(HOST) Commentator Henry Homeyer thinks that gardens and children go together like – well – like seeds and spring.
(HOMEYER) I think it’s never too early to introduce children to the joys of flowers and gardening. My boy, Josh, and his wife Erin recently presented me with a second grandchild, a lovely girl named Casey Jean-Marie. I went to Middlebury to visit her when she was just a few hours old. I brought along a small bouquet of snowdrops picked in our garden.
After greeting everyone and giving her brother George a hug and a gift, I waved the flowers under Casey’s nose. I thought she was asleep, but she wasn’t. Casey opened her eyes briefly, and I’m hoping that this early exposure to flowers will serve to imprint them on her psyche – much as ducks get imprinted on their mothers. It will please me greatly if she develops a love of flowers and gardening.
I’ve often wondered what turns a person into a gardener. Is it nature or nurture? Perhaps it’s both. Having parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles who garden – and who love fresh flowers and vegetables – certainly helps to point young children in the right direction.
I’ll introduce Casey to the joys of sniffing flowers now, and picking flowers to give away when she’s older.
Casey’s brother George, who is three and a half, is already old enough to pick flowers. We’ll pick a few snowdrops now, daffodils and tulips later, and each time he gives his Mom or Grammy a bouquet of flowers, he’ll be rewarded with smiles and hugs. That’s great Pavlovian conditioning for linking flowers with happiness. By the time June peonies are blooming, he’ll be gleeful at the thought of a jaunt in the garden to get fresh flowers to give away.
George will also have his own garden plot at my house this year. I’m hoping to get him to plant some carrots and a Sungold cherry tomato. Those are great for in-the-garden munching. But if he decides he’d rather use his plot to build a racetrack for his robots, that’s okay, too. The main thing is for him to be outside having fun, and to be doing so with Grampy.
Having fun, and being recognized as special and thoughtful, are great motivators. Toddlers who enjoy giving flowers probably will graduate to children who enjoy growing them. And as George and I spend time in the garden I’ll try to remember that the goal of gardening is not to teach a child that hard work results in success. Most kids hate to weed, and insisting they weed their own gardens is like asking them to do homework at a birthday party. Gardening with children is about having fun together, sharing, and being outside.
Each new grandchild is a gift to be cherished. And I hope to give each of them a gift in return – a love of gardening.
Henry Homeyer is a gardening writer and columnist.