December brings an undeniable sense of excitement to our household each year. I'm very lucky to have four gorgeous granddaughters and choosing Christmas gifts for them is an absolute joy. Their interests are varied and very different from my two sons who were born in the 1980s and revelled in the era of Transformers, He-Man and Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles. As they grew older, the first video games burst onto the scene, with Nintendo and Sega vying for market dominance and attempting to captivate our attention with titles such as Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog. Happy memories, but I’m very pleased to say our family also held a deep appreciation for the great outdoors.
Since becoming a grandparent, I’ve felt a growing responsibility to keep the family's love of gardening and the natural world very much alive. Before the girls started school, I looked after them all on a part-time basis, and we spent countless hours playing in the garden or exploring local parks. In spite of this, I’m always wondering what else I can do to nurture their potential horticultural talents, so this Christmas, I've embarked on a special mission to seek out wildlife and garden-friendly gifts tailored to the youngest members of the family. While there’s no shortage of toys and books on the market, my quest has been focused on discovering ideas that will involve spending quality time with the children, rather than just giving them a gift that may just end up gathering dust in the back of a cupboard.
I started by asking the girls about their earliest memories of the garden, and they came up with such delights as making rose petal perfume, stroking the furry leaves of the lamb’s ear plant and looking for wildlife. This involved little creatures of all kinds, including frogs, bees and butterflies, and I seem to recall there was a snail called Stanley at one point. Now, all of these are summer activities, and typically Christmas isn’t the time of year when we spend most of our leisure hours outdoors, so I’ve given some serious thought to what works as a winter gift. Sometimes putting a few small themed items together is just as good as a larger present and gives children something that captures their imagination throughout the year. Here are my suggestions, all enthusiastically endorsed by the girls, although they also insisted that I should include the Barbie Doll and Gardening Playset in the mix.
o A bird feeder and bird bath, along with the RSPB My First Book of Garden Birds, to help spot and identify the feathered visitors to the garden. You could also install a birdbox, and perhaps splash out on a birdbox camera.
o A selection of seeds and colourful pots. Start them off with something that will grow indoors at any time of year, but also include varieties for spring and summer planting to keep the enthusiasm going. A growing diary will help them keep track of any projects.
o A kit to make your own wildflower seed balls that can be planted out in spring. Maybe combine this with a flower press for craft ideas later in the year.
o Greenhouse growing kit. There are some that are window-sill friendly and ideal for propagating fun indoors.
o For older children, a little hydroponics kit. You don’t need a great deal of space for one of these, and quick crops of herbs or lettuce are ideal for creating enthusiasm for growing food even in winter.
o Books are always great for stocking fillers and there are some great new gardening-themed ones for 2023, including My First Garden: for little gardeners who want to grow, by Livi Gosling.
o Garden Centres and websites such as shopping.rspb.org.uk/gifts-home/gift-ideas,
gardeningforkids.co.uk/collections/tools-and-kits and wickeduncle.co.uk have a great selection of gardening-related gifts including forks, trowels and rakes so the little ones can help you in the garden.
On a more serious note, it would be good to see gardening on the school curriculum from Early Years upwards. Many schools I know have Forest School leaders where the children get to spend time outdoors in the natural environment, but in my experience, this doesn’t always involve gardening. Wouldn’t it be great to inspire youngsters to grow plants and experience the joy of seeing a tiny seed grow into a plant? The benefits for both physical and mental well-being are potentially huge, but like everything, it needs help from the government to make it happen. In the meantime, we, as parents and grandparents can make a real difference to the next generation of gardeners.
Happy Christmas shopping.
Alison Moore of Renaissance Garden
Design is a garden designer and
photographer based in Sale. She
writes a blog about her garden and
other gardens she visits in Cheshire.
renaissance-gardendesign.co.uk
Twitter: @renaissancegd
Instagram: @alisonmoore
