Spend summer in the garden with your children

The garden can be a wondrous place of adventure for children - a place where they can play and learn among flowers and vegetables, and butterflies, birds and bugs. Here are some fun, easy ways to spend time in the garden with your children.

•Grow some vegetables and teach children about plant parts. Plant lettuce and eat the leaves; grow radishes and eat the roots; or plant tomatoes and eat their fruit. It may make eating broccoli and cauliflower more fun when they know they are eating flowers!

•Plant strawberries and learn about plant energy. Grow the same variety of strawberry plants in two separate pots. In one pot, remove all the flowers on each plant except for two. In the other, leave all the flowers. Have children observe the berries that result.

The plants with lots of flowers will produce many small berries. The plants with just two flowers will produce two very large strawberries. While each group of plants had the same amount of energy, the plants with just two flowers put all their energy into those two fruits.

•Learn about butterflies. Butterflies need flowers for their food. They use their long tongues to drink nectar from flowers, so plant lots of flowers to nourish butterflies.

Purchase a large terra cotta pot and have children paint it their favorite bright color. When paint is dry, paint on some colorful butterflies. Fill the pot with potting mix and plant annuals that butterflies love including cosmos, lantana, marigolds, pentas, and zinnias.

Plant butterfly-loving perennials in the garden. Yarrow, butterfly weed, asters, cornflowers, coneflowers, gayfeather, and black-eyed Susans are all good choices.

•Teach the differences between butterflies and moths. Butterflies fly in the day; moths fly at night. The body of a butterfly is thin and smooth; a moth's body is thick and fuzzy. A butterfly is colorful; moths are dull. When they are resting, a butterfly holds her wings up; a moth holds his wings down against his body.

•Grow pasta sauce. If your kids like spaghetti, they will love the idea of growing the sauce. In a very large pot, plant a patio tomato plant, a pepper plant, and the herbs that your family enjoys. Oregano, basil, chives, and parsley are all good choices. Give the tomato and pepper plenty of room to grow in the pot.

Children can use Popsicle sticks to make plant makers to label the plants in their pot. Give them the responsibility for keeping their container well watered. They will be rewarded in late summer when they harvest the ingredients for dinner.

•Plant touchable plants and encourage children to touch them. Instead of constantly being told not to touch, children will appreciate plants they can't resist touching like lamb's ear or clary sage. The soft, furry foliage is irresistible. The plump, smooth leaves of sedums are fun to touch, too.

Fragrant plants also encourage touching. Lavender, rosemary, scented geraniums and many other herbs release oils as they are rubbed. And basil - who can resist stroking basil?

•Plant a tree to celebrate summer. Make sure your children understand the value of trees. The importance of trees are not just school lessons on Earth Day and Arbor Day. Trees remove carbon dioxide and add oxygen to the atmosphere. The more trees we plant, the better the air will be for us to breathe.

Let children help choose the tree. Bring them along to the garden center and join in the selection process. Tell staff how tall you want the tree to grow and if it will be planted in sun or shade. Ask for information about proper planting and care of a newly planted tree.

Plant, water, and mulch your new tree together, and together - watch it grow!

•Teach your children generosity and caring for others. Plant an extra plant or row of each vegetable in your garden, and donate the extra produce to a local food pantry. Remember to take your child with you when you deliver the food.

Or cut some flowers from your gardens, arrange them in a vase, and take them to a friend or neighbor who needs some cheering up. Peonies, zinnias, cosmos, yarrow, alliums, coneflowers, and lady's mantle are just a few of the many flowers good for cutting.

•Create a private summer retreat for your children. All you need is a 4-foot square of ground, nine or ten bamboo poles six feet long and some bean seeds. Tie the stakes together at the top and set them in a circle in the middle of the 4' x 4' square. Remember to leave space for a door. Plant 4-5 seeds at the bottom of each pole. Keep seeds well watered until seeds sprout - then they'll do the rest of the work, climbing their way to the top. By the middle of summer, your bean teepee will be ready to hold all of your child's summer daydreams.

Include your children in your gardening activities this summer and encourage their appreciation of the natural world. I can't think of a better summer vacation, can you?

•Diana Stoll is a master gardener and retail manager of The Planter's Palette, 28W571 Roosevelt Road, Winfield, IL 60190. Call (630) 293-1040 or visitplanterspalette.com.