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- Use The Garden For Quality Family Time
- by Sheri Dorn
Today's hectic lifestyles leave
families little time to spend together; however, gardening offers
a perfect opportunity for a family to share and learn together.
Many activities are suitable for family time in the garden, such
as:
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Plant a tree to celebrate a birth.
A tree's growth is much like a child's. It starts small and young,
as a seedling. It needs nourishment and watering. Like a young
child, a tree goes through growth spurts, passing through juvenility
and entering maturity. In maturity, it is able to share with
others its fine attributes, such as shade to cool and add comfort
to a yard or home, leaves to help make soil-building compost,
and sturdy branches from which young children can swing.
Your child can see his or her
own growth reflected in the growth of the tree and can appreciate
the length of time it takes for a tree to grow to maturity. The
love of trees your child gains now will carry on through adulthood.
Learn the names of plants. Spending
time in the garden to learn about plants can be fun for parents
and children both. In addition to learning about food crops and
beautiful flowers, this time is a perfect opportunity to learn
which plants or plant parts can be potentially poisonous and
how to enjoy the plants safely.
Plant a vegetable garden. The
rewards of a vegetable garden are as exciting to adults as they
are to children, giving both a sense of accomplishment. |
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Sharing the joy and excitement or
even the disappointment and failure of a vegetable garden strengthens
family ties.
Make crafts from garden harvests. Projects, such as making bird
houses from gourds grown in the family garden or arranging dried
flowers, offer times of sharing for family members.
Share gifts of the garden. Giving gifts of handmade crafts and
treasures from the garden is extremely satisfying, and I have
never met anyone who was not delighted in receiving such gifts.
Even fresh produce, such as tomatoes, squash, and green beans,
make terrific gifts for people who do not have a garden. Offering
these gifts gives adults and children alike an opportunity to
show they care about others.
The garden is a fertile ground of opportunities for families
to grow together and learn more about each other while tending
the garden.
It offers the opportunity for adults and children to share ideas
-- to talk and, most importantly, to listen to each other and,
by working together, to communicate the many messages that must
be said without words.
Gardening develops self-esteem, a sense of nurturing, and the
quality of generosity. The garden is a wonderful family room!
Start now to involve your child in the planning of your spring
garden. There are many books for children to educate and excite
them about gardening.
Seed catalogs can be a source of fascination and are perfect
for craft projects after the plants have been ordered. |
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The Author: |
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Sheri Dorn, Extension Technician,
Consumer Horticulture, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0327 |
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