3. Nighttime gardening
Here are three ideas to enhance nighttime gardening.
Attract moths with moth broth, a concoction made by mixing mashed fruit with brown sugar and water, forming a thin paste. Let it sit in the sun for a couple of days to ferment, then brush it onto trees and flat surfaces located in a dark spot outdoors where you’d like to attract moths. Later that night, shine a light on your moth broth spots and see who’s visiting!
Try planting moonflower, a species related to the Morning Glory that only blooms at night.
How about a set of Woodstock Chimes to adorn your garden? Their sweet or mellow sounds can enhance your space during the evening, as well as during the daytime.
4. Paint stumps.
Zoe Ogden, age 7, showed me a picture of a terrific project she did in her garden: she painted a heart on a tree stump. What I love about Zoe’s idea is that she took something that was already there, and just made it more beautiful. Now this stump is inviting, as a place to play, a tea party, or just a sign that a talented artist lives here. What kinds of natural features do you have in your garden that your child could just paint and highlight as a special garden element?
5. Circle stones.
Ella Urrico, age 8, and Olivia Urrico, age 6, shared a wonderfully simple decorative idea with me: place a circle of stones around a tree, then fill in some of the open space with plants. Instant flower bed! This can be very budget-friendly, even free. There are usually plenty of stones to work with around here right in the yard, and the plants can even be something you transplant from another area of your property. Do you have a tree you could enhance like this?
6. Build it together
I hadn’t realized how build-it-with-children projects could work so well for gardens. Floyd Kniffen of Kniffen Builders suggests building raised beds for the garden as a simple family project: just nailing boards together. If your soil is hard and rocky like mine, raised beds offer relief from digging since they are placed on top of the ground and you add the dirt yourself. Dan Guenther told me he has built planter boxes with kids over the years, an easy project that can be portable, too. I also like the idea of building bird houses or bird feeders. Position a bird feeder your child can view from bed or the family can see from the kitchen table. Ideally, the feeder is one the child can fill independently, or a homemade one, like a pinecone slathered in suet or peanut butter and bird seed and tied to a branch.
