This morning, I waited in line behind a school bus in a rural area and watched as the kids climbed on board, toting their backpacks and lunch sacks. Suddenly I wondered how many of those children could name even one of the many trees and plants that lined the road on either side of the bus.
Once again it struck me that there are so many ways that we, as parents, can introduce our kids to the world of nature that is all around us. But it's important to make the introduction both fun and exciting. Fortunately this isn't difficult!
Probably the easiest way is to get children involved in planting. Even very young children enjoy kneeling and digging in the soil, and this is a great opportunity to kneel there with them and plant something together.
Because children will want to see fairly fast results with anything they plant, it makes sense to help them plant fast-growing flora. One good idea is to help the little guys plant some kind of groundcover. Not only will they see results quite quickly, but ground cover, by its very nature, is low-level and within a small child's frame of visual reference. You could try Vinca, Ajuga or perhaps Pachysandra.
What could be better than a Butterfly Bush? You can find a lot more information about Butterfly Bushes in a previous column. All "Plant Man" columns are archived at my website. Go to www.landsteward.org and click on "The Plant Man". There are several varieties of Buddlea to choose from with blooms that range in color from lavender to pink to almost red. They grow relatively quickly, they grow larger each year (just like the kid who planted it) and are quite easy to plant and care for. You'll probably want to choose 2-year bed-grown bareroot Buddlea plants, and by mid summer, your children can watch the beautiful butterflies that swarm around "their" bushes!
Of course, all those butterflies will have to live somewhere, so you might want to consider helping your kids set up a butterfly house near the Buddlea. Most butterfly houses consist of a tall, narrow wooden box with narrow vertical slits in the front panel. Kids are fascinated to see a butterfly land, fold its wings up and hop inside. Just hang the butterfly house from a nearby tree or a post where your children can observe the comings and goings.
Speaking of houses, my own kids loved their bat house. Before you shudder with visions of Dracula, remember that bats are nature's own mosquito controllers, so think of bats as your protection against itchy bites and you'll look more kindly upon them! Building a bat house from a kit is a fun project to work on with a child, and another way to bring fun to backyard education.
Kids like to eat what they grow, so you might consider getting a mushroom log. These are mostly available in kit form and come with the log already implanted with mushroom spawn. Mushrooms grow quickly so, once again, kids can see results in a short period of time. Mushroom logs are easy to care for and quite often keep producing for two years.
Now, I'm biased because I happen to love the taste of blueberries, but I think that helping your child plant a blueberry bush is an excellent idea. The fruit is easy to pick and (unlike some fruit bushes) the bush is actually very pretty, even in winter. Now if only you could plant a pancake tree next to it...
Speaking of trees, in a future column I'll talk about some tree varieties that you could plant with or for your children. Meanwhile, I hope this has given you some ideas about involving kids in the world of nature.
The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org or mail to: Steve Jones, "The Plant Man", P.O. Box 686, McMinnville, TN 37111. For resources and additional information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.org often.
QUESTION: I have a question on Bradford Pears. I have one that is about 5 years old and I would like to trim some one the lower branches off (because they are only about 4 feet off the ground). Will this cause problems with the tree and also will the tree fill in any bare spots or sides that result from the removal of these branches? - Phil
ANSWER: Yes, you can trim the lower branches when the tree drops its leaves. On shape, one thing to keep in mind is to look at the branch you're taking off and imagine the tree without it. As far as filling in, yes the tree will fill back in, but not if your cuts are too severe.
