Alex Mar, 5, inspects a cutworm he uncovered at the Children's Garden in Wallingford. The Garden is maintained by Seattle Tilth, which uses it to teach youngsters about organic gardening.
Five-year-olds Zachary Richards, Alex Mar and Levi Sparks collect herbs and flowers at Seattle Tilth's Children's Garden. The boys participated in a two-day summer camp held by the nonprofit.
Zachary Richards, 5, carefully selects leaves from a lemon balm shrub. He used the leaves to make herb tea during a Children's Garden class.
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Go and Garden
Some upcoming events at the Children's Garden.
Ladybug Picnic Ladybugs of all shapes and sizes come to feast. Learn insect anatomy. When: Sept. 17 at 10 a.m. Cost: Free, preregistration required Contact: Carrie Niskanen, 206-633-5045, ext. 2; carrieniskanen@seattletilth.org
Slimy Creatures Enter a world of slime. Meet snails, worms, slugs, and other slippery critters. When: Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. Cost: Free, preregistration required Contact: Carrie Niskanen, 206-633-5045, ext. 2; carrieniskanen@seattletilth.org
Seattle Tilth Children’s Garden Celebrates 20 Years
By Melanthia M. Peterman
A small group of 5-year-old boys chatters excitedly as their little hands pluck leaves and flowers from a jumble of plants lining a straw-covered path. They’re preparing herb tea and flit from one shrub to the next, busily dropping their selections into small baskets.
“What’s this? Can we put this in the tea?” asks Alex Mar, grasping a red poppy and holding it close to his blue fleece vest. He casts the flower aside after learning it’s not very good to eat.
The activity is part of a summer camp class at the Children’s Garden in Wallingford, and just one of a multitude of programs offered by Seattle Tilth, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching sustainable gardening through tours, classes and workshops. The Children’s Garden this year celebrates 20 years of engaging and inspiring kids of all ages, from toddlers to teens.
Alex was one of three boys who showed up for a recent two-day “Garden Detectives” camp that offers soon-to-be first graders a chance to garden, sing and make sun tea.
“I want some more lemon balm in my basket,” fellow camper Zachary Richards says, pushing his glasses farther up his nose while scurrying over to a short shrub. He leans over and begins carefully picking its bright green leaves. “I’ll pick three. No, five. Five. Five.”
Kids are taught to taste, touch and smell the abundant plants growing in the garden located in an abandoned pool behind the Good Shepherd Center at Meridian Park. They’re also encouraged to observe the wildlife and listen to their surroundings.
“Sometimes it’s good just to be,” says Lisa Taylor, children’s program manager for Seattle Tilth.
Dressed in a Disneyland sweatshirt, cargo shorts and a straw hat with a bumblebee pin, Taylor’s enthusiasm for the garden matches the children’s.
It’s easy to teach children about gardening, she says. Just get down on their level and see the garden from their perspective – even if it means looking under rocks or climbing in the compost bin.
That’s all part of the experience in the Children’s Garden, where sweet smelling Tangerine Sage, giant kiwi vines, bug houses, worm bins and a tall bean teepee invite little hands to dig, pick and play.
“Kids can really dictate your exploration in the garden,” says Jessica Heiman, who works at Seattle Tilth and helps Taylor with the children’s program. “The kids come up with things you never imagine, that our minds wouldn’t see.”
From its humble beginning in 1988, the garden has been a success. It got a boost in 1989 with a grant from the National Garden Association, which also provided seeds, tools and other supplies.
In the first three seasons, more than 300 children had toured the garden or taken part in the few school programs and classes then offered. Today, more than 3,000 kids get hands-on experience in the garden through tours, classes and summer camp programs.
The garden’s paths remain wide to accommodate large groups. The planting beds are narrow enough to jump over. Changes over the years have mostly involved programming, thanks to increased demand.
Today, there are more than a dozen Monday morning programs for toddlers, preschoolers and their parents. The one-and-a-half hour classes have themes such as “Harvest Hoopla” or “Insect-a-rama.” They cost $30 or $20 for members.
Families also have their choice of summer camp options, from a one-day Peawee Class for kids under 2 to the weeklong Junior Garden Counselor Program, where youths ages 10 to 14 learn leadership skills and help teach younger children about organic gardening.
This spring, Seattle Tilth also began offering some of its children’s programs in Issaquah.
One consistent principle is that children do almost all of the garden work, whether it’s weeding, planting, watering, harvesting or seed saving.
“Ours is a garden for, by and with children. Very little is done by adults,” says Taylor, whose own son Alwyn, 8, was the test baby for Seattle Tilth’s toddler program.
Alwyn, with bright blue eyes and bouncing curly blonde hair, is often found running around during classes, exploring the outer reaches of the garden, looking for spiders or collecting sap from a nearby cherry tree.
“I’ve grown up here,” the boy says matter-of-factly, and then whizzes away to show off a tunnel of burdock. The plants have prickly purple burrs that are fun to attach to each other and clothes.
Classes, tours and camps are offered from spring into late fall. They usually fill up quickly with 20 to 22 participants. The little ones are brought by parents with a keen interest in gardening, Taylor says.
“Some have experience but many have never gardened,” she says. “Parents are often surprised to find that they learn as much as the kids.”
Melanthia Peterman is a Seattle journalist and mother of a 1-year-old boy. She blogs about what it’s like to garden while raising a child at www.gardeness.com.
