Gardening with a 2 year old

One of the great things about our new home is the yard space. Ever since H was a baby he has loved the outdoors. Although it is wonderful to go out on walks, play soccer at the park, etc....it is really great to be able to occupy H with planting and weeding in the backyard. Two weekends ago we took advantage of the beautiful fallish weather to plant a few mums and bushes. (The fall is a great time to plant bushes and trees because they are are sale at nurseries and have the entire winter to take root before the spring again.)

We have come up with these steps for gardening with a young child to both get the work done and have fun doing it.

1. Loosen the soil. H loves this part. He gets a hand held rack and goes to town while we dig up the soil.

2. Dig a hole. (Who doesn't love doing something so concrete. )

4. Pour water at the bottom of the hole.
5. Loosen up plant and place it in the hole.

6. Fill in the dirt. 
7. Water to your heart's content.
8. Sweep away the excess dirt from rocks and surrounding walls. (H got a huge kick out of this step.) You can pick up a small dust pan and broom from almost any hardware store and it can serve as the outside brush. Provides hours of entertainment and beautifies your space. This is a win-win in my world.