I am planning a 'garden' for my daughter but my back yard is concreted what can i do??

Question

My daughter is 2. I don't want to dig up all the concrete but i need some advice as to how i should go about planting what plants? i want some vegetables and some flowers. should i use those plastic boxes or build some above ground planters. also i want info on compost heaps. i don't have much space and my yard is very sheltered there is very little sunshine on it even in summer it is almost fully shaded.

Answer 1

I would go with potted plants and begin in the early Spring. Purchase a couple small potted gorwing flats if you have room in front of a window and plant seeds so that they will start growing before it is warm enough to plant them outside. You could also wait and purchase the plants when it is warm enough and plant them in long window boxes (as in a L shape) to sit on the concrete in a pattern that your little one can watch the flowers grow up close. I would also suggest taking her to Lowe's or Home Depot and purchase small plants of petunias, pansies, marigolds and perhaps a taller plant to plant in the center. I would personally plant the pansies in one round pot and the petunia's in another. They both bloom all summer and trail out with beautiful flowers. The pansies, marigolds and petunia's are Annuals and will not grow back next year but do bloom until the end of summer. This will require a large pot filled with Miracle Gro potting soil to help your plants grow strong and healthy. Choose a corner or more to place your pots and let her help you plant the seeds or small plants. One plant that never fails is a Touch-Me-Not which will spread and come back each year. It is a perinneal, and after it blooms it forms small pods that pop open on their own, or when you touch them they will pop open and shoot out small black seeds which replant themselves unless you catch them and share them with others or plant them in another pot. A beautiful plant that grows up to Zone 5 which is my favorite is the Hardy Hibiscus. It grows about 5 feet tall and has large dinner plate sized flowers that are pink, red or white. They grow back every year also and can be grown in a large pot. Cut them back to about six inches tall at the end of fall and let them sit in the pot covered with mulch. They will return the following year. There are so many flowers that you can enjoy with your daughter, such as many varieties of Iris's and Lily's that can also be grown in pots. You have such a variety of plants that there are too many to name. You can choose the corner of your yard that receives the most light and make a beautiful place for you and your daughter to sit. Place a park bench near and if you can attach a hummingbird feeder close by, with perhaps a bird feeder and you and your daughter will think you are living in nature with all of the beauty that will surround you. Don't forget to teach your daughter what kind of birds that visit your feeder and wonder at the Hummingbirds. They especially love the Hardy Hibiscus and Iris. There are many flowers that will draw them to your flower garden. Have fun, and enjoy a beautiful summer outside with your daughter. Another way to make your garden appear to be grassy is to purchase a roll of green commercial grass like you might place on a porch and use it as the boundary of your very own garden. You could call it her very own first Fairy garden with a few little Fairy ornaments and frogs placed in between the flowers and pots and she will find great enjoyment playing make believe. It is important to keep our little ones minds open to what life might have to offer which we cannot see but imagine. Imagination is fun and also keeps their minds open to nature. One other thing she would love would be too purchase a barrel or just a large plastic bucket and fill it with water and place a pump to move the water around or add a filter if you wish and place two or three goldfish in it. She will enjoy watching them each day as they grow. The water garden can also hold a couple plants in a pot sitting in the bucket on a brick so they don't sit under the water. This will give the fish room to hide and also to get out of the sun if they wish. I hope that I have opened your imagination to the many ways of providing a loving and wonderful new view of the world to your little one. Have fun, and enjoy teaching your daughter to love being outside in the great outdoors that God made so beautifully for us to enjoy. Sincerely, Tamara L.

Answer 2

Dr Hessyons container expert is probably the best book to buy on this. Yes you can buy containers of various sizes, including creating whole raised beds. Many pants prefer shade, so that should not be a problem either - you could even grow your own vegetables as well! The BBC also run some really good gardening websites where lots of free information is available. Good luck!

Answer 3

Why not make a miniature or bottle garden? I enjoyed those when I was a child. You could also grow cress, or beansprouts & then eat them. We put up a trellis in a shady area, with some pots & got some really fast growing climbing plants & they are still growing well, although they die back in winter.

Answer 4

you could get some pots and plant various different ones such
as polyanthus,pansies,marigolds and maybe some sweet peas.if you are thinking of putting a trellis up on the wall then honeysuckle is a nice climbing plant.you could also get some sunflower seeds for your daughter to plant.

Answer 5

You could buy bags of good garden dirt, and just lay the bags out on the concrete. Open them and plant your seeds...instant garden! Keep watered and well fertilized and your garden will astound you! Good Luck!

Answer 6

Get some potted plants that like shade ... or plant in pots some things like impatiens or begonias or spathyphyllums (sp) ... and it should keep you both happy ... low maintenance, low light, low cost!

Answer 7

i would go for above ground planters,less chance of lively toddlers falling off trikes onto much nurtured plants.

Answer 8

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