Plants To Please Your Child’s 5 Senses:

Here’s a list of plants to please your child’s 5 senses while encouraging a love for gardening….

I’ve compiled a great little list of commonly found plants that are great to teach your growing child how to use their five senses. With the temperatures rising, the cost of plants at your local garden center should be lowering. Though, if you do decide to plant any of these flowers this time of year, especially in our area, be sure to realize the need to water…every day.

Smell:

These flowers not only smell great, but some deter pests.

Lavender, great for cutting & drying in doors.

Sweet peas, (my favorite) these grow on vines or whatever they can find, so be sure to plant them accordingly. (their usually planted in March.)

Sage, if you check your local garden center’s herb department you can find all kinds of great smelling sage, scents ranging from chocolate to pineapple…yum!

Scented geraniums, my fav, Citrosa geranium, i.e. the Mosquito plant, not only does it smell citrus-y but it keeps away those pesky mosquitoes! (beware, I plant mine in its pot & remove it come winter, this plant can be evasive.)

Sight:

These flowers are great for catching your children’s love of bright colors. Not only can they pick them but also they can paint or draw them.

Sunflowers, I suggest the dwarf variety, the goliaths are kind of hard for your small children to see the seeds.

Daisies, I suggest planting these in the back of your bed, they attract bees, so look before touching.

Baby’s Breath, these most commonly come in white, but if you are lucky you sometimes can find them in pink.

Zinnias, these come in all sorts of colors and sizes, they are also great to pick & put in vases.

Sound:

These plants are great to make a “band” out of the plants in your garden.

Love-in-a-mist, (Nigella) this plant has great seed pods that when they dry, usually come late summer to early fall, you can rattle them.

Bamboo, (find the non-evasive cultivar) these are great to cut and blow threw, they make a hollow sound.

Taste:

These plants you can pick and eat, not to mention cook with. Your children will love helping you pick and wash them.

Chives, great in salads

Nasturtium, you can eat their flowers & leaves, they taste a little peppery but are great to add some color to a dull salad.

Strawberries, yum.

Mint, spearmint is great added to teas.

Rosemary, is great cooked with fish & meat.

Touch:

Have your child touch these plants and try to describe what texture they feel.

Lamb’s Ear, silky foliage that really does feel like a soft lamb’s ear.

Lady’s Mantle, visit this plant after a rain or heavy dew, the droplets of water can still be found nestled into the tiny hairs on this plants foliage.

Silver Sage, has a cotton-like down that covers its large silver leaves.

Chicks n’ Hens, these come in all shapes, sizes & textures, some are pointy & some can be hairy.

Snapdragons, these are great to pick, then squeeze in the sides of the bloom and make dragon sounds with!

Happy Gardening!

Carrie Longacre is a Mommy to a very active toddler, Hannah, and wife to her Landscaper husband, Marc, www.baileylawnandlandscape.com. Carrie has been gardening ever since she could walk and has a degree in Horticultural Business from Penn State University.