Sharing Nature's Garden Archives | Page 4 of 124

Get kids excited about gardening

Over the past few decades, children’s connection with the great outdoors has been slipping away. Kids no longer spend hours on end playing in the backyard or climbing trees. Instead, they sit inside, expending their energy on increasing amounts of screen time, sucked in by ubiquitous electronic entertainment.

According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, children between the ages of 8 and 18 average 7 ½ hours of entertainment media per day. Researchers report that so much screen time increases children’s risk factors for obesity, sleep disorders, social skills, educational issues and violent behavior.

In contrast, spending dedicated outdoor time results in healthy, well-rounded kids who are inquisitive about the mysteries of nature and the world around them.

Gardening provides a range of concrete benefits from increasing much-needed vitamin D to better quality sleep, fitness and mood.

As people eschew processed foods and seek local, pesticide-free, and home-grown fruits and vegetable, gardening can also open the gate to the outdoors for our kids.

Gardening:

Educates children about the life cycles of plants, insects and animals
Inspires creativity
Encourages healthy eating
Entrusts them to care for growing plants
Builds family time that ranges from planning to growing to cooking together
Highlights children’s senses – taste, touch, smell, feel, and sight
Provides opportunities for younger children to learn colors and colors, counting
Encourages imagination play with accessories like fairy gardens
Grows adults who appreciate and work to protect the world around them

There are limitless possibilities for planning a children’s garden and creating a fun, kid-friendly outdoor environment.

Start with the basics. Smaller, child-sized tools are inexpensive and will make them feel grown up. Little gloves, rakes and trowels make gardening more fun and give them tools to take care of as well.

Starting seeds – Research proper planting times for vegetable or flower seeds and set aside a sunny spot to create a garden, dedicate space in your own garden, or begin with large containers (with drains hole). Having space of their own and personal responsibility will make it more fun and rewarding.

Go to the nursery – pick out live plants to transplant together. Read labels and talk about conditions plants need to grow. Start a math lesson by calculating how far apart to plant and average days to maturity and harvest. Then, engage them in meal planning and cooking as well.

Create a container herb garden right outside your back door and ask your kids every day to pick what you need for cooking dinner.

Then load up on fun accessories like wind chimes, gazing balls, metal flower stakes, or painted gourd birdhouses to decorate the garden.

Invite wildlife into your yard as well. Add a birdbath and let your child help or be responsible for keeping it full of fresh water. Hang bird feeders and houses to teach kids about how the seasons change the types of wildlife in our area or those that pass through. Teach them different birds have different songs and even eat different seeds or nuts or insects. Plant giant sunflowers – have fun watching them grow and then harvest the seeds for the birds and squirrels to enjoy.

Teach your child about the importance of pollinators in our life cycle of our planet and your garden. Grow pollinator friendly plants and watch how bees and butterflies get the nectar that nourishes them and enables them to pollinate vegetables and ornamental plants. Watch as they flit from flower to flower, collecting pollen dust on their legs and passing it along again and again.

Create a personal space for your child to encourage imagination play and keep them entertained outside. Find a corner or spot under trees to put a small bistro table and chairs perfect for a tea party or play with action figures. Set up a train set, make a Hot Wheels car track, or create a doll or mouse house in the mulch. Or, create a fairy garden with whimsical, miniature accessories to invite magical fairies into your yard.

For young children, a sandbox provides hours of entertainment. Get a plastic one or buy a few wooden boards and build and paint your own – with your child’s help.

As parents who have or have had children in elementary school will all attest, exposing your child to nature may also provide fun and easy (easy being the operative word) ideas for dreaded annual science projects!

Then, use great books to explain the mysteries of nature. Go with your child to the book store to read and choose books about things they’ve become curious about.

You can teach your child how to recognize birds in your backyard by listening to their songs in this book. I love listening to mine over and over, trying to ID feathered friends visiting my feeders.

Backyard Birding: Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song by Job Dunn.

Another favorite of mine is A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston, that traces the life cycle of plants with beautiful illustrations of beautiful seeds.

Mrs. Spritzer’s Garden by Edith Pattou follows the gardening efforts of a school teacher.

For a host of inspirational ideas for all ages, check out i love dirt: 52 activities to help you and your kids discover the wonders of nature, by Jennifer Ward.

After your kids have enjoyed their outdoor fun, you can then channel their electronic activities with nature-focused websites and television shows. The National Wildlife Federation and Nat Geo offer a variety of entertaining and educational games, programs and magazines about all aspects of nature.

Opportunities to learn about and enjoy nature span the seasons. So, head outside and have some good, old-fashioned fun with your kids.

By Diana C. Kirby|2019-01-19T09:47:44-06:00January 19th, 2019|book review, books, children, children's garden, Sharing Nature's Garden, vegetable garden, vegetables, veggies|0 Comments

Garden paradise at the Austin Pond Tour 2018

This summer, Laura Wills of Wills Family Acres, and I went on the Austin Pond Tour. It was blazing hot, and being in gardens with water feature focal points was a little relief from the heat. (But not much!)

I’m not sure what I expected. The ponds we saw ranged from absolutely amazing to I’m-not-sure-why-this-is-on-the-pond-tour. This one was my absolute favorite. I would never leave the garden if I lived there.

We arrived at the garden and began the tour in the front of the house next to the entrance.

It was a lovely waterfall that spilled down the side of the walkway and passed underneath the puddle on the other side.

Set on a hill, the front of the house was up a fairly steep slope so the pond looked very natural cascading with a beautiful rock design.

In addition to a collection of native plants and wildflowers, water plants were scattered throughout the pond, making it feel like a lush oasis.

Well done and surrounded by plants, it was lovely. It was a little small, though, and not quite what I expected. I also thought that I’d prefer to have it in the back yard, where I could relax beside it.

And then, we ventured around to the back.

Wow. Just wow. No other words. In the many private gardens I’ve been lucky enough to see, I’ve never seen such a beautiful landscape with a half dozen waterfalls and ponds.

The back landscape started deep in a ravine-like depression. Stone and decomposed granite paths criss-crossed up the steep hill to the back of the property. Interwoven with the paths and ponds and waterfalls, an array of the native and adapted plants of a collector delight visitors at every turn.

Even in the heat of a scorching summer day, we wound our way up and up and up, toward the top.

More waterfalls and ponds covered the sides of the back yard as well.

Nestled on one side of the main waterfall, a structure designed to look like a boat peeks out from the cover of trees and plants.

With a lovely deck and a large inside room, this haven must have been designed as a playroom for children or a secluded retreat for reading, writing or respite.

The garden (and the house) were for sale when we visited.

While the landscape was stunning, it clearly required a dedicated owner and garden lover who would attend to it with care. I wished it were mine, and came with a large contingent of diligent helpers!

By Diana C. Kirby|2019-01-02T08:00:46-06:00January 2nd, 2019|hard scape, hardscape, hillside, monarda, pond, Sharing Nature's Garden, Uncategorized, water feature, water features|8 Comments

Great garden memories from 2018

My garden brings me peace and serenity, and I needed a healthy dose of both in 2018.

I loved the countless hours I spent planning, prepping, and working in the garden. And sharing it with family and friends was just as wonderful. (Especially 92 of my closest friends – garden bloggers – who braved the terrifying elements on that miserable Friday in May!)

Hope you enjoy a few of my favorite pics of my garden in 2018. Looking forward to many more happy memories here in 2019.

By Diana C. Kirby|2018-12-28T20:35:22-06:00December 28th, 2018|2018, artichoke, beds, bird bath, cardinal, Cleome, coral honeysuckle, datura, garden art, garden decor, garden sculpture, greenhouse, Morning Glory, planters, roses, Sharing Nature's Garden, sky, succulents, wildlife, yucca, yucca rostrata|3 Comments

Getting cozy in the greenhouse…

In Central Texas, sunny 80-degree days dance with us periodically throughout fall and winter. But, we still have to prepare for the occasional cold spell.

I have to be particularly careful because most of the potted plants in my collection are tropical or subtropical. The plumerias begin to wilt at close to 50, dripping and dropping yellow leaves.

Two weeks ago, we prepared for a 47-degree low and all the pots were rushed into the greenhouse. (You can see more about this annual process here.)

A few of them needed haircuts to fit into their winter home and the rest were carefully nestled inside like a Tetris puzzle.

The greenhouse has to be divided to provide sun for the sun lovers and shade for the more delicate plants.

I typically drape shade cloth down the middle of the greenhouse on a shower rod on top of the ceiling supports.

But, I’d thrown out the shade cloth bits and scraps I’d cobbled together for the last few seasons and didn’t have any in time for the emergency arrival of the immigrants.

So, I improvised. Now a colorful collection of beach towels from around the world adorns the little glass house.

One is from Costa Rica and another is from a cruise Jeff and I took to Santorini, Greece in 2000. In case you were wondering, the 3rd is from Target!

After mid-day, the plants on the east side get some much-needed shade and those on the right get to bask in the sun for the rest of the da

Shade lovers also get to hang out on the bottom shelves while those on the upper bunk provide cover.

In close quarters, I get to enjoy the plants one-on-one through the winter. I keep the automatic heaters on when it gets below 50 to keep the tropicals happy and prevent dormancy.

On hot days, the automatic fan turns on and I open up the 4 ceiling windows and the doors.

The greenhouse temperature on sunny days will get about 20 degrees higher than the outside temperature.

If it reaches more than 80 degrees outside, I wet the pea gravel floor once or twice throughout the day to help cool it down inside.

Sometimes, on a sunny-but-cold day in the dead of winter, I’ll pull in a lawn chair, turn on my iTunes, eat some lunch and soak up the sunshine for a little while.

Here they are, all tucked in for the winter chill.

Can you name all the plants in this picture?

See the before pictures as we began prepping the site to install the greenhouse. I posted about it exactly ten years ago today!

Now that everyone is settled in, I’ll turn my attention to propagating, planting seeds and digging up some outdoor landscape plants to overwinter in the crystal palace.

I love it when volunteer plants show up in the garden and I can pot them and keep them in the greenhouse until spring.

Where will your potted friends spend the winter?

How far into the moving process will you be before this comes out of your mouth?

“I’m not going to plant so many pots next year.”

Let’s just get it over with now. You say it. We all know you’re lying, because we’re telling ourselves the same lie. Just get it off your chest and embrace the obsession. You’ll feel so much better come spring!

Have yourself a happy little winter.

By Diana C. Kirby|2018-11-04T20:58:20-06:00November 5th, 2018|2018, greenhouse, plumeria, Sharing Nature's Garden, Uncategorized|4 Comments

Best little plant in the house and in the garden…

Don’t you love the delicately textured, scalloped leaves of this variegated Swedish ivy? No surprise considering the oddities of botanical nomenclature, but it’s not an ivy and it’s not from Sweden, either. The botanical name is Plectranthus verticillatus, and it’s in the same And the scent is a heavenly citrus.

I’m always looking for beautiful variegated plants to add just one more pop of interest into my landscape beds. Swedish ivy is a tried and true favorite, along with Cuban oregano.

They’re slow and low growers in my garden, zone 8b, so I sprinkle them along bed borders for interest. They like a good bit of shade, and they have moderate water needs.

I planted some late last summer, then realized as we were facing the first cold snap that I didn’t want to lose them to the cold weather.

So, I bought two plastic dish pans from the a dollar store and drilled holes in the bottom.

Well, to be honest, I didn’t actually drill the holes, Jeff did. Thank you, honey. You could also just poke the holes with a screwdriver or some other sharp object.

That’s actually what I was in the process of doing when Jeff saw me and said, very politely, “uhmmmm, why don’t you let me do that?” Ok, ok. So it wasn’t the most sophisticated approach, but I was getting the job done – really! (I could write a book on all of my “necessity is the mother of invention” approaches to problems.)

Then I used coffee filters to prevent soil from spilling out right away. Ultimately they would be draining into the floor of pea gravel from a shelf in the greenhouse. Once they started to re-root, it wasn’t an issue any more.

I dug up the plants from the garden when the temperature dipped below 50 at night, getting as many roots as possible.

Then I placed 2 clumps in each plastic container, allowing a little room for some winter growth.

To make it a little easier to separate them the next spring, I placed a paper towel tube between them. It didn’t separate them 100%, but it did help to contain them. It also made it a little bit easier to pull them apart without destroying the rootball or losing too much of the soil. They also produce small, white flowers which you can see on the photo below.

They lived in the greenhouse through the winter where they thrived. What? No greenhouse you say? No problem. Around the world they are a popular houseplant, native to Australia and the Pacific islands. They look great trailing out of a hanging basket. So, plant them up in a pretty pot. They like bright indoor light, so find a special spot for them near a window.

If digging and replanting with the seasons isn’t your jam, just take a few cuttings and you can propagate them in a water glass like you did in high school.

I’ve watched them grow full and lush since spring, and will be pulling them up and overwintering them in the greenhouse again. I’ll probably bring a few into the house this year, too.

Now, don’t you want to grow this in your garden or in your house?

By Diana C. Kirby|2018-09-18T11:29:24-05:00September 18th, 2018|shade plants, shades of green, Sharing Nature's Garden, variegated Swedish ivy, variegation|1 Comment

Contemporary, xeric garden showcased at Garden Bloggers Fling

As Pam Penick, Laura Wills and I planned the recent 2018 Garden Bloggers Fling in Austin, we aimed to showcase a wide variety of garden styles that would provide inspiration to participants.

Located in southwest Austin, this spacious garden highlighted many native and adapted plants in a stunning contemporary setting.

Armed with rain ponchos, 92 gardeners braved the rain, and it was well worth it.

In the vegetable garden, edibles and ornamentals spill out of contemporary Cor-Ten steel planters.

Using raised planters makes gardening much easier here in Central Texas, where our inhospitable clay and limestone soil presents a real challenge.

Even with regular amendments to the soil, the weather extremes of drought and flood here require serious elbow grease to bring forth vegetables without a raised bed.

While we were hoping for sunshine during our visit to this garden, the crops were relieved to have the rain.

Rain droplets on the yucca bloom add another dimension.

One of the quintessential plants of our region, the yucca provides structure, evergreen color and beautiful blooms in the garden.

The semi-soft form of the bloom provides a contrast to the seriously spiky leaves.

This one must have been missed by deer passersby, left for bloggers to admire.

But, when the inevitable heat and drought arrive, and the deer are searching for food, they love to nibble on these blooms.

The clean lines of the pool contrast with the soft and spiky collection of native plants beyond the edge.

We surveyed the garden under the watchful eye of this little guy. I’m sure he wondered what all these people were doing in his garden while he was left inside.

I think he was ready to get his yard back to himself.

This clean and simple arrangement was the only decor on the patio overlooking the pool and the vista beyond, creating a lovely focal point.

Around the corner of the house, tucked away out of sight against a wooded area, the gorilla awaits any intruders.

Or eager grandkids.

I imagine most little kids would be thrilled to share their secret hiding space with this big fella.

The perfect setting for some make-believe play, a collection of trucks and other toys are carefully parked, waiting for the next play day with King Kong.