What Kids Want in a Garden

I have fond memories of the little tire planter garden I had as a kid, and it is very important to me that our kids have their own little patch of dirt.  We'll be building our daughters' gardens this spring here at our new house, once all the snow finally clears. Until then, we are eagerly making plans!

So what do kids want in a garden?  To answer this question, I enlisted two experts on the subject - my 4-year-old and 6-year-old. These are their expert opinions:

1.  Flowers - Lots and lots of flowers were requested, of course.  (Good, they know what a garden is, check!)

kids' garden at the old Red House

2.  Fruits and Vegetables - Surprised, parents?  Picking and eating veggies in the garden apparently has much more appeal than prepared veggies on a plate. This year, the kids are requesting to have two gardens each, one for flowers and one for edibles!

3.  Bugs - My kids requested 'lots and lots' of butterflies and ladybugs!  Children are naturally inclined to be wildlife gardeners, I think!

(Sorry bees, you didn't get quite the same amount of love.  And mosquitos, you were specifically asked to stay away from the party.)

4.  Water - Actually the specific requests from my daughters included the terms 'water fountain' and 'heated pool'.  (Where do they learn these things?)  Thankfully, they also mentioned a 'giant mud puddle.'  I think we can all guess which one has a better chance of being in the kids' garden..

5.  A place to run around - I guess I'm keeping a patch of lawn, after all!  My husband will be happy.  (Seriously, what is it with guys and grass?)

6.  Play structure - Okay, the term my daughters actually used was 'castle'.  Well, I did tell them to imagine their dream garden, after all.  I have a feeling that they are imagining something like this:

Cinderella's castle
source - Wikipedia

Do you think they'll settle for a big rock?

Happy gardening (or at least garden planning), everyone!

And here's to inspiring the next generation of gardeners!
Anyone have anything else to add to the list from their own little 'experts'?