Plenty of insects are simply pests, eating their way through your tomatoes or stinging your face and arms while you try to pull weeds. But here are four creepy-crawlies who can help your garden grow.
1. Bees. A few days ago I saw a bumblebee buzzing around our squash plants, and I was glad [...]
Parents and teachers who garden with kids often allude to the benefits that gardening offers for kids, as I did in yesterday’s post. But fortunately, the evidence is not just anecdotal. While research on the benefits of gardening for children is limited, the field is growing, according to the National Gardening Association (NGA). And results [...]
A lot can happen in a week. When we left last week for vacation, the garden was mostly just green sprouts. But when we got home yesterday, after a week away, it was a different story.
First, the boys brought in these two bell peppers, the biggest ones we’ve ever grown.
Next, Lee [...]
As I write about gardening and outdoor topics (for this blog and for other publications), I’m always interested in reading what others have to say about these subjects. And it’s no surprise that there are a ton of good blogs focused on gardening and exploring the outdoors with kids. Here are six good ones to [...]
I’ve written regularly on this blog about the good things that result from kids spending time in a garden. But too much of anything can be bad, and a stinging report released last week from Human Rights Watch shows that hundreds of thousands of children in the United States are exposed to health risks and [...]
Gardens are good for kids, whether they’re girls or boys. But since I have boys, and I’ve been reading a book called Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys, by Stephen James and David Thomas, I’ve been thinking about how a garden is an especially good playplace for preschoolers with a Y chromosome. (And I [...]
If you and your kids are looking for some new music to listen to this spring, check this out. Four working moms with a passion for the earth recruited musicians and songwriters to create My Changing Planet, a fun CD full of messages about playing outside, appreciating nature and taking care of the earth.
Released [...]
Planting the garden has never been one of my favorite activities. But a few weeks ago, on a warm spring day, it was time to get most of our seeds in the ground. We were all itching to get outside in the sun, and instead of a dreaded chore, planting the garden turned into a [...]
