Weeding the Web

Gifts for young gardeners: getting a (Munakuppi) head in gardening

It's not a new idea, but these small pottery Munakuppi heads from Mr Fothergill's are unexpectedly charming. I 've grown rather fond of this chap on my kitchen window.

 

There are six different characters - dog, frog, elephant, crocodile, duck and pig. Each character is accompanied by a compost disc, providing just the right volume for the cavity, and a seed choice which lets you choose to grow long (rye grass) or short (basil) "hair". Old Deputy (as I call him) had a quick snip for the picture. He'd been there for a couple of weeks and definitely needed a haircut.

I've implied these are for children (and obviously they are) but, equally obviously, yours truly is an adult who hasn't grown up.  In fact, a sneaky little part of me would rather like the whole range.

The frog would definitely have short hair.

(Munakuppi provided by Mr Fothergill's for review.)

 

Noteworthy presents for gardeners (and their children)

December just around the corner, and naturally I’m not the only one whose thoughts are turning to Christmas presents.

Over at My Tiny Plot, Gillian has given a rundown on My Favourite Garden Notebooks and includes some rather attractive possibilities for the gardener in your life (or you, of course, if you print out the page and leave it lying around in a pointed fashion).

One that particularly caught my eye, for the kiddies, is Rosie Flo’s Garden colouring book (part of a series where you add limbs, as well as colour in). But Gillian has her own contribution to make to children’s presents with her board book Jackson’s Garden, which you can order via Etsy.  It's a sturdy book, which sees Jackson persuading a snail that leaves are better than lettuces (if only!) and Gillian's drawn pictures which offer opportunities for discussion and counting vegetables, allowing you to educate your little one while they're involved in the story.

Snails’ Homing Instincts Put to the Test

It’s a fact that I’d thought widely known in gardening circles—snails return to feast on your vegetables even after you’ve chucked them (the snails, that is) over the fence into your neighbour’s garden (though, of course, no responsible gardener does that).

Over the years, I’ll wager that quite a few gardeners have marked snails’ shells with paint or Tippex, sent them flying, and had a moment of bitter satisfaction when they later found said snails finishing off the broccoli. However, it's a subject that has now caught the scientific world's attention.

How not to turn kids off gardening

Have your children had a go at gardening and given up? It could be that they’re just natural something-elsers, rather than gardeners, but on the other hand, was it just too hard?

I certainly remember the difficulty of wielding an adult’s spade in our clay soil and am reasonably sure I’d have moaned less and enjoyed it more if my parents had put a bit more thought into what would make it better. It might even have kept me interested in gardening through my teenage years, which would have meant one more pair of hands in the garden. 

So if you feel a bit like a Catcher in the Rye, trying to grab your kids before they disappear off the edge of the garden, Edmonton's Community Garden Network has useful design pointers aimed at community gardens on how to make vegetable plots attractive to children. The suggestions are just as relevant for home. They include making the beds small enough for short arms to reach across and storing water close by.

At the Gardeners' Club they list plenty of ways to make things easy and keep children interested, including making a spray bottle instead of letting them cope with a heavy watering can. And if you tend to exacting standards, there's a Parents' Primer at Kids Gardening, with a chapter on What Turns Kids On and Off Gardening. It might help you to relax. And reward you with children who stay to help.

Pond-ering Kids in the Gardens

If your children’s school holidays haven’t yet started, they’re certainly just about to. and you are possibly wondering how on earth you’re going to get any gardening done and keep the kids happy.

It might seem unlikely, but this could be the ideal time to tackle that pond project you’ve had in mind. Over at Dallas Arboretum and Gardens, research found that water features created the most excitement for visiting children. Digging a pond in the garden could add just that dimension of interest which gets them out into yours. And getting them to help build it should give your powerhouses some exercise.

There are clear and helpful instructions for a weekend pond project at Wild About Gardens, which also warns you about such things as too much hard landscaping near the pond as young amphibians can cook in seconds.  

You might also like Getting Children Interested in Gardening and, for pond-making: Garden Ponds: Priming the Pump of Decision

Daddy, my Poppy hasn't grown yet

Letters of Note is a captivating blog dedicated to gathering fascinating correspondence of all kinds.

Some are letters from the rich and famous, and it's touching to see those who have replied thoughtfully to unprovoked, and sometimes needy, correspondence (among them, Iggy Pop). Others speak loudly of the character of their authors - Mark Twain's could surely be by no one else, and if I'd received George Bernard Shaw's missive, I think I'd have curled up and died, rather than give such a spirited response.

But this is a garden-related blog, so where is the gardening link? Well, children can cause a headache even with the best of intentions. See Daddy, my poppy hasn't grown yet for a great example of a father trying to repair the damage wrought by his son's enthusiasm.