How to Plant Flowers With a Child

Overview

Planting flowers with a child gives a gardener a whole new perspective on growing things. Most little ones have no idea how flowers, fruits and vegetables come to be. It's an enriching experience for both you and the child to start them off in gardening. Flowers are the perfect choice. Engage the child in as much of the work as possible.

Step 1

Take a trip to the local plant nursery with the child. Photograph different annual flowers in bloom that have larger, easy-to-grow seeds, such as sweet peas, zinnias, four o'clocks, marigolds and nasturtiums. Sunflowers are another good choice because the seeds are big, sprout quickly and the flowers are impressive. If flowers are not in bloom in your geographic area, go online. The idea is to show the child what the flower looks like, how big it is and what the leaves look like. The photo on the package often doesn't do justice to the full-grown flower plants. Buy packets of the different flowers.

Step 2

Dig up an area of the yard that's just for your little one and his flowers. Have him help. Even if he mostly just gets in the way, he'll think he's contributing. Both of you should wear gardening gloves. Kids constantly put their hands in their mouths. The gloves will remind them not to and keep their hands cleaner.

Step 3

Spread a 3-inch layer of compost over the new flower bed. You, not the child, should add the fertilizer per package directions. Fertilizers contain chemicals and it's best they're kept away from children. Dig in the compost and fertilizer. Rake the bed smooth, removing any rocks.

Step 4

Let the child place the seeds on the ground and gently cover them with soil. Supervise so the seeds are planted at the correct depth. Sunflowers, nasturtiums, sweet peas, and four o'clocks get planted about a half inch deep. The other flowers mentioned above get planted only quarter inch. A little leeway either way won't hurt. Don't plant all the seeds in the package. Save some for your emergency backup.

Step 5

Water the flowers with the fine spray of a hose. Children might flood the newly planted seeds with a watering can. Younger children might not have the strength to lift the can.

Step 6

Photograph the child at work. The flowers should sprout within a week to 10 days. Photograph the plant's progress every couple of weeks until bloom time. Place the photographs with notes in the album for a record of the child's gardening experience.