Want to bond with your kids and maybe grow something other than screen time? Try gardening. It’s messy, slow, and wildly unpredictable—just like parenting! But, watching your child pull a carrot they grew from actual dirt somehow feels like a tiny miracle, even if it’s a weirdly shaped carrot.
Here’s how to start a flower and vegetable garden with your kids without needing a glass of wine afterward. (Okay, maybe just one.)
1. Choose Plants That Don’t Judge You
The goal here is survival. You want plants that and won’t wither if you or your 5-year-old forgets to water them for three days straight.
For the veggie garden:
- Cherry tomatoes (basically weeds, in the best way)
- Carrots (fun to yank out of the ground)
- Lettuce (grows fast, dies fast, drama queen)
- Radishes (a root vegetable that literally grows in like a week)
- Sugar snap peas (climby, snacky, adorable)
For the flower garden:
- Sunflowers (giant and impossible to ignore)
- Marigolds (basically bulletproof)
- Zinnias (they thrive on neglect)
- Nasturtiums (bonus: you can eat them if all else fails)
- Calendula (like marigolds, but with an ego)
2. Let the Kids Choose—Just Not All the Things
Give them a few seed packets to choose from. But don’t let them go rogue unless you’re cool with growing ornamental gourds and mystery pumpkins on your balcony. Steer the chaos with gentle guidance.
3. Embrace Containers, Raised Beds, and the Art of Lazy Gardening
Unless you have acres of land and the patience of a monk, stick with containers or raised beds. They’re easier to manage, less prone to becoming a weed jungle, and way more kid-accessible. Bonus: you don’t have to bend over constantly like you’re in a Jane Austen novel.
Pro tip: repurpose old pots, buckets, or literally anything that holds dirt and drains water. Ugly? Maybe. Functional? Absolutely.
4. Turn It Into a Sensory Circus
Let them touch the dirt. Smell the basil. Freak out over a worm. Gardening is a sensory experience, and kids love the chaos of nature. It’s good for them! Add wind chimes, plant labels they decorate themselves, and maybe a weird garden gnome or a fairy house for maximum whimsy.
5. Watering: A Teachable Moment in Not Flooding
Teach them how to water gently, then let them go to town. You may lose a few seedlings in the process, but you’ll gain valuable life lessons about moderation. (Eventually. Maybe.)
Make it part of a routine: water in the morning or after school.
6. Celebrate the Wins (Even the Ugly Veggies)
When something finally blooms or sprouts, act like they won the Nobel Prize. Take pictures. Make a salad. Eat a sugar snap pea like it’s gourmet. Kids love praise, and honestly, we all deserve a little celebration after keeping a plant alive longer than a houseplant in our college dorm rooms.
Final Thought: It’s Not About the Garden, It’s About the Dirt Under Their Nails
You’re not just growing vegetables and flowers, you’re growing patience, confidence, and possibly a lifelong love of the great outdoors. It’s easy to throw on another episode of Bluey, but getting your kids outside and excited about nature and accomplishing small garden victories is so rewarding! Gardening with kids is messy, ridiculous, and magical. Embrace the chaos, take the pictures, and enjoy the fact that for once, they’re excited about something that doesn’t require charging.
Note: I am going to add links to a few products we carry- overalls , wellies, garden print rompers from Ettie and H and also a few links to outside products like a gardening kit or organic seeds to drive SEO.
SEO Keyword Tags:
- gardening with kids
- how to plant a vegetable garden with kids
- easy flower garden for kids
- beginner gardening for families
- fun garden ideas for children
