How to get children interested in gardening over Easter

For those in the know, Gardener’s World returns this week, which means spring is definitely springing. It’s light after 5pm, you can finally hang the washing outside and it’ll actually dry (woohoo!), and of course, Easter is almost upon us.

But you can’t fill the whole of the Easter holidays with Creme eggs alone, not unless you want your kids bouncing off the walls in a sugar craze. Instead, why not use the holidays as a chance to occupy them in the garden, where they can have fun, learn something and burn off all that choc-fuelled energy?

Dickon Harding, gardens and landscape manager at Raby Castle, Park and Gardens in County Durham, says Easter sees “the reawakening of the garden”. “It’s been a long old winter, everything is springing back to life, making its presence felt. For any gardener, it’s a real time to celebrate with great relief,” he says, grinning wryly. “It’s a great time for kids to understand what goes on in a garden and in our natural world generally, because we can watch its progress as new growth emerges, watching it grow from small beginnings.”

He says it’s crucial we get kids hooked on the joys of being green-fingered. “The children we engage today are the naturalists of the future,” he says. “The environment and conservation are more important than ever before, so it’s really important we’re aware of our green spaces, what we can do to look after them.”

No garden? No problem

Obviously, not everyone has a green space of their own. You might have a patio, a balcony, just a pot by the front door or simply a windowsill to work with.

“With my own kids, wherever we went, we’d be looking at what was around us. If we were in the car, you could see the trees greening up,” says Harding. “Bird, animal and insect life is all around us, whether we have a garden or not, and it’s about taking the time to point that out to our children.”

There’s always the local park, and gardens like Raby Castle, National Trust and English Heritage properties to visit too.

8 Easter garden projects

Wrangling reluctant kids into wellies and coats can be hard work, but it’s worth it. “There’s a certain amount of effort required,” says Harding. “The secret for any parent is finding something the kids actually enjoy…”

Sow seeds

You can sow seeds outside or indoors, and pop them on a windowsill to germinate. “A broad bean is a really good one, because it’s such a big seed, we can split it and see the structure of the seed before it even starts growing,” recommends Harding. “Or a sunflower is another great one. You get such a wonderful, tall plant at the end of it all.”

Stick with the Easter theme and try sowing seeds in dry, empty egg shells – just fill with a little soil and pop your seed in. Or scatter a packet of wildflower seeds: throw them across bare ground, rake and water them.

Build a bug hotel

At Raby they have a bug hotel visitors can add to throughout Easter. “It gets fancier and fancier,” says Harding. “You don’t have to make a great big structure like we do here. You can make a really nice bug hotel using an empty Coke bottle and some rolled up newspaper.”

Or try concocting a pile of twigs and leaves, cut branches, or a pallet stuffed with cardboard and bits of bamboo for minibeasts to explore.

Hunt for creepy crawlies

“Kids love to find something wiggly and interesting looking under the rocks and stones,” says Harding. “Pick a few stones up and see what creepy crawlies are underneath.” Check under rotting logs or dig a patch of earth in the garden, ready for planting out seeds, and see if you can spot worms.

Create willow structures

“I grow a lot of willow and that’s great for making structures like little wigwams for plants to climb up,” says Harding. You can buy willow stems in most garden centres, or order them online. Weave together and secure with twine.

Build a pond

“Water in any garden is absolutely vital, even if it’s just a simple bucket or half a barrel,” says Harding. “I have some really big ponds and see some amazing annual migrations of toads every spring. Amphibian life absolutely fascinates kids.”

Water helps provide habitats for pollinators, which is great for your plants too.

Spot the birds

Station the kids by the window with a few snacks and make a list of what birds they see. “A bird isn’t just a bird. There’s hundreds of different birds, and it’s taking time to identify them, spot the differences, listen to the calls, watch their habits,” says Harding. Download the Merlin Bird ID app to identify birdsong.

Put up a camera trap

Got a bird box? Want to see what visitors your garden gets? Pop a wireless camera in your bird box and see if any feathery friends make it their home, or stick a camera trap in the garden to spot hedgehogs, squirrels, foxes and even badgers. “There’s so much life in the garden, and it’s all really active at Easter,” says Harding.

Keep the momentum going

Sowing one seed and discarding it won’t make for a memorable Easter, or trigger a lifelong love of gardening. “The trick is keeping kids engaged through the whole process. If we start seed sowing, we’ve got to nurture the seed,” says Harding. “We’ve got to water it, keep it free of pests and weeds, and maintain momentum through the season, not forget about it, but say, ‘Don’t forget it’s Tuesday. Today we check on our plants.’”

It’s also about “spending quality time with the kids. That’s what makes a difference,” says Harding. “It’s a more pleasurable time for the parents as well, to be out in the garden; they’ll get just as much satisfaction and enjoyment as the child.”