Customer Reviews

A Childs Garden: Enchanting Outdoor Spaces for Children and Parents

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is exactly what I was searching for. I love to garden, but I also need to accommodate my two rambunctious children and a variety of pets. This book has page after page of creative ideas, safety considerations, examples, and plenty of photos. The author is clear, interesting, and very informative about both gardening and childhood development.

Every page of this book has full color photos from some of the most incredible gardens for children I have ever seen, from the large elaborate planned spaces of botanical gardens, to small modest spaces that will fit any space or budget. While this is not a heavy-duty "how to" book, it is a book of ideas--and we all know that ideas lead to other ideas! The cover of this book alone is inspiring!

The author asks, "How important are the old childhood pleasures of collecting seed pods, fishing in ditches, making bowers, picking flowers, and climbing trees?...long hours of unstructured outdoor exploration are a fast-vanishing aspect of contemporary childhood." She continues, "...the environment [on her uncle's farm] was so complex--full of smells, varied land forms, and mesmerizing creatures. I remember a scooped out pond surrounded by mud in which pigs, geese and ducks joyously wallowed. The strange pungency of the air, the frighteningly gigantic hogs, the mysterious, billowy grasses...still fill my senses." The author talks at great length about the psychology of nature, and of German educational reforms of the early 20th century (but only the good ones <G>). Each page has a line fron a Robert Louis Stevenson poem, for "...you may see, if you will look Through the windows of this book, Another child far away, And in another garden play."

The book includes suggestions for water gardens, sensory gardens, vegetable gardens, themed gardens, natural sand boxes, mazes, and attracting wildlife, plus many resources for strange seeds, odd plants, and landscape designers in varied areas of the US and the UK, all geared towards making a child's space a natural one.

BTW, when I bought the book, my kids grabbed it from me immediately. They love to look at the gardens and plan ours. Oh, and there are two black and whilte photos in the book: One is of children during WWI, tending a large city garden; the other is a 1940's style playground, with the steel and concrete structures that many of us recall from childhood. My 4yo playground-lover looked at both, and declared that he'd rather explore the garden.

This beautifully illustrated book looks at gardens with the delight of a child from the perspective of a mother who loves her children and her community. Ms. Dannenmaier shows us how to get more out of the natural world, no matter our age or environment. She shows parents how to connect with their children in the garden, particularly urban spaces. This is a great gift book.

Our whole family has enjoyed reading this book to get ideas for our Sunflower/Fairy Garden!! Every section offers wonderful ideas that we would never have thought of to add...What Fun our Magical Garden will be thanks to, A Child's Garden : Enchanting Outdoor Spaces for Children and Parents! One section offers the idea of planting different berries around the yard so the children can snack as they play! I have given this book to our landscaper to see what ideas he has for adding water to the garden...Already he has suggested using a water pump to circulate water in order to make a small trickling brook for our boys to sail their boats on! I also got the idea to make a willow archway that will be child size for the children to cimb through! We are so very excited to spend this summer creating and adding to our Enchanted Fairy Garden!

I just received this as a gift today, and I loved looking through the beautiful photographs. So many interesting ideas for treehouses, mazes, theme gardens, and uses for those left-behind stumps and odd-shaped small yards-- it truly encourages people to plant where they're blooming, no matter how less-than-ideal the yard. It does seem to favor northern climates on the surface, but a Miami garden is highlighted, and the basics-- structures and uses of space are more of a focus, rather than specific plants or seasonal values. (This is important to me as a southern gardener-- we just don't have the same gardening calendar.)

Of course several of the featured gardens are owned by professional landscape designers or are part of large public gardens. But that shouldn't deter the novice with a vision; don't we all want to learn from the pros and use them as a springboard? If nothing else, I am inspired to continue creating a fun place for my children to play and roam, as well as consider ways to branch out into other local institutions that could provide these play spaces.

This books gives a history of children's gardens and a case for children to be surrounded by nature. It is filled with lovely, inspirational photos and text. However, the majority of the featured gardens and garden plans are more whimsical than practical. I didn't find a lot of really useful information on plants and gardening to help someone who wishes to create a garden space for their children. I much prefer Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy.

This book is more about gardening for children that with children. It tells you how to simply create magical spaces in your garden with vegetable and other plants that are functional and fun. I love the caves and other hideouts the author has created. What a nice way to inspire kids to get into the yard again and away from the TV. It has ideas for water features, pathways, and other treats as well. Not the same old stuff you see in other books, very unique. We love this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There are alot of great ideas that you can incorporate into your yard or cool places to visit. Highly recommend.

This is the book I'd been looking for! I first found it at the library. When I saw how well done it was and with all the color photographs, I had to order a copy for my garden design library. I was able to glean initial knowledge and insight from a cover to cover review of the numerous photographs and illustrations with ample captions. Now I'm reading through the entire text. Today's children often lack adequate experiences in nature. We can provide wholesome, nurturing opportunities for play and exploration by learning from the suggestions in this book. The author provides both philosophy, social comment and practical design ideas that inspire the reader to address the need for increasing natural experiences for children in both home gardens and public spaces.

I first discovered this gem about 10 years ago in a little independent bookstore in Blue Hill, Maine and I've recommended it to many friends and schools. I'm so delighted it is reprinted and in paperback. It's a book that will enchant adults as well as children. It makes we wish I had acres and acres in which to create these great play spaces. One doesn't even have to have young children to be inspired or create something for yourself.

How gratifying to have authors who know how important it is for children to play--and especially outdoors so they can smell, dig, feel the earth, grow plants, play in sand or water, and build something from their imaginations. I hope they included the same spectacular photographs as in the first printing hardcover. Now if they could only be incorporated in public play spaces in urban settings!