If you've never heard of it before, National Children’s Gardening Week is all about inspiring children and families to get outside and have fun this spring and summer season.
This year, it's taking place 28th May – 5th June 2022 to promote the health, wellbeing and educational benefits of gardening. It takes place annually on the week when it's most likely to be warmest here in the UK at the end of May, and it allows impatient little ones to see instant gardening results and establish a love for nature and gardening from an early age.
Activities to do this National Children's Gardening Week
There's so many things to do in the garden at this time of year, and you can find plenty of fun activities for little green fingers on the National Children's Gardening Week website. We've picked out a few of our favourites that we're planning on doing that we think you and your tot will love too.
Build a fairy garden
Add something enchanting to your garden with a little fairy garden. It's a fun DIY project your children can really get stuck into and you can probably find most of the tools you need around the house. Read our guide to making your own fairy garden here for some inspiration.
Make a mini garden
Find an old, medium sized plant pot, fill it with compost then let your child turn it into their own miniature garden. They might want to add some pebbles, sticks, flowers or moss. They might even want to add their own mini pond to their garden too. The possibilities really are endless, but if you want a little more guidance, you can find instructions on how to make one on the NCGW website.
Layer spring bulbs
Some call this little project a bulb lasagne which sounds odd, but makes perfect sense. A bulb lasagne simply requires you to find three kinds of bulbs which will all flower at different times. You'll want to start with the bulbs that flower latest first and the bulbs that flower soonest on top. You can find the full instructions on how to make a bulb lasagne here.
Make a hedgehog hut
It's always a good idea to make sure we're taking care of our garden visitors, and making a shelter for any hedgehog friends is a fun and easy activity. You can make it out of pretty much anything you'll find in your garden including branches, shrubs and foliage. You might also want to provide them with some feed in the form of insects too! You can find the full hedgehog hut instructions here.
Flower pressing
This one might require a little more patients but trust us, the end product will be worth the wait! It will take 2-4 weeks to fully press your flower but all you'll need is a pretty and colourful flower (sentimental flowers work best), A heavy block and book and your away. Find the full flower pressing instructions here.
What if I don't have much of a garden?
It's okay if you don't have any grassy area or garden space where you are - there are plenty of events going on up and down the country which you and your kids can go along to.
From a Platinum Jubilee Flower Trail in Surrey to seed planting activities in Blackpool, make sure you check out the NCGW website to find an event near you.