Growing our own, in our own way a book post.

Gardening with children.
To say that we spend a lot of time in the garden here would be
putting it mildly. We start most of our plants from seed and
we make our own compost to enrich the soil. Princess has
been encouraged from day one to dig in and take responsibility
for her own little corner of the world. She loves to dig in the garden,
in the sandbox, and in the compost pile.When we bought this property
many, many years ago, the back end was covered in English Ivy and there
was no sun at all for all the trees.We have reluctantly removed several trees
over the years, some were too close to the house, a couple prohibited the neighbor
from enjoying any sun near his pool.We have never sprayed any chemicals on our plants,
trees, or lawn. We have as many dandelions as tomato plants most summers (and that is saying something around here) but that is OK with us. Princess enjoys them as much as the bees do.
I have spent most days from spring to fall outside with her for most of the day from her first spring on.
Admittedly,in the winter we spend more time inside with outside excursions for brief periods of time.
We haul out a blanket, piles of books,magnifying glasses,snacks,pillows,toys,bubbles,crayons,paper,
our paints and easel,whatever we think we will want or need while we are outside.
We pull our blanket or chairs into the sun or shade as need be, but we stay outside for most of
the day. Princess loves watching the birds,bunnies,squirrels,chipmunks,bugs,and even the groundhog
that we share our home with.I enjoy all but the groundhog.I would not mind him, except he eats sooo much sooo
quickly and does so much damage to the garden.We also watch clouds and planes flying over head.
We have been trying to make a butterfly garden in the back corner of the yard for the last couple of years.
There is one adjacent to a park in our town, and Princess wanted to emulate it in our yard.
Tuesday is traditionally Book Day here, so here are some of our favorite books about
Gardening with Children....

a child's garden
Enchanted outdoor spaces for children and parents.This book was written to help
you lure your children away from the t.v. and into your backyard.
We take it out of the library several times a year, to get ideas for plants or furniture
or structures to make our back yard and garden more Princess friendly.

Kids Gardening billed as an Indoor/Outdoor all year round activity guide,
we have been enjoying this for some time now. Princess loves to pull out her
"garden book from Uncle Paulie" and have fun!It also came with it's own little
trowel, and she likes having her own gardening tools.

great gardens for kids
I love this book! It makes me want to make almost every project in it..
so creative. I am limited by my lack of building skills and the fact that
F.D. just doesn't share my vision. :-( Poor guy. It has an idea for every yard
or play area..no matter the size.

ROOTS SHOOTS BUCKETS & BOOTS
I cannot say enough about how much I love this book! It is filled with ideas
and activities to get your whole family out into the garden. Princess gets a little
more out of it each time she opens it.
What to grow, how to grow it, special themes and creative containers.



THE* KIDS*CAN* PRESS Jumbo Book of GARDENING
We really like this book which is filled with ideas for starting seeds, planning
your garden, saving seeds,growing and herb garden,butterfly garden..well, you get the idea..

~ I know I have written about some of these before, but it's my birthday,
and I get to write about what I want.....;-) Don't you just love my Birthday gift!
I love depression glass!