On my walk today I saw these little gardens, made by children aged 3-6 with adult help. Each garden was created by a group of kindergarten children based on a fairy tale of their choice. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the little hands at work, but I can imagine the enthusiasm they put into it.
When I was little, I loved gardening too, and I helped my grandmother. I can still remember the smell of carnations, the velvety violets, the sweet peas I secretly "grazed", the soft and fragrant raspberries, and to add a little unpleasantness, the toad hiding in the strawberry bushes.
When my son was little, I tried to get him to like gardening and taking care of plants. Although far from hoeing and weeding, he still loves nature and prefers the produce of home gardens to distant imports.
Though these small gardens are not vegetable gardens but miniature worlds with tiny creatures: snails, frogs, ducklings, fish, worms, fairies, elves and other fairy-tale characters. And the young child perceives all this as real and lives into the stories. The use of materials is also very creative, although I'm not so happy about the plastic. But I appreciate the good intentions behind it.
What is certain is that there is much inspiration to be drawn from these works. If you have a garden and small children, you can start today, it will be a joy for the whole family and a great weekend break after a busy week.
My little garden
A really colorful one
Mushrooms and ladybugs
Grandparents and granddaughter
Highway for snails
Flower cage - the little bird flew away!
Ducklings and goldfish
Fairy garden
Fish and frog
Cottage
Hedgehog
Stream with bridge
