Fun Gardening for Kids by Creating an Edible Flower Garden

As a WAHM, you will most likely be looking for creative ways to engage your kids and keep them busy while you’re spending time at home together. Here’s a great idea to make gardening for kids a fun activity: create an edible flower garden.

Creating an edible flower garden with your little ones is a fantastic way to keep them busy, teach them about nature, and ignite their curiosity about the wonderful world of flowers you can eat.

Not only will this activity provide quality time together, but it will also introduce them to gardening and expand their knowledge of edible flowers.

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of creating an edible flower garden with kids, tips on choosing easy edible flowers to grow, and fun activities to enhance their gardening experience.

 

Benefits of Making Gardening for Kids a Fun Activity

Nurturing a Love for Nature

Gardening with children is an excellent way to develop a love for nature and foster a sense of responsibility in them.

Through tending to their own edible flower garden, they will find gardening fun, as well as learning valuable lessons about nurturing and caring for living things. They will understand the importance of watering, weeding, and providing sunlight to help plants grow.

This hands-on experience can ignite their passion for gardening and instill a lifelong love for plants and nature.

 

Encouraging Healthy Eating Habits

Growing edible flowers not only provides a visual fascination but also encourages kids to explore new flavors and appreciate the beauty of natural foods.

Most children don’t know that lots of flowers grown in gardens are edible.

By encouraging them to add edible flowers to meals and snacks, you can help them develop an interest in healthy eating and new ways to look at food.

By making gardening for kids something they will find fun, they can develop a connection between what they grow and what they eat while having great fun along the way. It will also foster a sense of pride in the food they have played a part in producing. It could also help you, as a WAHM, to explore ways to cook healthy at home.

 

Creating Family Bonds

By spending time with your little ones and doing things that they enjoy, you will strengthen your bond with them. As a WAHM, your time is precious, so you need to make the time you spend with them fun and meaningful by making gardening fun for your kids. Here are some additional tips on gardening with kids.

 

Educational Fun

An edible flower garden is a living classroom that offers various learning opportunities.

Kids can learn about plant life cycles, pollination, and the importance of bees and other insects in the ecosystem. They can observe the process of a seed turning into a sprout, blossoming into a flower, and eventually producing seeds of its own.

It’s a hands-on science lesson that combines education with enjoyment, sparking their curiosity and fostering a deeper understanding of the natural world.

 

Choose Edible Flowers that Will Make Gardening for Kids Interesting and Fun

Choosing the Right Edible Flowers to Grow with Kids

When choosing flowers, make sure that the ones you choose are edible. Here is a list of edible flowers with pictures that will help you decide which ones to choose.

 

Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums are an obvious choice as they are so easy to grow, and kids love the wonderfully bright flowers. These flowers can be munched on by the kids while they’re in the garden.

 

Pansies and Violas

Pansies and Violas are another very popular choice. Also very easy to grow, but the most fascinating thing is the beautiful little unique face that each flower has. The kids will love looking at the differences in each flower.

 

Cosmos

Cosmos is a wonderfully bright and cheerful flower that is also very easy to grow. These are easily grown from seed, and if left, they will seed themselves and come up again next year. This will be fascinating for the kids to see. Just like magic! They seed themselves and grow without having to be planted!

 

Give the Kids a Say in What They Plant

Involve your kids in the selection process. Let them choose a few of their favorite flowers to grow so that they can create a sense of ownership and excitement.

Flower options like borage, violets, and marigolds provide a range of colors and flavors for kids to explore.

Borage flowers have a refreshing cucumber-like taste and can be used to flavor drinks or frozen into ice cubes. Violet flowers are delicate and have a subtle, floral flavor that pairs well with desserts.

 

Teach your Kids Organic Growing Practices

Teach your kids organic growing practises by avoiding pesticides or fungicides in the garden. Also show them how to make compost using kitchen scraps.

 

Fun Activities for Kids to Do with Edible Flowers

By making gardening for kids an enjoyable activity, it gives them a focus on how flowers grow and then how to use the edible flowers they are growing. Here are a few ways that kids can use the blooms from their edible flower garden

 

Flower Fairy Tea Party

Host a whimsical tea party or picnic in the garden, celebrating the beauty of edible flowers. Encourage your kids to decorate cakes or cupcakes with edible flowers, creating an enchanting and visually stunning treat.

They can use the petals as toppings or even create intricate designs with the flowers. Additionally, let them sprinkle edible flower petals over salads, adding a pop of color and a touch of elegance to their healthy meal.

 

Pressed Flowers

Let your kids develop their creativity by pressing flowers. They can press whole flowers, petals, and small leaves between heavy books to preserve their vibrant colors. These can be used to decorate cakes or make homemade cards that they can gift.

Encourage them to experiment with different textures and patterns, allowing their imagination to run wild.

 

Flower-Infused Water or Lemonade

Refreshing and visually appealing, dropping flowers into a jug of water or lemonade is an excellent way to enjoy the taste and beauty of edible flowers.

Your kids can help pick the petals and create their unique drink recipes. Fill a jug with water or lemonade and add a handful of edible flower petals. Let it infuse for a few hours in the refrigerator.

Serve the flavorful and beautiful beverage to your little ones, delighting their taste buds and quenching their thirst in a fun and healthy way.

 

Flower Ice Cubes

Make drinking water a little more exciting by creating flower ice cubes.

Your kids can select fresh edible flower petals and place them in ice cube trays. Fill the trays with water and freeze them. Once the ice cubes are ready, they can be added to drinks, making them visually appealing. They will find it fun to see the little flowers escape the ice as it melts and float to the top. It’s a simple yet delightful way to incorporate edible flowers into their everyday healthy drinks.

 

Seed Saving

Engage your children in the life cycle of plants by involving them in seed saving. As the flowers in your edible garden start to wither and dry out, show your kids how to collect the seeds. They can carefully remove the seed heads and store them in labelled envelopes.

Teach your kids patience and responsibility with the anticipation of growing their own seeds next year.

 

How to Make Gardening for Kids a Worthwhile Use of your Precious Time Together

Creating an edible flower garden with your kids is a delightful and educational adventure that combines the joys of gardening with the pleasures of discovering new flavors.

As work-from-home mums, we can use this opportunity to strengthen bonds with our children, cultivate their interest in edible flowers, and foster an appreciation for nature and healthy eating.

By selecting the right flowers and engaging in fun activities like decorating cupcakes with edible flowers, adding them to salads, or making flower ice cubes, we can create lasting memories and cultivate a love for gardening.

So, grab a trowel and embark on this wonderful journey into flowers you can eat with your kids. Together, you’ll nurture not only beautiful flowers but also their curiosity, creativity, and connection to the natural world.

Enjoy making wonderful memories gardening with your kids and creating their own edible flower garden.