Creating a Children's Garden
On Tuesday, February 8th, Baker Creative of Wyncote was awarded honorable mention in the theme garden category at the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association's (PLNA) 2005 Awards for Excellence in Landscape Design Ceremony. The award was given for the Children's Mitzvah Garden which Baker Creative designed and installed at the Mary Bert Gutman Early Learning Center in Melrose Park.
Brad Baker, Pennsylvania certified Horticulturist and president of Baker Creative, volunteered to create the 30'x20' garden after helping clear the heavily overgrown land during a Congregational Mitzvah Day event. Working with the school's director, Baker planned a garden which the children could help plant and maintain, and from which they could pick vegetables for their families' tables and flowers to sell to raise money for charity.
Planning a garden for small children brought its own challenges. "The goal in creating this children's garden," says Baker, "is to make it a completely safe and kid-friendly outdoor classroom."
Confronted by a lack of access to water, Baker invented a system for maintaining the garden that the kids could manage independently and would keep mess to a minimum. Baker ran lengths of eight inch PVC piping through the garden and along its edges. Its curved, plastic surface was splinter-free with no sharp corners. Its height was perfect for seating for the kids. The piping provided a reservoir for water from a distant hose and maintained the water at a safe and comfortable temperature for the children. Baker set up bilge pumps (the type used on boats) for the children to use to pump out the water. The pump holes were closed with secure stoppers when not in use to preserve cleanliness of the water (and the children).
Tips for Creating a Children's Garden
Brad suggests the following guidelines for creating a fun and safe garden for small children:
1. Limit use of chemical weed killers. Either remove weeds with a hoe or follow Baker's lead, and lay down landscape cloth, which will allow water and oxygen into your soil but prevent weeds from popping through.
2. Limit use of any material that can cause splinters. For example, choose plastic supports for tomatoes, rather than wood.
3. If you're creating a raised bed, round the edges.
4. Use slow-release fertilizer pellets, so the fertilizer won't burn the children (or your plants).
5. Any manure used should be sterilized. Baker is using a mix of soil with compost and sterilized manure.
6. Accommodate young children's abbreviated attention spans by building your garden near their other activities (the day care's garden is near the playground).
7. Plant pick-and-eat vegetables, such as cherry or grape tomatoes, beans and peas. Children love to eat their crops immediately.
8. Separate the garden into manageable plots for children, and clearly mark off each child's working space to provide a sense of ownership.
9. Make sure you have a water source close to the garden, so that children can obtain water easily and in manageable quantities.
10. Add some colorful flowers to your vegetable garden. It's hard for children to wait until vegetables are ready to harvest; the flowers can provide a more immediate sense of accomplishment.