? ... I'm new ... ?

Hello there every body.

I am Nicky and I have a baby boy who was born in October 2010. :thumb:

The reason that I wanted to join this forum is because I really want to male my garden (and very tiny front yard / garden) a nice place for us to spend time together in the the spring and summer. :pickflower:

I look forward to meeting you all and looking through your posts.

I want to make a blog on here, but it says my usergroup isn't able to use the blog, so does this means I have to make a certain amount of posts?

 

Hi Nicky,

Welcome to the forums.

If that is your real name then I would take your date of birth off of your profile. If someone has your name & date of birth then they can get a copy of your birth certificate & steal your ID.

 

Uhh, good point - thank you Ziggy x [hr]
Hmm, have I got any ideas? I think at the moment, I just want to plant some bright and colorful flowers - My OH and I also want to grow our own herbs - and I also want to make a little patch for Zach to explore and for us to put decorations for him to look at and play with. They are my ideas for the back garden. For our front yard, I would again, like to plan nice colourful flowers or even some plants, and I would like to get a little bench where we can sit with Zach and watch the world go by.

My OH is going to be doing a bulk of the work while I keep an eye on Zach, but as Zach grows, we want to get him involved too.

 

Hi there and Welcome.,

Its nice to meet you

 

Hi Nicky, and welcome to GC.

I'm on my second attempt at making a nice garden for my young son (first attempt was fairly successful, then we moved house).

Here's my thoughts. First up, your husband's idea of growing herbs is a winner. Many herbs are strongly fragrant, and pretty much kid resistant in that they (the herbs) can take a fair bit of being yanked about and stood on.

Some sort of lawn area is a must.

If your garden gets the sun, some sort of shade would be good. This could come from a pergola or arbor, a tree or anything really to keep your little lad out of the full intensity of the sun while still being outdoors.

Your little lad, as he grows, will want enough open space to play, but a plain flat expanse of garden with borders doesn't give much opportunity to expore or play hide and seek, so maybe avoid the usual 'square' garden design, and have little corners and features to explore, hide in, or find things in.

Now this is the bit where I seem over protective. Avoid anything with nasty thorns, or if you use them then plant something harmless around the base so that its harder for inquisitive fingers to scewer themselves. Personally I would avoid anything with poisonous berries. To a toddler it must be really confusing when on one hand you encourage them to eat fresh fruit, but on the other you scream at them when you catch them going to help themselves to the bright juicy red poisonous things in the garden.

My favourite flower for the kid proof garden, Nasturtium. Many people grow it in hanging baskets but I just shove it in the ground and let it ramble along. It has pretty bright yellow or orange flowers, is popular with the bees, grows vigorously enough to survive being stood on or pulled to bits once established, and ever part of the plant is edible, which is good to know when your little lad reaches the stage where EVERYTHING has to be taste tested. Another bright and cheery flower that's a safe bet due to be edible, is the pot marigold.

Avoid Foxglove. Its a very pretty flower, but it is poisonous enough to be excluded from the kid's garden as far as I'm concerned. I know many things are poisonous, but there's a big difference between a belly ache and the whole nervous system shutting down.

Well, that's just my opinion, from a dad that knows little about a gardening.

Good luck with your project, and keep us posted because we're all a bit nosey really, and love to see how others are getting on.

 

Aww wow, what an awesome post with so many helpful tips ... thank you ssooo much clueless :thumb:

I wouldn't know where to start with poisonous plants so the ones you mentioned will sure help me to start keeping Zach safe. And thank you for naming some flowers you find to be really nice for your little one. I will be writing them down and looking out for them!!

My OH and I love herbs!! So herbs are a must hehe x

Need to end the post here sorry - have a stinky boy to sort out ...

 

Very good point, you might find this thread useful when it comes to chosing what to plant & what not to.
http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/Thread-Poisonous-Plants-A-summary.html

Still remember my Poppy as a todler, sitting in the garden & looking cross about something, till I noticed a small green stalk sticking out of her mouth.

A gentle tug revealed the whole dandelion flower she had stuffed in her mouth.

 

[size=large]Hello Nicky, a very welcome to you and little Zach. [/size]

[size=large]I am always trying to involve my kids in garden related stuff. In Italy (they are half Italian) we do see the garden quite a lot like part of the house and we do spend quite sometimes in it even if it is not up to standard (I am an excellent example of that). [/size]

[size=large]The little ones were first involved in ripping everything what they see and getting to the slug pellets, but now two out of three are big enough to take more interest in climbing up trees! Bless them, they are my most precious belongings. Anyway, see you around...


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