Childminders Gardening Blog by Garden Designer Marion Keogh
Summer Gardening with Kids
We are having the most wonderful weather at the moment and everything is growing fast. This means some plants will be bigger than other years so it’s important to keep straggling plants clear of pathways. Strappy plants like Phormiums or New Zealand Flax can be a trip hazard so a bit of judicious pruning might be a good idea in the garden.
Flowering plants will attract insects and birds. This is great news for biodiversity! Make sure to add some summer colour into your garden. Some plants are called annuals and can be force-grown to look good in the garden centre and then they flop as soon as you bring them home. Top tip is to keep them watered every day for a week after you plant them in your garden.
Indoor Plants
Cactus plants are great to grow indoors but they can be spiky too. So take care that little hands don’t get scratched. A small cactus planted in some good compost or an indoor compost will grow happily once it gets lots of sun through a window. Cacti aren’t very happy outdoors in Ireland but in a sheltered courtyard or an apartment balcony where its dry and sunny they can thrive. They need a little watering in summer months.
The main rule with growing indoor plants is to water them once a week during summer but not to leave the plant sitting in the water. So bring the plant to a sink, water it and allow the water drain out into the sink and then put the plant back into its usual spot or onto its saucer.
Go for a Walk!
Sometimes the best way to spend time with children is to just outside for a walk. Even if there are not many trees in your neighbourhood there will always be weeds. Weeds are re-branded as Wildflowers these days and they can be Buttercups, Daisies, Dandelions, Nettles, Thistles, Cow Parsley, Clover etc.
Look up into the sky too when you’re out and just lie down on the grass and look up at the space between the tree canopies. This can be magical. You can take a photograph of the shape of the canopies and print it on paper. Get the kids to draw around the trees leaves and really look at the shape the sky makes.
Make Daisy Chains
It’s really important to allow children to really slow down and to just stop. Good for us adults too. And get them to pick small daisies out of the grass. They can pinch small gaps in the stems and then thread the next Daisy through the tiny gap. It’s a very delicate job but it’s a real building block of a child’s relationship with Nature to make a fragile thing like a daisy-chain. They can also add Buttercups and other small plants.
A lovely thing then is to join up lots of daisy-chains to make one long one. It’s a genuine challenge as they are so flimsy and delicate!
Bird Life
As always Summer is such a great time to listen and look for Garden Birds. Merlin is the best Bird Identifying app so it’s good to download it on your phone. Yes to bird feeders but even better are plants for birds – Ivy and Holly for nesting, anything with berries and flowers for most birds, fruit trees too.
Water for Birds
Really important, especially with this warm weather we have been having in Ireland. Put out some small bowls or saucers around the garden and top up with water every few days. Birds, and insects really need water to keep cool, hydrated and clean too.
Just Roll Down a Hill
I was in the Archery Lawn in Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens a couple of weeks ago and I watched how a small 6 year old girl was afraid to roll down the little grassy hills there. She eventually shimmied down on her bum but it’s so much more belly-laughing fun when you roll down! Definitely encourage your kids to roll down hills whenever you see them. Don’t worry about clothes getting grass stains – that’s what washing machines are for. And while you’re there you might as well roll down, or up, yourself too!
Dry Some Flowers
Get the kids to pick some flowers and place them between kitchen roll or paper for a few days. Put something heavy like a book on top to really press them flat. After 4 days, open it out and move the flower to a dryer section of the kitchen roll/paper. Dry them out some more and make sure they are getting really flat by placing the heavy book on top again. After about 2 weeks the flowers should be good and dry and flat and ready to use. You can stick them with Pritt-stick or a similar glue to cardboard. If you have a laminating machine you can laminate the piece of cardboard which will encase the dried flowers, preserving them forever. These can be used as Bookmarks and make lovely presents.
May 2025
