National Children’s Gardening Week – 28th May-5th June
National Children’s Gardening Week 2022, which takes place 28th May to 5th June, celebrates the fun that gardens hold for children. Here is a colouring-in sheet from the organisers of the Week.
Children love sowing seeds and watching their plants grow. However, to retain their interest and excitement, it is important to grow quick and simple plants – there’s no point in sowing a seed that will take 6 months to germinate as the boredom factor will set in all too soon!
Great plants for children to grow include: cress, which is entertaining when grown in an eggshell; and sunflowers, so children can see how tall they will grow!
Other plants to consider growing include:
Radishes
Germinate in 4-8 days; ready to eat in 28 days
One of the easiest and quickest salad crops ever, radishes can be sown repeatedly over the summer so that there will always be something growing well and visibly getting larger every day too.
Carrots
Germinate in 14-21 days; ready to eat in 70 days
Another seed that is very easy to grow and with a crop that children will love to eat. The long stems of the plant above ground are a good indication of how well the plant is growing, their fluffy fronds have a tactile quality to them too so children will want to handle them – don’t forget that when you cut the top off you can put it in water to see it grow again, something that we all find fascinating!
Marigolds
Germinate in 5-10 days
A really easy to grow flower seed that produces bright and cheerful blooms through the summer. Marigolds can be sown into pots, seed trays or directly into the ground where they are needed – making them a perfect choice if you’ve given your child an area of the garden that’s their own to look after.
