Ever since my twins were toddlers (they are 8 now), we have had a winter garden right by the front door. That garden, planted in August, has lots of carrots, some winter radishes, some kale, some turnips, and some spinach. We can harvest from it all winter, with the protection of a low tunnel, thick pine straw mulch, and a layer of row cover. (Well, except like right now, when the whole tunnel is lost under snow.) We grow a rainbow of carrots, and by January some of them are 3-4 inches around at the top. They love the huge carrot "coins" that I pack in their lunches. During the more conventional gardening seasons, we usually have a wall of climbing peas with green, yellow, purple, English, snap, and snow varieties; and a pole bean teepee with purple and wax varieties mixed together. Last year my son had a "Pizza" garden, a 6" diameter round bed with rocks to edge it and raise it a bit and a wedge out of one side (for access to the center) planted with tomatoes, basil, oregano, parsley, zucchini, peppers, and a few yellow flowers (to look like cheese). The tomatoes took a major hit when a hail storm pounded us in early July, but that was actually the most prolific bed in the garden by late summer. We'll be doing that again. (The last two zucchini are still in the kitchen, I haven't had the courage to taste them as "winter" squash, but DS doesn't want them thrown away.) Oh, and for the first time we had success with pumpkins, grown on the south-facing slope in the front yard. (We garden on the side of a mountain, with a short season and cool nights all summer, so the heat-lovers are a challenge.) Oh, and the potatoes (all blue, all red, and yukon gold) planted at the base of the pea wall, were a great hit. This year we will be trying a longer storage type, as all three of those sprouted really early! And finally, I have big planters that stand on either side of the front door, one with a yellow cherry tomato (Yellow Currant) and one with a red cherry tomato (Peace Vine), both with some violets or pansies planted around them for early season color. By mid-summer, when they start ripening, the kids will stand there before they even get in the house, and gobble down cherry tomatoes like candy. They are in charge of watering those plants, and happily carry buckets of their bath water out to take care of them. All of our garden beds have a deep mulch of pine straw (just because we live in a pine forest and it is easy to come by) and require minimal weeding. That is nice with kids. The whole garden is for the kids to eat from, whether harvested and brought into the kitchen, or snacked from in the garden itself. The peas, for example, never make it into the house. Neither do the cherry tomatoes. My only rule is the winter garden doesn't get harvested until the conventional garden is picked clean. Catherine Here is a link that might be useful: Keyhole garden

Mr. Scarecrow looks right at home & not at all lonely with pumpkin fellow to share the view. Mrs Scarecrow is very brave & must have given bobcat that "You leave my duckies alone, you hear!" stare! On a serious note, bobcat may well come back so don't let your grandkids out alone & watch yourselves also carry a shovel or something. Jan

Had to put in my 2 cents on this one. I have two big themes in my garden. They intermingle and criss-cross freely. And I think they are both just a little odd, yes. 1. Historical Garden: Each of these plants has a story behind it, dating back hundreds, if not thousands of years. Symoblism and imagery. A rich and fabled history makes for a good garden. - Ginkgo biloba, sole survivor of a prehistoric order of plants. - Olive tree, the ones that Jesus like to hang around. - Bodhi Tree (Ficus religiosa), the very tree that the Buddha attained enlightenment under. - Myrtle (Myrtus communis), heavily symbolic plant of early Mediterranean cultures. 2. Botanical Family Match: I indulge my inner botanist and match plants of common Families. For instance... -Myrtaceae (Eucalyptus, Myrtle, Guava, Surinam Cherry) -Solanaceae (Brugmansia, Tomato, Brunfelsia, Potato Tree, Brazilian Nightshade, Night Blooming Jasmine) makes sense, right?? :)

I have a 2 1/2 year-old son and we also struggle with working in the yard at times. IT is better this year here are some things I have done... Let them water your containers or play with water. Drexler now tells me the flowers are crying because they are thirsty. I then give him the hose and let him have at it...last night he was right. One of my pansies was thirsty! Get excited about things. Right now EVERY DAY when I get home from work my son asks to go pick the strawberries. We go out and usually a new one is ripe (can't wait a few more weeks). He is still working on not picking the green ones, but he'll learn. Teach them what is yummy. Last year we planted carrots in a container and he would go out and pick a carrot out, wipe it off and eat it. Clean soil, no chemicals and hey he was eating carrots. Teach them to love flowers. How does it smell? How does it taste. Have them help you pick out what ones to pick. Drexler and I will do this together, go into the house and put them in vases and then talk about how pretty they are. I have a small vase by my bed that he empties out every day and replaces the water in...and then the flowers. A bit of a pain, but he is learning to appreciate my yard. Don't freak when they step on a plant, but do teach them to be nice to your plants. I have a large yard and Drex has hurt some of my plants, but we talk about how to treat them. Teach them to watch for bugs and to be interested in them. Ants can keep a kid busy for at least fifteen minutes. Tell yourself you will most likely not get a lot accomplished with your helpers so when you do accomplish something it feels good. Make them an area that is all theirs.