Garden Projects to Try with Your Kids this Spring

It’s finally starting to warm up in the UK, and we’re slowly returning outside to enjoy the great outdoors. While we work on getting our gardens back in order, it's a good idea to get the kids involved and start enjoying ourselves!

In order to celebrate the new season, we’ve come up with some great gardening activities for children to inspire you and your family.

By the way, kids’ gardening ideas don’t have to be complicated, they just need to be fun! Little people will love using their imaginations and getting messy – and putting a Saturday afternoon aside to plant seeds and spend time outdoors is a lovely way to enjoy quality time together.

Homemade Bird Feeders 

 Credit: Messy Little Monster

When it comes to gardening activities for children, they don’t get messier – or more fun – than these homemade bird feeders. They’re also really easy to make.

What you will need:

• Birdseed 

• Gelatine

• Mixing bowl

• Biscuit cutters

• Ribbons

• Foil covered baking tray

• Straws

1. Make the gelatine by pouring the powder into a bowl of boiling water (keep little ones well away at this point!). Tip the birdseed into the bowl. You want to aim to have the same amount of seed and gelatine. Mix well.

2. Put your biscuit cutter on the tray and pour your mixture into the shapes. Put a straw into the shape so you can thread a ribbon through the hole later.

3. Put the tray in the fridge for a few hours and then leave them to dry overnight.

4. In the morning, gentle push the birdfeeders out of the cutters and then tie a ribbon through the hole.

5. They’re now ready to hang up in the garden!

 

Fairy Garden 

We’re in love with this imaginative garden dwelling. You can let you and your children’s imaginations run wild with the design for this. To decorate, just use whatever is at hand. The most important thing is to have fun and enjoy your miniature garden!

What you’ll need:

• Barrel planter 

• Little shrubs 

• Compost 

• Fairy house (you can make your own or pick one up online)

• Decorations: Decorative pebbles, shells, snail shells, doll’s house furniture

1. Fill the barrel planter up with compost and plant the little plants and shrubs around the edge of half the barrel.

2. Place your fairy house at the far end

3. Make pathways and decorate with pebbles, shells, etc

 

Quick Growing Planters

Credit: Rainy Day Mum 

These are a great crash course in gardening for children. They’re also really simple to do – and you’ll see the results very quickly with the right type of seed. Once grown you can transfer them to a bigger planter, or into the main flower beds in the garden to thrive.

• Seeds 

• Compost

• Shallow Storage Boxes (for outdoor use) or a planter 

1. Get your planter or storage box and fill with compost to within an inch of the brim.

2. Follow the planting instructions on the seed packet. (Some will need planting within a certain distance of each other etc)

3. Water and wait! Your children will love watching the development of the plant – from seedling to flower.

 

Plant Tepee

 Credit: Joyful Toddlers

This is one of our favourite gardening projects for kids. All little ones love dens – and this one is made from plants, making it a great summertime project. A little tip – if you simply can’t wait for the climbing plant to grow, you can always locate a bushy area in your garden and cut the bottoms of the bush up three or four feet to wrap around the structure.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Bamboo canes

• Clematis and climber plants 

• Pots 

• Compost 

1. Fill four planters with compost and arrange into a square.

2. Stick the canes to stand in the planters and position them to form a tepee structure at the top. (You could push the canes into the ground, but we’ve found setting up good foundations of compost filled planters works much better.)

3. Plant your clematis or climbing plant around the bamboo canes and wait for them to grow.

4. In the meantime, use our cheat’s tactic of using ready-grown bushes and weeds while you wait for the ‘real’ plants to grow!

What have you been up to in the garden over the past few weeks? Share your pictures with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and join in the chat with the rest of the B&M community!