There are so many wonderful plants in the world that it’s hard to choose the 8 best plants for a Children’s Garden.
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The choice also depends on the age of the child. Small children like bold colours, easy to grow veggies and tasty herbs. Older children, especially those interested in gardening or garden related craft, will enjoy interesting and useful plants.
These flowers, herbs and vegetables will intrigue small children with their sensory characteristics and bigger children with their usefulness. They are definitely among the top best plants for a children’s garden.
Nasturtiums
These rewarding plants have bright orange, yellow and red flowers and round spicy leaves. Their large seeds are easy to plant. They are always a great hit if you organise planting activities for kids as part of a school or homeschooling project.
The leaves are great in salad and the flowers make a beautiful garnish. The leaves are also good as a treatment for mild sore throats.
They are forgiving plants allowing for lots of picking by eager little hands.
Pansies
These happy faces like winter or cooler climates. They come in a wide range of colours and each flower appears to have a little face.
They make low growing border plants and are wonderful in hanging baskets.
Children love to hear stories about Pansies. They look as if they should belong in a fairy garden. In the Victorian language of flowers, if you gave someone a bunch of pansies, it meant that person was in your thoughts.
Teach young children to make up little bunches as thoughtful gifts.
Older children can press pansies between the pages of a large book and use them to make attractive cards and wrapping paper
Pennyroyal
Penny Royal is a minty ground cover which grows between pavers and is happy to invade the lawn in a cool damp area.
Children love to walk on the soft minty leaves and smell the freshness of mint rising from the plant.
Older children can learn to combine pennyroyal, chillies and liquid soap to make an effective safe insect repellent.
Mint
As much as children enjoy the minty smell of pennyroyal, real garden mint is a must for children.
You can teach them how to place the plant in a deep pot so that it does not take over the garden. Show them how to keep it watered under a tap, where it gets a regular shower.
You can share the joys of eating mint leaves or adding them to drinking water. Put some lemon and a few nasturtium flowers into the water too. Children will prefer that to soft drinks.
Teach them to make mint sauce for the Sunday Roast or mint tea for a sore tummy after too much party food.
Fennel
This imposing feathery biennial is a joy for a child. It looks soft and feathery.
It tastes delightfully of liquorice and it has wonderful large heads of yellow flowers which are a home for beetles and bees and other pollinators.
Its seeds are delicious in baking and cordials. Fennel seeds in herb salt are especially yummy. Add them to a tasty Moroccan blend with Star Anise and Cardamom.
Teach older children to make fennel seed bread or cake. It’s delicious.
Cherry tomatoes
These small delicious tomatoes are perfect for little fingers to pick and snack on in the garden.
They are usually hardy and quite pest resistant.
Older children can experiment on preparing these tomatoes for seed. This is a brilliant opportunity for a science lesson as tomatoes grow best when you add a mycorrhizal fungal inoculant to the tomato seed. This is a great opportunity to discuss the value of good fungi and bacteria in the soil.
Strawberries
This queen of fruit is popular with little foragers. Even crawling babies love picking soft ripe strawberries.
You can experiment growing the plants the old fashioned way with straw around the bush to keep the fruit from rotting on the ground.
Strawberries are easy to grow. The little runners form roots and can easily be snipped off and planted alongside the parent plant.
Older children can learn the art of jam making (with supervision).
Strawberries make a very tasty dessert with cream or ice cream.
The whole family will benefit from weeding to the strawberry patch.
Bottle gourds
Bottle gourds are a vigorous climber which quickly cover walls and pergolas. Although the little gourds can be eaten lightly cooked with salt and butter, they might not be as much of a hit as the Strawberries.
If the fruit is left to ripen though and the insides scraped out of the gourd, it becomes a crafter’s delight.
The gourds are traditionally used to make utensils, cups and bowls. Planters and musical instruments are also a possibility as children’s carving skills develop. For novelty value, this is definitely one of the best plants for a children’s garden.
Summary
The topic of best plants for a children’s garden is an exciting one.
There are so many wonderful colourful flowers which not only share their beauty but also their lessons on pollination, on honey production and on seed production.
A wide variety of heritage veggies is now available. Children can taste different and interesting veggies and learn the value of preserving seed for the future.
Herbs are a gift, used for food, cosmetics, scenting the household and a whole range of craft projects.
They are strong contenders for first place in the race for best plants for a children’s garden.
Whatever plants you choose, you will experience the rewards of gardening with your children.
