This post would have been an entry for BritMums’ #KidsGrowWild Challenge
(however due to a broken ChromeBook I am editing and posting it after the due date- please accept my apologies +BritMums !)
Due to the long, cold Winter we have experienced this year, I seem to be really late sorting out my garden. I normally get a lot done in the Spring Half Term, but this year I’m no way near done and we’re already nearly into July!
I don’t have huge plans anymore, now I will be happy with maintaining the meadow lawn, cutting the hedge and shrubs, having a few pretty pots and fun things to play with.
We had a spot of dry weather and I cut the lawn and made a start. Then it rained, and rained and, em, rained. So of course, the lawn needs cutting again and the weeds are once again overtaking the garden.
I need a spell of sunny weather and a free weekend to get on top of things! Since we got sent this lovely Gardening Kit from Brit Mums for the MoneySupermarket #kidsgrowwild Challenge, my kids have been looking forward to helping with gardening again.
Therefore this week, we started to plant some pretty pots by our garden bench (which as you can see needs a repaint- another lovely job to add to my ever growing list! Sigh.).
Caitlyn’s favourite colour is blue so she loves these gardening gloves!
We got everything ready!
We put on our gloves- I can’t tell you how long it took for them to put every finger and thumb into the right place! I don’t wear gloves for gardening unless I’m tackling nasty nettles, I always end up with soil stained hands and brown nails so maybe I should start getting used to wearing them too.
The girls helped to pull up the weeds growing in the gaps on the patio and in the pots.
Rebecca’s turn to wear the smart gardening gloves (we do have other kids one, but they both wanted to try the new set which was typical!).
Rebecca pulling up the weeds.
Caitlyn loves Penny Sows (Google translate: Woodlice to some of you!). I have to remind her that they are far happier living outside and she really doesn’t have to look after a family of them loose in her bedroom!
Pennysow and grubby hands- that’s what it’s all about!
This garden spider loved the bag of soil. Everytime I brushed him off, he was back. I didn’t mind really.
Digging in the pots ready to transfer some of our little Sunflower plans and plant more seeds.
Rebecca showing us her seeds. I love seeds and the kids do too. Much like kids enjoy playing with the buttons in their mum’s craft box, mine love looking through my seed collection. I sometimes give them surplus seeds to plant by their playhouse as they love growing their own garden.
However, the other week they took some of my “best” seeds to use for themselves. I’m expecting to find carrots growing in unexpected places around the garden any time now!
I know all seeds are different, but the kids love to use the “Poke a hole, Plant a Seed, Cover and Water” planting technique and it’s worked for them so far.
In some cases, we planted seeds in empty pots and in others, we just added flower seeds around existing plants. Look away now- there is no “formal” garden to see here!
Sisters!
Planting together.
This little girl, Izzy, loves to help in the garden too. here she is “testing” the water we are going to use to water the plants. She is also quite fussy about the garden scheme and will dig up all the seeds that she didn’t like planted there. Hmmm, very helpful!
Rebecca waters the little sunflower plants and seeds. The girls water the garden every day for me. It’s a fun job!
They wrote the flower names and we stuck these plant labels in- unlaminated so they won’t last long, but it made them happy! We usually use lollipop sticks or pebbles to label.
Then it was time for a nice sister cuddle on the bench. Hopefully, in a few weeks time there will be a photo similar to this with lots of colourful flowers and a painted bench. I love to sit on that bench after the kids are in bed and all my jobs are done. So relaxing.
It makes me a little bit sad that Danny isn’t in these photos. He was asked but chose to do something else instead. I notice now he’s growing up he’s more often doing things on his own than with us as a family.
He does help out in the garden though- he weeds behind the back wall and outside the front porch, but there is a reason for this…I pay him! I see him in all his sisters. He used to “test” the waters and keep “pennysow” families.
It seems that as my little garden grows, my little family is too.
My daughter loves helping out in the garden, too – she's been planting plenty out there! Lovely shots of your family and planting there 🙂