Children can learn new skills, have fun, play and develop self-confidence by spending time in the garden tending plants and growing their own food. Most children enjoy being outdoors and love digging in the soil, getting dirty, creating things and watching plants grow.

People of all ages can enjoy gardening, but children in particular will have lots of fun and gain special benefits. Gardening is educational and develops new skills including:

• Responsibility– from caring for plants

• Understanding– as they learn about cause and effect (for example, plants die without water, weeds compete with plants)
• Self-confidence – from achieving their goals and enjoying the food they have grown
• Love of nature – a chance to learn about the outdoor environment in a safe and pleasant place
• Reasoning and discovery – learning about the science of plants, animals, weather, the environment, nutrition and simple construction
• Physical activity – doing something fun and productive
• Cooperation– including shared play activity and teamwork
• Creativity– finding new and exciting ways to grow food
• Nutrition – learning about where fresh food comes from.

Children like large, brightly coloured flowers and vegetables that grow quickly. Plants such as sunflowers, corn and pumpkins are good examples.

You should also consider using varieties of plants that have sensory and textural qualities as well. Examples of great sensory plants include:

• Touch – woolly lamb’s ear, succulents (such as aloe vera), bottlebrush and snapdragons
• Taste – basil, strawberries, peas, rosemary, carrots and cherry tomatoes
• Smell – jasmine, sweet peas, lavender, pelargoniums and mint bushlemon balm
• Bright colour – daffodils, rainbow chard, marigolds, pansies and sunflowers
• Sound – corn, bamboo and grasses  that rustle against each other when the wind blows.

Toddlers, preschoolers, primary-school-aged and older children will all have different expectations and will learn different things in the garden.

Younger children will require careful supervision during activities. Suitable tasks for younger children include watering plants, harvesting produce and planting seeds. Older children are physically capable of handling a greater variety of activities, like digging, carrying, planting, mulching and pruning.