We encourage creating a special safe area in your yard where children can connect to the earth and have a relationship to one little plot of ground, a place to watch a pumpkin grow, a place to just be.

M-Squared suggests for the early years:

Build a simple sand box. Keep cats out with a clean tarp and good-sized rocks to hold it down.  Have fun digging. Plant a semi dwarf Montmorency cherry tree in full sun, in good healthy earth. Water it. Watch the cherries grow. Pick them, eat them, or make a cherry pie. (Montmorency cherries do well on the Front Range and hold their shape nicely. Love your tree! Put up a hammock that the whole family can enjoy.  The Mayan hammocks on Boulder’s Pearl St Mall are stretchy and very comfortable. 1-800-HANGOUT or www.hangouts.com Have a tree to climb. Create a little garden and a watering routine with easy to grow flowers. Ex: Cosmos and plant some Squash, Pumpkins…that’s it! Make a branch teepee for scarlet runner beans or morning glory flowers. Build a Children’s Playhouse. Create a cozy place for Mom’s and Dad’s to sit that serves as an outdoor stage for the children.

 

Plants for a Child’s Garden
that attract butterflies and humming birds

Snapdragons Sunflower Money Plant Zinnia Assorted Herbs

Larkspur Cosmos Scarlet Runner Bean Blue Morning Glories Cone Flower