As winter fades, your garden starts to show hints of life again. You might notice bulbs pushing through the soil or birds returning to familiar spots. Children often spot these small changes before you do, which makes early spring a great time to explore the garden together. When you involve them from the start, they begin to understand how the space comes back to life after colder months. Their questions and observations can even help you look at your garden with renewed curiosity, giving you both a reason to spend time outdoors as the days brighten and warm up.
Start with a Seasonal Garden Clean Up
Begin by walking around the garden and clearing away anything left from winter. Little ones enjoy collecting fallen twigs or brushing leaves off paths, and these simple tasks help them feel included. As you work, explain gardening tips and advice, like how removing old stems helps new shoots grow without competition. When children understand why the job matters, they usually stay more engaged. You could also encourage them to adopt one small area to tidy so they gain a sense of responsibility and see the difference their efforts make.
Prepare Soil and Plan Your Spring Planting
Loosen compacted patches with a hand fork and add compost to boost structure and nutrients. Children can help by breaking up small clods or spotting earthworms, which teaches them how healthy soil works. If your soil is still cold, install cloches to warm it more quickly and protect early plantings. Let them lift a cloche so they can feel the warmer air inside; this gives them a practical sense of how these simple covers help seedlings. When choosing plants, involve them in picking easy growers like radishes or hardy herbs so they can see quick results.
Choose Child-Friendly Gardening Activities
Children stay interested when they have tasks that suit their abilities. Sowing fast-sprouting seeds or watering pots keeps things hands-on without overwhelming them. Creating a small “kids’ corner” with pots, labels and colourful tools helps them feel ownership of part of the garden. Decorating pots or drawing plant labels adds creativity, making routine jobs feel more like play.
Encourage Wildlife and Create a Nature-Friendly Space
A small water dish for birds or a simple log pile for insects helps them understand how creatures use these spaces. Planting bee-friendly flowers like lavender or calendula gives them the chance to watch pollinators visit blooms they helped choose. This connection to nature encourages them to care for the garden throughout the season.
A Season to Grow Together
Spring gives you the rare chance to slow down and reconnect with the outdoors and your children. When you share the work, you don’t just prepare beds or tidy borders – you build routines that help them understand how living things respond to care and attention. As the garden changes each week, they see the results of the choices they made with you. These moments create a rhythm you can return to year after year, turning early spring into a season you share rather than a task you tackle alone.
Monica Costa founded London Mums in September 2006 after her son Diego’s birth together with a group of mothers who felt the need of meeting up regularly to share the challenges and joys of motherhood in metropolitan and multicultural London. London Mums is the FREE and independent peer support group for mums and mumpreneurs based in London https://www.londonmumsmagazine.com and you can connect on Twitter @londonmums
