Choosing safe plants for children’s garden is a vital task when designing a children’s garden. Afterall you want them to play safely and engage completely with the nature around them!
Teaching your child about the basics of gardening is a valuable skill that would create a lifelong passion. However, planning for a kid-friendly garden needs extra attention to make sure the plants don’t cause any harm. You’ll need to pick plants that are easy to manage and grow to make gardening fun. To create wonderful memories, we’ll discuss below safe plants that are perfect for your child’s garden.
What Outdoor Plants are Safe for Children?
There are several types of awesome plants and flowers you can choose for your child. We have picked a few that we most appreciate and your kids would love.
READ MORE: Find some Easy and Foolproof Fast Growing Plants for Kids
Sunflowers
Sunflowers are kid-friendly with an iconic bold yellow face that would fascinate your child. Some sunflower plants grow exceptionally tall while others are dwarfs. The plant also produces yummy seeds they can snack on or feed the birds.
Snapdragons
Snapdragons come in a wide array of colors and sizes that would excite your kids. They are easy to grow and manage, giving your kids a sense of responsibility in their little garden.
Marigolds
Marigolds also come in various colors that attract birds, bees, and butterflies. They are a great choice for preschoolers and are edible. Therefore, you don’t have to panic when your kids chew the flowers. The flowers have bright colors and blossom in summer well into autumn. You can get the seeds and grow them when the sunny season approaches.
Dill
Dills are nice flowers for the kids with a pickled scent. They make a cool shrub your kids can tend to and play around unharmed.
Dahlia
Dahlias have beautiful bright flowers with lots of foliage. They grow up to two to four ft in height during the summer and autumn months. You can get seeds for your kids to grow after the winter season and the risk of frost has passed. They grow quickly encouraging your kids to continue tending to them.
Cosmos
Cosmos is a small plant with colorful flowers. It is also a summer plant that takes about 12 weeks to maturity. The plant is non-toxic and easy for your kids to sow and care for it. It makes a beautiful garden and attracts wildlife into the garden that would make your kids very proud.
Daisies
Daisies are spring flowers and make cute headbands. Your kids will enjoy picking them and making cute decorations, flower displays, and little gifts. They are easy to grow and produce many flowers that attract butterflies and bees into the garden. The plants would encourage your kids to play outside more instead of watching cartoons all day.
Nasturtium
Nasturtiums are also kid friendly and edible. If you don’t have a garden space for your kids, you can prepare containers and let your kids plant the seeds and water them. Make sure if they get plenty of sunlight to grow into healthy plants, your kids would be proud of taking care of them.
Child-friendly Perennials
Perennial plants are those plants that thrive in almost all seasons except winter. They grow throughout the growing season but mostly flower during spring and summertime. Some of them might require frequent watering during summer times but nothing overwhelming for your child.
You can always try indoor plants for your child to gain attachment and they can continue tending the plants even when the weather outside is hostile. Seeds for most perennial plants are hard to germinate and sometimes might take longer to blossom.
If you decide to go for the perennial plants, you might want to buy mature or smaller plants so that your child would enjoy the benefits sooner. Here are a few types of perennial plants you can get your child:
Blueberries
This is a fruit plant with low-maintenance shrubs and bright flowers. The fruits start maturing mid-summer and stay low to the ground. The bush grows about four to seven feet tall and requires acidic soil. Apart from hungry birds swarming the bush, the plant has few pests. The kids will love the wild berries and enjoy watering the plant.
Chives
Chives are a natural herb with delightful purple flowers. It‘s a small plant and can be used as a cooking ingredient in your kitchen. You kids will enjoy tending the plant and eating it in your food. It’s actually great for kids with cooking interests, they’ll have a passion for growing their own food.
Mint and lemon balm
Mint shrubs and lemon balm are similar plants with the same unique scents. They are easy to grow and give the garden a wonderful smell. The kids will enjoy playing in the garden and enjoy cold drinks with mint or lemon balm leaves. These plants grow fast and can easily take over the little garden so it’s best to plant them separately if your child has other plants.
Catnip
If you have a little feline friend, a catnip plant would be a great plant to let your kids grow. The plant is a member of the mint family with attractive flowers, nice fragrance, and is easy to grow. Your child and cats can spend time in the garden playing with the plants.
READ MORE: Check out our Easy Seeds To Grow For Preschoolers and set your garden up for success!
How Do You Plant a Kid-Friendly Garden?
A kid-friendly garden is different from your normal gardening area. The kids need a natural paradise where they can play, climb, hide, and enjoy tending the plants. You may need to get creative with the arrangement to make the garden fun and educational. Here are some creative ideas to help you transform your space into a little kids’ garden that you can also enjoy helping occasionally.
- Design the garden or space into an attractive area that has room for playing without damaging the plants.
- Let your kids choose the plants they would like to grow so that they have an attachment to the plant and enjoy taking care of them.
- You can create awesome hide-out areas so that they can spend more time outside playing after watering the plants.
- Consider letting them grow herbs, flowers, and fruits so that they can eat them in their food or create or decorate art with them.
- Avoid toxic plants because kids are curious and are likely to eat the plants in the garden.
- Pick plants that need little to minimal supervision because you might end up taking the responsibility for them.
Conclusion
Choosing safe plants for children can be challenging but rewarding. You’ll get to teach your kids responsibility, accountability, and passion for the outdoors. Your kids will learn the importance of taking care of the environment and enjoy the fruits or flowers as well.
