Children love plants. They love to grow them, which gives them an excuse to play in dirt, something else kids love. But what types of plants and flowers are good for them to grow. Sometimes the kids know better than we do. Other than easy to grow plants and flowers, they should also appeal to their senses.
Easy to Grow Plants for Texture and Visual Appeal Plants and flowers with interesting textures are irresistible to many kids. Most are easy to grow as well. Lamb’s ear is probably the most commonly grown. These easy to grow plants have soft, fuzzy foliage that kids love to touch and pet. Textural appeal also comes from papery plants like strawflower and Chinese lantern. Coneflowers are easy to grow and feel prickly to the touch. Many plants offer fun, feathery foliage and flowers.
Try growing blazing star. It has stiff spikes of tiny, fuzzy, purple blossoms and is very easy to grow. Kids enjoy bright colours. Easy to grow, child-friendly plants include zinnias and cosmos. Many of these are also great for picking, another activity that kids enjoy. Zinnias offer many colours and varieties to choose from. There is sure to be a variety to fit everyone. Cosmos not only look appealing but are extremely easy to grow. In fact, once established, they will continually self-seed, practically growing all by themselves. These plants produce fern-like foliage and large brightly coloured flowers.
Be sure to include those with interesting shapes such as pineapple lily. This is a very easy plant to grow, needing little or no special attention. Its flower spikes range in colour from cream and green to pinkish-purple and are topped with a pineapple-like cluster of leaves.
Easy to Grow Plants for Fragrance and Taste
Marigolds are popular plants that are easy to grow. They also have a very strong scent. The bluish-purple, egg-shaped flowers of Grape Hyacinths not only resemble grapes but also smell spectacular and are easy to grow. Flowering tobacco is another easy to grow flower that has a very pleasing aroma. Besides those that naturally smell good, try growing a variety of easy to grow herbs that release their scents once the foliage is rubbed. Scented geraniums, rosemary, and lemon balm are good examples.
Sunflowers are not only easy to grow and very attractive but kids will enjoy eating their seeds once ripe. Vegetables are always good choices for kids. They are extremely easy to grow and available in many interesting sizes, shapes, and colours that kids find appealing. Tomatoes, carrots, and radishes are great choices, along with vine crops like cucumbers.
Perhaps the kids would enjoy a tasty herb garden filled with a variety of seasoning herbs. Choose a theme like a Spaghetti or Pizza herb garden. Great choices here include oregano, basil, parsley, and garlic. Tomatoes, green peppers, and onions will also make good choices in this type of garden.
Performance Plants That Are Easy to Grow
There are easy to grow plants and flowers that make great performers for entertaining children. The Firecracker plant produces unusual reddish-orange flowers that eventually turn into exploding seed head. When drops of water hit the pods, seeds pop out, flying up to twenty feet away. The Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant with hinged, jaw-like leaves that capture and eat wandering insects. Snapdragons are not only pleasing to the eyes and easy to grow but they entertain kids too. Gently pinch their blooms and the plants will take on the appearance of a dragon. Kids enjoy making these flowers ‘talk.’