic Flowers

Do you ever buy the small minerals for your children for trips or treats? If so don’t throw them into the recycle bin, why not make a few colourful recycled plastic flowers for your garden?

You will need scissors, empty bottles, strong wire (I used a metal coat hanger), pliers, then twine, gardeners wire or an elastic band to secure. Decorations of your choice.

Wash the empty bottles out and cut them just above the half way mark.

Recycled Plastic FlowersTaking the bottom piece, cut strips as far as the fold that’s in the bottle to make the petals. They can be as thin or thick as you like. We found the thinner they were the prettier but whatever your child can manage. Repeat with the top half, once again stopping the cuts at the fold. Bend each cut strip outwards so that it flattens, just like a flower.

Recycled Plastic Flowers

Here’s where an adult will have to intervene. Using the wire cutting part of the pliers, cut the wire to the appropriate length – about 30cm is a good size. The bases of the bottles are very difficult to cut holes into. I found the easiest method was to hold the piece of wire over a hot flame, the heat from which will pierce the base easily.

Recycled plastic flower

Once the wire is through the plastic bend the top over to form a loop with the pliers. The loop should be about the width of the neck of the bottle as it’s this that will keep the flower in place once you’ve threaded the top onto it.

If you have still have the cap, simply screw it back onto the bottle, hiding the metal wire. If you’ve lost it, wrap some string or raffia around it or even make a little woollen pompom that will act as the centre piece.

recycled plastic flower

To stop the flower sliding back down the metal wire, just tie some string or an elastic band between the wire and the back of the bottle.

That’s it! You can decorate with paints, ribbons, raffia, wobbly eyes ~ anything you have to hand that might jazz your flowers up – or just leave them plain. The flowers are sure to liven up a garden on a dull day.

I can’t take all the credit for this post as it was inspired by Penny at the Millennium Community Garden in Kilkenny who’d been cutting out lots of bottles ready for a summer kids camp. There they will be making a wall mural with a gardening theme (and my own children would like to thank you for the idea too Penny as it meant I had to buy a pack of bottles to make this project with them – double bonus :) )

Grow a Herb Garden – Operation GIY Nation

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Have you grown any vegetables yet? Six families are just starting and if you’re new to the idea, why not join them by following the month-by-month projects?

GIY Ireland launched Operation GIY Nation back in April choosing six pioneer families around Ireland to have a go at growing their own as well as be in with a chance to win a prize. As complete beginners the families are being helped and advised be GIY, a charitable organisation that’s doing a great job at helping and encouraging people to grow their own food, and I was delighted to be asked to write the projects for them.

The first month - April started by sowing cress seeds.

http://www.giyireland.com/pages/june_project

Herb Garden

In May the families (and anyone else who wants to join in) had a go at growing their own salad bowl  and in June everyone is being asked to grow a herb garden.

So what do you think? Will you give it a go? Herbs were the very first plants that I grew in my tiny mid-terraced garden many years ago. They need very little maintenance and there’s nothing better than snipping a few fresh leaves and adding them to your cooking pot.

 

Gardening with Kids – Have Fun with Cress

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Children love to watch seeds grow, and even better if theseeds they are growing are scattered in the shape of their name or favourite shape (am thinking hearts for Valentine’s Day here…).
Here’s a simple project that can be grown at any time of theyear – as long as you have a light windowsill to grow them on.
What you will need:

Cress seeds
Watering can or spray bottle
A container – margarine tubs, mushroom container – anythingthat will hold your seeds
Compost, kitchen roll or cotton wool
What to do:

Place your compost, cotton wool or kitchen roll on thebottom of the container and soak with water.
Shake some seeds into your (or your child’s) hand andcarefully shape them into the desired initial or shape (beware as they areeasily scattered!)
Place the container on a windowsill, preferably where thechild can see them.  
Make sure thecompost, cotton wool or kitchen roll is kept wet as the seeds won’t grow ifthey’re allowed to dry out.
In just a week’s time, when the cress has reached about 5cm,it will be ready to eat! (Tastes delicious in a sandwich with egg or cheese.)
Older children might like to try growing the seeds in morethan one container at the same time, with say compost in one and cotton wool inanother so that they can compare the results. 






Some of the things youcan talk about as you watch the seeds grow are:

  • How the seeds all bend as they reach to the light. If youturn the tray they will bend back. There’s a special word for this which I love called Phototropism. There are lots of ‘tropisms‘. Another one I like is Thigmotropism where a plant moves or grows in response to being gently stroked or touched.

  • If the seeds are sown too thickly they might not grow as strong or healthy as they will all be fighting for space and light.

  • If they forget to water them they might not grow as strong or healthy as they will all be fighting for space and light.

  • If they forget to water them they will become limp (as we do). If they are overwatered they might not germinate as they will be starved of oxygen and drown!

  • If two experiments are carried out, do theseeds that were grown in the compost look healthier, greener or larger than those in thekitchen paper or cotton wool? Did they grow more quickly? (If so it’s because there are nutrients in compost that will feed them, whereas there are no nutrients in compost or kitchen roll!  Seeds don’t need nutrients to germinate as everything they require to do this is contained within their seed shell. However, once they’ve sprouted and grown their first leaves, they will be looking for those precious nutrients.

Have you ever grown cress seeds in different ways? What’s your favourite way of eating it?