Gardening with Children [Paperback]

Beth Richardson Cpn (Author), Lynn Karlin (Photographer)

Book Description

Involving children in gardening activities can be rewarding for both the adults and the children. This splendid, full-color book is devoted to creating an adult-centered garden that includes and celebrates children's efforts in the garden. Beth Richardson offers innovative and creative ways to start a family garden in which children can work and dream and feel accomplished -- and have some fun, too. Her approach is aimed at having children help without allowing them to feel overwhelmed by the responsibility for a whole garden. This book will help parents as they instruct their children on the basic processes that support life. The projects are accessible and fun for today's busy families.
-- For anyone who enjoys parenting and gardening.
-- A practical guide to family gardening.
-- Projects and recipes take children's tastes into consideration without sacrificing the food and design preferences of adults.
-- Introduces children to many cultures through food.
-- Includes theme gardens for those interested in gardening on a smaller scale.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Richardson creates an unusual approach to gardening, a guide to including children of all ages in the garden. Divided into two main sections, "Including Children in the Gardening Activity" and "Making Gardening Fun for Children," the author provides all the basics of gardening--planning, planting, composting, soil preparation--but shows how to include children in the process, how to interpret and teach, and how to engage them fully and joyfully in the entire process from planting to gathering flowers and eating the vegetables they have helped to grow.

Some of the activities outlined are creating a "pizza garden," building a heritage garden, making a scarecrow, carving personalized pumpkins, and saving seeds. To bring the pleasures and delights and knowledge of the garden and gardening to children will give them an experience that will last a lifetime. --Mark A. Hetts

From Booklist

Richardson's aim is to get children interested in gardening, and she explains how to include them in daily gardening activities, from planning to planting and tending. She begins with a chapter on what is best to plant in the various hardiness zones and follows with instructions on laying out a garden, designing and building a raised-bed garden, preparing soil organically, and planting and tending a garden. She discusses theme gardens that children will enjoy: pizza, pasta, snack, heritage, pet, and fall holiday gardens, among others. A final chapter on garden-related projects includes making a scarecrow, a pressed-flower card, garlic braids, a cornhusk doll, and an apple wreath. There are 130 photographs and many helpful black-and-white illustrations. George Cohen

Product Details

• Paperback: 153 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (May 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561581925
• ISBN-13: 978-1561581924
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,236,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Can't Wait To Get Started!!!, March 2, 2001

By 

"jelliebean" (Highlands Ranch, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gardening with Children (Paperback)

I checked this book out of the library last month, but just a few pages into I knew I had to own it! I was so inspired I almost started planting mid-winter! It is packed full of fun ideas like planting a pizza shaped garden with all the ingredients for your kid's favorite pizza. You'll also learn how to surprise you kids with pumpkins that grow with their names on them. The book covers everything you need to know, for everyone from beginners to experts. Everything you need to know; soil, sun, what to plant, how to plant and where to plant it. The pictures are charming. Read with caution - you'll want to get started immediately!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's basic gardening, October 12, 2003

By 

Valerie Adolph "Coast Journal" (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gardening with Children (Paperback)

This book is really Gardening 101 with the addition of cute pictures of kids. Its all about good, solid, nature-based gardening, the way an experienced gardener might explain it to new gardeners, whether they were children or not. I cant fault the gardening advice - everything is sound and sensible. It covers garden planning, soil basics, organic gardening, composting, planting garden maintenance and a chapter on making gardening fun for children.

The flaw in the book to me was that it was all learning by doing and not enough hanging out and wondering. There is so much a child can learn by just hanging out in a garden and watching. They can watch, for example, a spider trussing his catch or ants herding aphids and learn how this garden world works, not to mention producing teachable moments galore. There is so much to ask about (Why is this flower blue?) Its great if adults have answers, or the means to research answers but its even better if we can enter a childs world of imagination for a while and share his approach to a garden, rather than imposing our own.

Another failing was that the children in the photographs (all clean and healthy-looking, no dirty or disabled kids here) are all in their tidy, bright clothes and carefully posed as directed, digging, lets say, or gazing in wonder at a seedling. If only that were real life!

This would be a useful book in the household of a young family who are faced with coping with a new garden and children who would like to help with it. But be warned - they might get dirty!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't wait to get started!, March 2, 2001

By 

"jelliebean" (Highlands Ranch, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gardening with Children (Paperback)

I checked this book out of the library last month, but just a few pages into I knew I had to own it! I was so inspired I almost started planting mid-winter! It is packed full of fun ideas like planting a pizza shaped garden with all the ingredients for your kid's favorite pizza. You'll also learn how to surprise you kids with pumpkins that grow with their names on them. The book covers everything you need to know, for everyone from beginners to experts. Everything you need to know; soil, sun, what to plant, how to plant and where to plant it. The pictures are charming. Read with caution - you'll want to get started immediately!