Creating Your Own Children’s Garden

Think back to your childhood. Can you remember any interactions with plants or a garden that made an impression on you? I can remember the first time I learned about snapdragons. I was at my grandmother’s house and my mom showed me how you can pinch the sides of the bloom to cause the flower to open and close, which looked like a dragon mouth. I was in awe that a plant could do this. Another time I “discovered” the softness of lamb’s ear. The amazement that a plant’s leaves could feel so soft was a memory that remains with me today.

Common Elements in a Children’s Garden

A garden designed for children has many elements which cause it to evoke this type of wonder and a desire to discover more. When children have those experiences in the garden, they become an easy audience for any garden-based activity. When you are in the design phase of your site’s garden, consider how some of these elements might fit in to promote exploration and discovery in the garden. If your site already has a garden, see if you can add some of these elements that aren’t yet established.

The soft leaves of Lamb's Ear are sure to evoke curiosity from children in the garden.Children’s gardens should be interactive. Children should be able to encounter the natural world actively rather than passively. They should be encouraged to look, feel, smell, listen, and taste. To do this safely, plants selected for the garden should not be dangerous for children. Avoid plantings that have thorns or that are poisonous. Additionally, an adult should be interacting along with the children. This sets an example for the children but also helps the adult(s) better understand what children need to learn and grow. Through these encounters children will be able to better develop their listening and observation skills.

A small play house for children in the gardenChildren most often learn by playing. There should be an element of play encouraged in the garden. This can be done by incorporating areas for discovery and make-believe. Loose items such as acorns, twigs, seed pods, etc., allow children to be imaginative. Public gardens may have larger features such as tree houses or oversized plants to explore. When you visit these expansive gardens you may find it difficult to imagine creating your own space like these. However, if you focus on the elements that make children’s gardens appealing you can identify features which can be included in any size garden no matter the funding.

Children’s gardens should be designed to help children learn. One way to foster this element is to provide signage appropriate for all ages. The signs may point out certain characteristics of the surrounding garden both pictorially and through words. In a pollinator garden, there may be pictures that illustrate how pollination occurs along with some common garden pollinators. These signs also help children educate the rest of their family during following visits.

How-to Effectively Use Garden Signs

Garden signs can be used to serve many specific purposes.

Plant sign with botanical and common name and plant familyThey designate the entrance into the garden and/or various themed gardens. Making these signs is a wonderful project for students. Students take great pride in their garden when they are given the opportunity to contribute to it. Allowing students to design and create the sign that welcomes others into their garden puts their input at the forefront.

Signs can provide plant names. With older students, including botanical and common names, as well as plant families on signs, may be desirable. With younger students, just the common name may suffice. Another consideration is offering bilingual signs.

Bilingual plant signGarden signs can teach visitors. Informational signs are typically intended to stand alone and educate outsiders about the garden without an expert present. These signs are popular with various potentially lesser known garden types such as a rain garden, sensory garden, and pollinator garden. In this regard, the signs are extremely important to identify for the visitors how the garden can be observed differently than what they may be used to seeing in a more traditional garden.

An important role signs can play is to acknowledge support from funders. The support you are acknowledging may be from a grant program, local company, or any variety of other sources. This may simply require obtaining a sign from the organization that donated money/plants/seeds/etc., to your garden for the season which you can display in the garden. Some organizations may not have signs available so temporary signs could be made to last however long the organization(s) continue support.

Some things to consider when deciding the type of signs to use in your garden include:

• A visually and verbally designed garden signAre the signs temporary (i.e. plant names in an annual garden) or intended to last longer (i.e. informative signs)? Temporary signs can easily be made using a base of wood/metal covered in chalkboard paint. The writing on the chalkboard paint will fade/wash away over time and the information can be changed with the plant material making these great for temporary signs. Another option is to create a typed document and laminate it for display in the garden. Laminated signs will show wear after being exposed to the weather, but will likely last through the season. Signs intended to last through multiple years should be made with a hardier cover such as hard plastic or can be etched into metal or painted on wood.
• Are the signs intended for hands-on interaction? If so, they will likely need to be made of a more durable material to endure use from numerous visitors.
• An informative garden sign with minimal writingFor whom are the signs intended? If they are intended for young children you should limit the words on the sign and stick with colorful images. For older students and adults you may choose to include more written information. If you are expecting a mix of visitors you can combine these two educational techniques by illustrating the written information on the sign(s).
• Where will the signs be displayed? The obvious answer is the signs will be displayed next to the corresponding area of the garden which the sign is describing. However, there is more to consider for this topic. If you are deciding where to display your welcome sign, you will need to think about the entrance(s) to the garden. If there is more than one commonly used entrance you may need more than one sign. The area you display your sponsor’s sign(s) will need to be in an easy to view location so the sponsor knows they are valued. Informational signs need to be displayed close to pathways so visitors won’t have to walk through garden beds to read them.
• This sign acknowledges multiple garden donors in a more permanent wayHow tall should the signs be? Sign height is important to ensure the signs are utilized as intended. Plant name labels can typically be lower to the ground (~ 6 inches above the soil). Informational signs should be placed at a height that readers can see without having to bend over/kneel down. These signs likely contain more information so visitors should not have to strain to access the information. Keep safety in mind, however, when designing your signs. Young children falling on a waist high could be seriously injured. This can be avoided by making informational signs above three feet tall.
• How will they be mounted? Keep in mind how long the signs will be in place and whether or not you plan to re-use the signs for multiple years. Plant identification signs are typically made out of metal with a stake that sticks into the ground. These are used for easy removal if they plants die and/or are replaced by other species. For informational and interactive signs, a sturdier base is probably desirable. One option is using a four by four wooden post. If the sign will most likely remain in the same location over time, it could be concreted into place. Otherwise the post can be tamped into decomposed granite to hold it firmly in place.