Gardening

Landscaping with a Green Thumb: The Ornamental GardenGardening with your family can be fun, and it can be a great way to teach your kids about nature and the environment. If you'd like to see green plants, flowers, shrubs, and trees in your yard ...

Are you starting a garden, but don't trust your green thumb? Check out these easy-to-grow garden favorites! ...

Growing PumpkinsPumpkins need about four months to grow, so plant the seeds three to four weeks after the last spring frost. Materials Soil and compost Pumpkin seeds Compost tea Leaves or grass clippings Newspapers or straw mulchDirections Choose...

Living Shamrock Activity for an individual child Age group: 18-40 months Duration of activity: 15 minutes Materials: Kitchen sponge Scissors Water Shallow pie tin Grass seeds This is a fun gardening activity, but it takes patience to see the res...

Garden TourMaterials Wooden popsicle sticks or tongue depressor sticks (at a craft store) Permanent paint pen Directions If you are lucky enough to have plants around your home, see if you can discover what they are called. Your parents might kn...

Plant a TreeMaterials Tree seedling Directions Plant a tree in your yard, watch it grow and change, sit by it and talk about your problems, nurture and love it! Here's how you do it. Dig a hole bigger than the seedlings roots. Pour water into th...

Family Gardening Tips Cynthia Davis Klemmer, the Children's Education Coordinator at theMassachusetts Horticultural Society, suggests these gardening activity tips for families: Start small. Window boxes or containers, because of their smallsize...

When it comes to screen time and kids, it isn't all bad news. The American Academy of Pediatrics offers guidelines on how to make screen time healthy and educational.

Make a Hanging BasketMaterials Hanging wire basket Sphagnum moss Potting soil Selected plants (see Note) Directions Hanging baskets of flowers provide lots of color throughout the summer and fall. A ten-inch basket will hold eight to twelve plan...

Grow an Avocado TreeMaterials Avocado seed Sharp nail 3 round toothpicks Tumbler Directions Pierce the avocado seed with the nail to make three holes evenly spaced around the middle of the seed. Insert a toothpick in each hole. Fill the tumbler w...

Off-Beat GardenMaterials Roly-poly squash Gourds Allium gigantium Chinese lantern Venus flytrap Spaghetti squash Sunflower Pampas grass Peanut plant Date palm Directions The off-beat garden can be designed for outdoors or indoors. Choose one to ...

Growing PeanutsMaterials Glass or plastic container (about six inches wide and four inches deep) Potting soil or earth without lumps Sand Fresh, unroasted peanuts in the shell Water Directions Have your child fill a container about two-thirds ful...

Build a Rock GardenMaterials Rocks Soil Assorted rock plants Directions Find a sunny spot in the garden or outside, about one square yard (meter). Arrange the rocks in a creative or pleasing mound or as a border, leaving space between them for so...

Bean TeepeeMaterials Packet of pole bean seeds Long stakes or bamboo Directions Prepare an area of soil about six feet square. Arrange the stakes in a teepee shape, placing them in the ground six inches from the edge of the soil area and meeting ...

Growing an Herb GardenMaterials Assorted herb seeds Small clay flower pots Potting soil Popsicle sticks Directions Fill the pots three-fourths full with potting soil. Pour water on top to moisten the soil. Sprinkle five or six seeds on top of the...

Grow an Avocado TreeMaterials Avocado seed Sharp nail 3 round toothpicks Tumbler Directions Pierce the avocado seed with the nail to make three holes evenly spaced around the middle of the seed. Insert a toothpick in each hole. Fill the tumbler w...

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Composting BasicsMaterials Leaves Grass clippings Food scraps Potato peelings Banana skins Tea bags Worms Directions More than half the trash your family throws away could be composted to turn it back into rich, fertile soil. There are several e...