Monarch Migration

As monarch peak season approaches in my area of the country, I am reminded of my sister's love of butterflies. We often found her hanging out in trees or running through neighbors' yards with her braids swaying in the breeze. she spent all summer long with a butterfly net in hand. One year, Liz decided to "tag" monarch butterflies to track their migration. She placed her address on little tags, caught a large number of butterflies, put them to sleep, then glued the tags to their wings. When the butterflies came to, they staggered around the yard, drunk from the alcohol used to label them.

My butterfly bushes should be in bloom within the next few weeks. That's when my butterflies arrive. If we decide to help with the butterfly tracking, we will follow the advice from MonarchWatch. Every kid I've met enjoys butterflies. (Though now that I think about it, my little impish next door neighbor from childhood enjoyed pulling the wings off them. I recommend that you steer your child away from this particular activity.) Tagging butterflies is a great way for them to learn about science and geography.

My daughter has her own butterfly net and like my sister, she is a little red-head. I can just see her now, sitting in trees and running through the yard with her braids sailing in the wind...

Kids in the Garden

Each month I try to post ideas for kids activities in the garden. I realized that I missed last month. I need to set a day each month to do it so it gets done. So, since I thought of it today and today is the 19th...the 19th of each month will be the official day for posting about kids in the garden. I know of other garden bloggers posting "columns" the first weekend of the month, the 15th of the month, and the 30th of the month. I figure no one has a lock on the 19th!

Before I start with some new ideas for kids activities in the garden. I must mention that our sunflower house seems to have failed. I have very bad luck with sunflowers. They grow short and scraggly or not at all. Next year I will try one more time in the sunniest location on my property. The sunflower plot is backed against the woods this year and I'm afraid it is not getting enough light. The year before I think the chipmunks stole the seeds. We also wanted to participate in the Great Sunflower Project, but since we can't get the sunflowers to grow we have to skip it. I figure at least my daughter has learned that gardening is not perfect. We will have some disappointments.

One more update about a past activity...the reading garden is a huge success! Yesterday my daughter pulled her best friend into the garden and announced "No grownups allowed!" They sat on the reading bench together READING! Woohoo! Freedom in the garden is important. Creating secret hideouts and exploration are all important parts of their outdoor learning.

A new found garden activity that we enjoy together is singing. I explained that gardening is fun because it is such a quiet activity that you can chat or sing while doing it. So the little one pulled on her gardening gloves and started making up songs about mother nature. "We love plants. Plants are gooood, ooooooo." I decided to turn it into a little lesson. I asked why she thinks plants are good and she told me they are pretty. So, I told her about how plants take in the carbon dioxide that we breathe out. They turn it into oxygen so that we can breathe. "Plants are good...ooo...they make oxygen. yeah, yeah! oooooo!" (sing this song to your own tune or try Twinkle Twinkle Little Star -- one of our personal favorites.)

Yesterday I encouraged my daughter and her friends to take a break from play to try some of the first raspberries and blueberries of the season. They clamored for as much as they could get. There is nothing like sharing fresh fruit off the bush with kids.

Playing with garden creatures is super fun stuff. (Just don't let your child name a frog it finds and then find one that looks like it dead in the pool the next day. "Mom? MOM! Is that Jackie frog? What's wrong with Jackie frog?!" Tip: The best thing to do is to empty the strainers and scan the pool before your child goes for a dip.) We've begun hunting for butterflies since they are starting to frequent the garden more regularly as their favorite plants are flowering. My daughter has a net to catch them. We then transfer them to a bug house and watch them for a few months before releasing. We have also included other bugs in our hunts. We had grasshoppers and ants visiting at one time. Hunting for small bugs is a great activity because a. It keeps the little one busy for an hour and b. it encourages the child to focus, looking really closely at nature to find really small things. Our intention is to pick up a bug identification book this summer so we can learn more about them. My sister Liz, who is still known for her butterfly catching prowess twenty five years later, sent my daughter a Live Butterfly Garden for her birthday. The set we have is made by Insect Lore. The box contains a cage for the butterflies, but you have to mail away a postcard and three dollars to get the caterpillars and food. (I thought it was a little cheesy that they want three more dollars from us after my sister bought this nice gift. If they really need the three dollars, why not charge it right off the bat? Three dollars isn't a lot, but it seems like they've already been paid...Perhaps I'm just being too cynical?) We will let you know how the butterflies grow.

We have also spent time pressing flowers. We have a fancy press (two pieces of woods with large screws at each corner) from Oriental Trading Company. Most of my life I've used heavy books with pieces of papers in them. My daughter and I go for bike rides and she collects the wildflowers in her front basket. We have wildflower identification guide that encourages her to check off what she finds. Some of the specimens we use for drying are also from my flower gardens. The skinnier the flowers work the best. Flowers with fat blossoms take longer to dry and sometimes mold or turn an ugly color before we complete the process. I'm sure there is a fancy way to prevent this, but this is a pretty simple project. The drying takes about a week. When the flowers are ready, we make collages, taking photographs of friends, cut pieces of colored paper, and adding our own drawings. These make great cards! When I was young, my mother and I put the flowers in our photo albums. As an archivist I must add that though this is quite pretty, it is very bad for your photographs. The organic matter will eat away at the papers. Instead, make copies of photographs or better yet, photocopy the flowers. (My high school art teacher makes beautiful pieces of art out of scanned flowers and has exhibited the work in SoHo.) Allow kids to be creative with the originals, scans, or photocopies. Hone their artistic talents while teaching them about science.

With bugs, fresh fruit, flowers, and musical entertainment we are having a great summer. I hope that you are too. Happy exploring!

Garden Birthday Portraits!

Now that gardens up in New Hampshire are coming into their full summer glory, garden portraits season is in full bloom! My favorite annual garden portrait event is my daughter's birthday. Every year, she gets a special birthday dress, I hand her a flower and the fun ensues.


















My daughter is quite comfortable getting her photo taken. Obviously, it helps to have a mom who is a professional photographer. Other kids are not as comfortable. You cannot expect someone to "perform" for the camera when having one's picture taken is a rare event. Instead, when you want to "create" a portrait, respect the child's feelings. Work in his comfort zone. Don't expect the child to sit still for long. Be prepared to follow him around. Bring a toy or object to capture his attention. Photograph him doing what he loves. This makes for a memorable image. Stop taking photos when the child wants to talk. Engage him in conversation. Become part of his world instead of forcing him to conform to your photography expectations.















My daughter is a ham. We have lots of photographs like this:

This is how we know her - as a fun loving kid. Perhaps she is preparing to be class clown one day? If so, than these will be the most valuable photos of the session. We'll remember that her free-spirit began when she was this young...and since I went with her flow, she even provided me with those smiling head on portraits that all parents want to see.

Kids in the Garden

It's been over a month since my last installment of "Kids in the Garden." Here are some new ideas for the month:

Turn on the sprinkler! Do you remember running through the sprinkler as a kid? (Are you from the "Slip-and-Slide" generation like me?) Well, encourage your kids to get in touch with the simple life. But, don't just run...discuss the feeling of the grass between your toes. Encourage kids to catch water on their tongues like a flower catches the rain. Look for rainbows. Talk about the warm sun. A good old-fashioned romp through the sprinkler is a great opportunity to experience nature.

(These plants were spotted in our latest garden survey)

As the flowers are popping, my daughter and I have been "surveying the property." I remember doing this as a kid with my dad. He would announce, "it's time to survey the property!" And I would follow him out of the house to see how things were growing. It was a great opportunity for parent-child bonding, as well as a good way to develop my nature observation skills. Today my daughter and I walked the yard and then stopped for some wonderful swing time and some baseball practice. (The kid is developing a great batting stance. Like mother like daughter...she throws like me too. I think we need to get dad out to help her with that.)


A few weeks ago we planted sunflowers in a square. The goal is to create a sunflower house, where my daughter says she will play "Little House on the Prairie" once the sunflowers are full grown.

Our herb garden is in full swing and I'm encouraging the little one to sample. Last month I talked about her passion for onions. She will graze on them straight from the garden, so we planted a second onion patch near her swing set. This month we planted new perennials and also put in our tender annual herbs. Basil is a personal favorite. After putting ours in, we created a pot full of basil for granddad. He will use it to make tomato, mozarella and basil with oil for himself. Not only is my daughter learning to appreciate diverse flavors herself, she is learning to share with others AND is learning that plants are something to be cherished. They make great gifts!

We've visited many garden centers this month. I am letting her help me pick plants. While strolling through Home Depot, she announced "I want to make a sign." Last year I started a "reading garden" in the shade for her in an attempt to make a space of her own. She has renamed the garden the "princess garden." We picked out a concrete stone for her sign (cost = $2.69.) She had me write "If you are a fairy princess, please come in." We painted the words with "Once Upon a Time" (hot pink) Disney paint, which was leftover from painting her room earlier in the month. The sign as at the entrance of her garden. She's got plans for more signs in the works. One she mentioned is, "Princes are welcome too."

As always, I encourage you to go with the flow. Follow your child's whims and learn what aspects of nature excite him. The more you teach, the more your child will pick up on your ideas and run with them. Nature offers an unlimited playground and a parent need only open a child's eyes to some of the possibilities.

A Great Mother's Day Gift

Walking down a city street with my daughter yesterday she suddenly stops and yells, "Look Mom. Nature!" She pointed to a tree growing in the sidewalk and wanted me to note the small green shoots coming out of its side. I was thrilled that she has learned to spot nature at work, even amidst concrete and brick.

Composting

I've been inspired by a woman who told me, "Our aim is to have no garbage leave our property." While this may conjure images of Shel Silverstein's "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout," what the gardener was really trying to convey is that she recycles just about everything! I've been composting half-heartedly for two years. What I have is two years worth of table scraps in a garbage bin -- smelly and sloppy. So, I have been reading up. I went out and bought three rectangular rubber maid barrels. I poked air holes in each. (Something I neglected to do in my original bin.) The bins are small enough so that I can easily turn the compost and large enough to fit in a few months of scraps. This time, I also plan to add newspaper and any other garbage that can take it. I added compost starter. As the material decomposes in the first barrel, I will move it to the second and the third barrel will be for nearly finished product. This time I will treat it as a learning process, observing the results each day and changing the technique as necessary. My daughter is fascinated. She even held her nose to help throw scraps in today - a process in which she never before took an interest. I assured her that if we can learn to do this properly it will not smell and that our plants will be a whole lot happier.



Cindy stands in front of her beautiful clerodenrum and her inspiring composting center

On the Head of a Buddha

"Salutations!" it said. "I'm up here."
"So am I," said another tiny voice.
"So am I," said a third voice. "Three of us are staying. We like this place and we like you."
Wilbur looked up. At the top of the doorway three small webs were being constructed. On each web, working busily was one of Charlotte's daughters." (-Charlotte's Web by E.B. White)

Someone brought us our own baby spider "friends" today. (Perhaps one of Charlotte's relatives?) Three children, ages 22 months to 4 years crouched down and stared intently at the head of the Buddha statue in the garden. "They're babieees," said the sister, imploring her little brother not to touch.

The hopscotch, jump rope, and bubbles were still on the driveway while we stopped to view a little bit of spring magic. It was quiet, except for the sound of the frogs up the hill. The sun had its late afternoon glow, preparing for our part of the world to begin its night time wind down. As the cycle continues, all seemed right with the world.

Telling Garden Stories

The garden is a magnificent setting for a story. The place can be personally meaningful. The garden can be your own or one that you often visit. Or, as in any story, the place can be a temporary one for you. It can be a garden that you have admired from afar. Or, it can be a new one that sets the stage and sets a mood for a particular event or time in your life.

I call myself "a photographer who tells garden stories." In my photography, the garden provides a setting. Generally, I try to make its presence strong and to make the garden a central character in the plot rather than just a backdrop.

The garden is most easily recognized as a character in a child's portrait. A child will easily interact with their surroundings. Flowers become friends. A bench under a tree is a special hideaway. Moss on a stone is an unusual curiosity. A child in the garden evokes the magic of the place. Nature becomes a vibrant presence in the story.

The pictures I've posted above were taken to commemorate a little girl's first communion. The photo was taken in Greeley Park, a well-known local public spot in Nashua, New Hampshire. Many wedding parties and the like are photographed here. The little girl in the picture holds her "American Girl" doll. It was given to her by her grandmother. The doll's dress matches hers. They both look like beautiful princesses, refined and delicate. The flowers accentuate the sense of the feminine here. Their vibrancy is heightened by the contrast with the dress of white. The garden provides a timeless setting. The same timeless effect could have been achieved in studio, but here the garden adds an extra element. We get a feeling of time and place that a studio cannot achieve. Spring communion should be celebrated among spring flowers. Nature also helps elicit an uplifting spiritual feeling that is appropriate for this age group. There is a sense of playfulness, new beginnings, and ties to the past (the garden springs eternal.)

As an historian (my other career,) I like to think of the land as part of history. I think of all the people who once tread in the same places I do. What people once tended these gardens? What people once celebrated here? In my work as an archivist, I often came across collections of photos in the archives that showed one location at different times. I could feel the presence of generations. When telling garden stories, I want to feel that history too. I think there is a bond between history and nature that is very significant. Our land has a story to tell. We are part of it. Our ancestors were part of it and hopefully our children will be part of it too...

...I sit here writing this morning while looking out my sunroom window. Last winter I covered my gardens with straw. I swept most of it up in early spring cleaning, but remnants remain. After heavy showers over the past few days, the sun is back out now. Cardinals sit in the branches of my tall cypress and swoop down to gather my straw. Their chirping pleases me. I'm glad I didn't sweep up all the straw remnants. I can't wait until my daughter gets home from school to tell her about the cardinals building a nest out our window. Last year, squirrels built a nest in the pine next to it. Before that blue jays found our backyard trees suitable for their babies' home. And the cycle of life marches on. I'm glad to witness it in my favorite setting.

Peonies

The greening is in full swing! Yesterday, I looked out the window and saw it. That beautiful spring yellowy green color dotted the sky. The leaves are popping, which of course means the peonies are dashing through the soil.

Our fairy house, intended to welcome the fairies who favor peony, fell over in the spring winds the other day. We will need to build a new fairy house fast. While walking in the woods this week, we saw a strong fairy house. It was obviously built by a kid who knew what she was doing. We are newbie fairy house builders, but we will model our new attempt on this more advanced house. I feel like the pig who built his house of straw. We need to focus on raising the standards to the piggy who favored brick. ("King Piggy" lives in my daughter's reading garden. He is originally from the "Little People" toy farmhouse, but he wanted a new residence. We took the bricks that were pulled up when we had a drainage system put in last year. We built his new house with these under his supervision. We should invite him to come supervise the fairy house. I'm sure he could advise us how to make it stand, even under heavy winds.)

Peonies remind me of ants. My mother had a white peony near the raspberry bushes when I was young. I remember their soft petals all over the lawn, the heavenly smell, and the ants. For this reason, I do not favor the peony. At least I'm not a fairy who has to live in one. I think I'd prefer to live in a rose. The thorns would provide protection from unwanted guests. I'd still get the heavenly smell and the soft petals.

I recognize that the peony is beautiful. We have three well established ones, planted by the previous owner. I wouldn't plant one myself. Not only do they have ants, they fade fast. Then, their brown leaves scatter on the ground and the stalks look icky. They are beautiful, but I'll visit the numerous varieties at my favorite local garden center rather than buying ones that require my care. I have no sympathy for their ways, so I think adding more to my brood just wouldn't work very well. When I cut back the peonies early in the season when the bloom fades, there is a great big gap in the garden. Maybe I'm doing something wrong? Maybe there is a way to plant so that something follows on the tail of the peony when it's done with its show? Maybe I should ask that fairy when she gets here.

More Kids' Garden Activities

Raking in the yard is fun for a short spell. Digging in newly dug gardens can be fun too, but how can we really engage our kids in garden activities? Last month, I discussed starting seeds, nature visualization, books and photography as ways to get kids more engaged. I also discussed fairy houses a few days ago. The key is to give our children hands-on activities that feel like their own. You can be your child's helper and give her a sense of responsibility. Don't expect the act of filling the wheelbarrow with your trimmings from the forsythia bush to turn your child on to nature.

Check out The Great Sunflower Project the project sends your free sunflowers to plant. Your family's assignment is to count the bees that visit your sunflowers after they've grown. Because of the apparent decline in the bee population, the project seeks to understand the challenges that bees face and how we can help them. This is a great learning opportunity and what child doesn't love sunflowers?

We have also begun a garden diary where we draw pictures of what we are doing in the garden and write about them. The diary can include photographs. It can be detailed or loose. with older kids you can check out the changes in the garden every day, record the weather, record how much things have grown and what new creatures you find. With younger children, like mine, you can make entries less often so the changes are more obvious and the task doesn't becoem boring. We went from recording snow in March, to noting our raking last week, and today we will note a new garden we have dug.

Give your child a spot all his own. My daughter loves to graze through the vegetable patch. She remarked the other day how she remembers chomping on onions last year. So, I raked a spot near her playset and we planted her very own patch of onions. This way, when she gets a little munchy on the swing she can hop off and have an onion break! (I've also planted berries nearby, so she gets a little variety in her diet.) She was so exited about the idea that she "planted" trees next to her garden, taking little sticks, poking them in the ground, hanging last year's dead leaves on them, and claiming the spot as her own.

The idea of our own space also spread to relaxation. This year I cleaned out under a tall pine. I trimmed low branches and raked to make a little hideaway. I placed small chairs under the tree near the driveway where my daughter can wait for daddy to come home in the evening. I'm encouraging her to spread blankets and bring favored outdoor toys to her new spot. Her "old" spot is on the other side of the house. A hideaway shade garden where she can sit and read out of the sun on a hot summer day. We also placed her very own bird feeder near here, so she could relax by watching them and listening to bird songs.

If you make children space in the garden, they will take to it like bees on sunflowers. Help them feel the garden magic. Recognize that kids need their own garden spaces and activities, Just sharing yours may not be enough for them to grow an interest in gardening.

It's Time for Fairy Houses!

A month ago my daughter informed me the Elina lives in a peony. "Ah..." I responded, "Doesn't she know about fairy houses?"

I had seen the fairy house series by Tracy Kane when I visited my local Audobon Center a few years back. So, I knew a little about fairies. I knew the time would come when I would need that book and it seems that today is the day. Elina is a much loved Barbie fairy in the Fairytopia series. My daughter is also reading about Tinkerbell's Disney fairy world. In case you are not up on your little girl contemporary literature, I should tell you that Tinkerbell is now a star unto herself. She doesn't need Peter Pan. She's got her own little world in Neverland and is surrounded by fairy friends. Then, finally, my daughter is reading about the lesser known Rainbow Magic fairies. In the Rainbow series of books, nine year old girls one day discover that they are fairies. So, you can see...If I hadn't known fairies were going to be a hot topic in my garden this spring I would have had to say that I was not paying attention.

Near our peonies, which are just starting to poke out of the ground, we piled sticks together in a teepee shape, tied string around the top, and covered it with pine branches.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, dear."

"How will Elina find our fairy house?"

"She'll smell the peony and come looking for it and since our house is right next to it, she'll find it. That's why we need to do a really good job and make it so pretty that she'll want to live here and not in the peony."

We took last year's dried flowers that I clipped from the yard to make the house "pretty."

Now, my daughter is only four, but she's a pretty bright kid. I'm know that she knows that fairies aren't real. Yet, four is that magical time when reality and make-believe mix so beautifully. We amuse our little ones imagining if the Easter bunny is tiny, but super strong so he can carry an Easter basket. Or, maybe he is big, like Daddy? (I wouldn't want to meet that bunny in a dark alley) Santa comes down the chimney to get in the house. (I like to now picture him using flue powder like they do in the Harry Potter books. And then, of course, there's the tooth fairy. My daughter has had a special pillow for this magical fairy since she was born. One day, when a tooth falls out, she will tuck it in the pillow flap so the little lady can easily find the tooth and leave my daughter a treat instead.

But the magic goes beyond the age of four when it comes to fairy gardens. Almost every true gardener I know has some kind of fairy in her garden - a statue, a doll on the windowsill looking out at, a fairy presence that she says she can feel. And why not? When we garden, the magical feeling of nature is alive all around us. A fairy is just a personification of the garden muse we feel on our shoulder when we are out in the yard deep in our own thoughts, beautifying our surroundings. I like my four-ear-old reminding me that I may be tidying up for a little fairy to appear. It's nice to think of my handiwork and cooperation with nature as part of a fairy story. I hope that my daughter never loses that innocent spirit that allows her to believe in fairies. I'm so glad that she brought them to me too.

Bring on Spring!

How still this morning is. We had about 6 inches of snow here in New Hampshire yesterday. It was the type of snow that drips off the trees after it settles for awhile. Yesterday, my daughter and I walked down our long driveway to the mailbox when the weather eased a bit. I was wearing my winter hiking boots. She wore her sparkly princess shoes. The snow was mush under my feet. She giggled when the snow got on her tights and into her shoes, until I scooped her up and stomped downhill. She started shouting "Melt Snow Melt!" Our new mantra. I joined in and I'm sure the neighbor who was out plowing got a nice chuckle. At the mailbox I set my little girl down and we walked back up hill. She took giant steps to step in the footprints I made coming downhill. I moved a little in front of her and dragged my feet to make it easier for her to step in a clear spot. We giggled and talked, knowing full well that this snow is just temporary. It made it okay that it snowed on March 28th. After a long winter of over 110 inches of snow -- the most snow New Hampshire has seen in over 100 years -- We are done with it. I have good feelings that this is the last of it. (Famous last words? Have I cursed the weather gods now?) And now the spring morning sparkles before me. The sky is glowing orange through my wooded landscape and fades into a baby blue. The first green leaves that I saw pushing out of the ground two days ago will show themselves again sometime this weekend as the snow melts in the high 40 degree weather. The anticipation of late spring is almost too much for me now. I have visions of flowers in full bloom. I imagine true outdoor garden portraits with smiling children in landscapes of green and vivid colors. Dresses and shorts, bows and sandals. Bring on the garden! Bring on spring!

Blogging about Kids in the Garden

I find that I spend one-half hour to an hour a day on the Garden Portraits blog. I have so many ideas for different types of blogs that I could probably make it a full time venture. I recently started another blog about kids gardening and aimed to give a new idea for things to do with kids in the garden every day. It is unrealistic for me to maintain both blogs and to do it well. So, instead, I will devote one day a month to listing garden ideas for kids. Here are my favorites that I've already listed on "Kids in the Garden" (these ideas are intended for pre-spring weather):

Seeds - Remember planting a seed in a cup as a kid? Remember how exciting it was to watch the seed crack open and the little green shoot sprout out? Buy your seeds today. There are many online catalogs to review with your kids or order catalogs online. Burpee and Park Seeds are great for vegetables. Vegetables are a good way to start. Kids can start thinking about growing their own food. Let kids look through the shiny pictures. Let them see the many varieties of foods. Let THEM choose what to buy. When the order comes, we'll be ready to plant.

Nature Visualization - Create a nature visualization for children. Have your child close his eyes and create a nature story. Have the child imagine that he is a living thing in your yard. You may want to try the following words. "Imagine that you are a tiny bulb who hibernated beneath the ground all winter. Imagine your first days pushing out of the soil in spring. As the earth warms while we look toward summer, it warms you. You tingle and stretch yourself awakening to the warmer weather. You feel the strength of your stem, through which you will suck up water and nutrients to make you grow. Imagine that you have grown into a tiny new flower swaying in the spring breeze. The wind gathering beneath your petals and making you flutter like a butterfly." Create your own imagination stories about kids being birds, bugs, and trees. Also have the child imagine that he is himself playing out in nature, lying in the grass, running his toes in fresh dew, etc. This exercise can also be done with movement. I find that the quiet, eyes closed (meditation) version is great to use after a nightmare. It helps calm the child.

Books - As a librarian, I tend to turn to books to help teach me about any subject. And while the best way to learn about nature is by experiencing it, there is a lot a child can learn about the subject through the world of books. One can be drawn into a character's world and become excited about a topic by experiencing it through another's stories. I highly recommend The Secret Garden. It's poetic language and charming story about the adventures of three children interacting with nature is magical. On a cold rainy day, a nature book is the perfect prescription for a little sunshine. For more nature books see Suggested Readings on Children and Nature.

Photography - Around age two a child can begin to play with a camera. If she is old enough to look through a viewfinder, she is old enough to take pictures. Use a disposable film camera or one of the new durable digitals made especially by kids. Take your child outside and let them point and shoot. You'll be amazed what they come up with. You can help out by pointing out things such as the melting snow in a rushing brook or moss growing on trees. Using a camera helps one better learn to see the world by forcing the photographer to scout out the details. Consider taking the camera with you on a nature walk.

See more ideas at Garden Portraits Kids.
What nature activities do you like to do with your kids this time of year?

Child's Play

I am "babysitting" and watching the Curious George movie with a little friend of mine as I write this. The opening scene is a beautiful, colorful interpretation of nature. Animals are frolicking and playing with the things they find. I am struck by George blowing a blade of grass. I remember back to my childhood... We looked for the fattest pieces of grass to hold between our thumbs to make the funniest noises possible. Acorns became hats for our thumbs. Fox glove blossoms became doll dresses. Rocks were split open to play jewelry store. Nature was our playground. Plants were our playthings.

Do you remember running through a field just to feel the wind on your face? Do you remember rolling down a hill just to feel your body move in tune with its surroundings, lying on your back at the bottom of hill, and watching the world spin around you? Do you remember climbing a tree just to see if you could do it and enjoying the view once you got to the top?

I am watching a little monkey with a child's eyes. The little boy's giggle reminds me of when the world was shiny new. I remember when the sky was the bluest thing I could imagine and the grass was green like emeralds. Tree bark was rough. Mimosa blossoms were soft. I noticed when the ants were in a big hurry even when I was too...I noticed everything. I was part of nature. The awareness of the world around me made me content with my place and eager to explore it.

Stop to see things through a child's eyes. Stop to see nature as something new and precious. View it as a companion. It is a playground that can keep you occupied all afternoon or for a lifetime.
Show it the same reverence you would give a favored playmate and allow its friendship to harbor you through all your years. For over sixty years, the Curious George series of books have reminded us about child-like curiosity. H.A. and Margret Rey said that they always remembered what they liked as children and created stories to appeal to that. It would do us all a little good to reach inside of us to find those little children (and curious monkeys) peeking out.

Tiny Dancers

I sometimes turn my photographic attention indoors to tiny dancers. This past week I photographed my daughter's ballet class, which has become an annual tradition. What a pleasure it is to see the kids' tiny pointed toes and great big smiles. The girls remind me of tiny blooming flowers. Every year with their growth comes greater poise. It is amazing how little ones who otherwise run and play with great vigor, but often little grace, can stand so beautifully in ballet shoes. They mind their teacher and reach up their arms like beautiful sunflowers facing the summer sun -- shoulders back and heads held high.

I look forward to April (more likely May in my yard, where the snow is still two feet high) when my tiny floral dancers begin to peak their heads out of the ground. Daffodils and Tulips will sway in the spring breeze reminding me of my tiny dancers in the studio.

Garden Photoessay Collage

One fun thing to do with a series of portraits and garden images is to combine them in a memorable collage. The images to the left were taken at the home of a local garden enthusiast. At the top of the collage it says "A childhood in a garden can grow a lifetime of happiness." The portrait of Meghan missing her front teeth will forever bring back memories for her mom. Dad stood behind me making his daughter laugh so we could see that lovely toothless grin. A green blanket was used to keep Meghan's lovely white dress clean. All of the flower images were taken in mom's garden and since the garden is something really special to her, the end-product of our garden portrait session is extra special.

I love telling garden stories and I advertise it using some of my favored floral images in the collage to the left. The image of my daughter dancing in black-eyed susans can tell the whole story - nature is beautiful, flowers are fun, girls love to dance...But all of these images together show my style of photography while really showing off the loveliness we can behold in the garden and incorporate into our daily lives.

Try to think of your photos in groups and create something with deep personal meaning. If you are not using a digital camera and/or not adept with photoshop, try printing your photos and using a scrapbook technique.

Children in the Garden

Preparing for spring planting, I'm trying to find new ways to incorporate child friendly activities for the garden. We started last year's growing season with an Easter basket of spring gardening tools. A friend of mine and I gave our girls seeds, garden gloves, garden shoes, and trowels mixed in with their holiday candy. Every year, another friend of mine uses the holiday to welcome spring by planting trees with her girls. Children arrive with an innate appreciation and curiosity for nature. Now is the time to help it along.

Direct contact with nature allows a child to explore and develop a keen sense of environmentalism without even knowing it. This year, one of our projects is to design fairy houses. We have three large peonies in our backyard and recently learned that the Barbie fairy Elina lives in a peony. We will be designing our houses to place under the peonies in the hope that Elina and her friends decide to move in. We will also be planting a sunflower patch where my daughter and her friends can have a clubhouse. Including friends in the process spreads the excitement. Some of the other four-year-olds have been invited to pick things for our garden too. They will all garden together.

Last year, I made a shaded reading garden for my little bookworm. We bought a special bench and animal statues to place by our brook. My daughter helped pick it appropriate plants for the shade. We learned together about what plants like the type of environment we had prepared for them My daughter also helped plan the vegetable garden and chose the types of veggies she wanted from a catalogue. Tomatoes were not on her list. She refused to eat the ones we bought at the store. I planted three varieties so she could learn the difference between fresh tomatoes and store bought. Tomatoes are now one of her favorite foods. The bonus about involving kids in planting food is that they learn from where their food comes, which helps them make more informed choices in the kitchen.

The key to involving kids in the gardening process is allowing them full participation. Activities from choosing plants to picking the harvest awakens a child's curiosity and makes them feel grownup. Another activity we do together is picture taking. My daughter and I love spring and summer nature walks. Last year I bought her a Fisher Price camera that she can drop without worry. We will walk in the neighborhood to discover wildflowers growing on the side of the road with cameras in hand. The camera encourages curiosity and discovery by making us look closer at the world around us. While seeking good pictures, we also find good subjects - bees on flowers, tiny mushrooms in swampy areas, birds nests in trees.


Any more ideas for involving kids in this process are welcome! Please spread the spring planting fever!

Secrets of a Natural Gardener

My book proposal has been edited by a friend and I am busy re-working it now. My mind today is wrapped around chapter summaries. In the proposal I write about each of the individual gardeners I visited last summer. I learned so much from them. Despite the fact that I have been gardening on my own for ten years, there is so much I don't know. Learning in the garden is a never ending process. Everyone has a different method. A good gardener is always experimenting - moving things around, playing with new methods. Here are some of the "secrets" I learned last year. As I start to plan for this year's garden, I am trying to keep all of these things in mind.

- Clover lawns are healthier, easier to care for, and greener than grass lawns
- There are many sources of natural fertilizer from horse manure to sludge from the local waste plant.
- You can dry seeds from your vegetables in the sun and plant them next year.
- Elements of whimsy make a garden special.
- Seating areas encourage others to enjoy your gardens and make them more homey.
- A vegetable garden mixed with flowers encourages more wildlife and makes the garden more beautiful.
- Vegetables can be grown for food and/or for beauty.
- The garden can serve as an inspiration for all creative aspects of your life. You can mimic nature's beauty in paintings, photographs, and decorative arts. You can bring bouquets into your home or dry flowers to decorate your living space.
- The garden should serve as an outdoor room to enjoy in nice weather. Encourage this kind of living by providing decks, walkways, and sheltered spaces. Think of your outdoor space this way and create niches with different atmospheres to enjoy at different times during the day.
- Think of children when creating your space. Make the garden a place to play.
- Add bright colors on a shed, arbor, or other outdoor element to make the space more fun
- Consider all of the space in your landscape. Plant around a mailbox and in out of the way corners to make your space a real nature haven.
- You do not have to save every plant. It is okay to give up on the ones that you have trouble growing no matter where you put them in your yard.
- Phlox can survive disease free in some people's yards.

I think that I am going to order my seed starter kit from Park Seed Company today!