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Saturday, June 23, 2001

By Loralee LeBoeuf, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

Kids are naturally curious, and what better way to nurture their inquisitiveness than through the world of plants?

A good gardening experience as a child can translate into great memories and possibly even a lifelong hobby. However, with all the competition for children's attention from television, computers, sports and planned activities, it's important to find a balance between fun and the practical components of maintaining a garden.

	Growing with Phipps Previous articles in a series Hardscaping provides garden framework All-America Selections For 2001 The Discovery Garden at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens celebrates its fifth anniversary from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 7 with games, face-painting, plant and seed potting, live entertainment, storytelling, leaf and flower hunts and other activities. Throughout the summer, Discovery Garden visitors will enjoy interactive activities, guaranteed to engage children of all ages. Call Phipps' education department at 412-622-6915, Ext. 6901. This is one in a series of periodic columns by staffers of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Loralee LeBoeuf is a volunteer at Phipps.

For starters, relax your standards. Instilling an appreciation for nature and providing a place for fun activities does not necessarily produce neat rows or weed-free plots. Children have very different priorities, depending upon their age. Preschoolers are more likely to be interested in uninhibited exploration focusing on playing in the soil and finding bugs, while kindergartners may wish to work with a friend and learn to use the pruning shears.

An elementary school pupil may make plant markers and read seed packets, but the "doing" is still more important than an organized garden. As children mature to the middle school ages, expect more emphasis on garden design and plant-specific activities.

Begin by providing children with an area they can call their own. Allow plenty of room for digging and exploration without concern for disrupting other parts of the family garden. If a separate garden is not possible, clearly mark a section of an existing garden defined by borders; perhaps use a sign with the child's name on it. Start small, conceivably 4 by 4 feet, with plenty of good soil to aid in success.

Don't despair if you don't have a garden plot, as you can use pots and containers on a patio or deck. Six hours of direct sunlight a day is ideal, and pots can be moved to a sunny spot.

Let the child choose what he or she wishes to plant, offering guidance and slipping an easy-to-grow guaranteed "success" into the mix. Young children often like extremes, such as large sunflowers and tiny grape tomatoes, or plants with textures, such as woolly thyme or lambs' ears, coneflower and strawflowers. Flowers for cutting, such as zinnias, marigolds, snapdragons or salvia, extend the gardening experience into the home. If shade is your only choice, try begonias, forget-me-nots, impatiens, Johnny-jump-ups and pansies.

Experimenting with vegetables, such as carrots, radishes and tomatoes, is another possibility. Starting from seed can be a good learning experience for small children if you use large seeds such as corn, beans and sunflowers. Bedding plants are great for a quick start and instant results. However, do not expect children to do all the maintenance on the garden such as watering, weeding or pest control. A little behind-the-scenes help from an adult friend can make the experience more enjoyable.

For more ideas, check out the National Garden Association's Web Site, http://www.kidsgardening.com.

The benefits of gardening with children are numerous, including experiencing different types of plant growth, interacting with bird and insect life, discovering the importance of the sun and water, and learning how vegetables appear on the dinner table.

The garden is an excellent place to reinforce what children have heard or learned outside the home. It provides an opportunity to encourage their creativity and teaches patience while they wait for the plants to grow. Exposing children to the larger world of plants through journeys to beautiful gardens, such as Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, will enhance their gardening experience now and in the future.

However, by far the greatest benefit of gardening with your children is having time to talk to them, listening to their thoughts and helping them grow as people and as gardeners.