Plant Beautiful Memories with Your Children

During spring break, your child will want to get outside and enjoy the warmer temperatures and fresh air.  Why not guide your child's energy into making a flower garden in your yard.  This experience will not only teach your child lessons in biology, it will also provide an opportunity to instill responsibility for the care of the plants.

                Here are a few tips to help your child get started.  First of all, select a flower bed or create a new one by clearing out any grass or weeds.  Choose a boarder by placing rocks or terrace logs around the perimeter of the flower bed.  Then smooth the soil with a rake and remove any stones or clumps of hard dirt.  Now that the flower bed is ready, the next step will be to select the appropriate flowers for planting.

              When selecting the flowers to plant, consider these guidelines:

• flowers come in three basic types: bulbs, annuals, and perennials
•  a bulb is one of the easiest flowers to grow but need to be placed in the ground in the fall for spring growth to occur
• an annual dies off each year and has to be replanted the following spring
• a perennial is a plant that dies back to the ground each winter and then grows back in the spring
• you can visit your local gardening store for potted plants, as well as, seed
• ask the gardener for advice on selecting the best plants for your child to grow

                After selecting the flowers your child will plant, help your child to design the layout of his garden.  Place the plants around the garden in different arrangements before digging any holes.  After the plan is decided upon, your child will have fun digging in the dirt to create the holes for each plant.  Follow these steps for planting the potted plants:

1.  dig a small hole deep enough for the potted plant to sit in

2.  put water into each hole

3.  gently remove the potted plant from the plastic container and drop into the hole

4.  cover the base of the roots and dirt with more soil and pat evenly around the flower

5.  water the plants again

                Now your child can become the caretaker of the flower garden, remembering to water and weed the garden as needed.  Enjoy the beautiful flowers all summer long!