Children and gardening--the attraction is natural.  And why not, with so much in the garden for kids to love?  There's the fun of playing in the dirt, the excitement of digging up buried treasure, and the fascination of observing creepy-crawly things at close range.

Besides, gardening is a great adult/child activity that's easy to do.  It's economical.  You don't have to pack up and go somewhere, and you can start it and leave it wherever it's convenient.

One of the most exciting things is that you can see a child's self-esteem growing along with the garden.  Few specialized skills or abilities are needed.  Even children with behavioral or developmental problems can find something to do in the garden.

If you'd like to nurture an interest in gardening, simply share your enthusiasm with your children, grandchildren, or young friends.  Children enjoy being involved in what adults are doing, so you needn't insist.  Instead, invite youngsters to come into the garden with you.  You're sure to have more successes than failures.  To keep you on track, here are a few guidelines to follow:

• Include Children In The Planning.  Look over garden catalogs together; take youngsters with you when you pick out seeds.  They especially love the seeds that are packaged specifically for children.  Have them help decide what would be fun to grow, but don't get carried away with too many selections.  For younger kids, focus on plants with seeds that are easy to handle, such as beans, sunflowers, beets, and radishes.
• Buy child-sized tools or adapt your own.  Sturdy tools geared for small hands and bodies make garden chores easier and safer.  Trowels, shovels, and rakes come in several sizes.  Kids especially enjoy having their own light-weight watering can.  Enlist old kitchen spoons for digging or plastic ice-cream buckets for hauling.
• Consider Safety.  For safety's sake, teach your children the basics of tool care.  They should know, for example, to place the tines of a rake toward the ground.  On sunny days, remind children to wear a cap and long sleeves, and slather on the sunscreen and insect repellant. 
• Set aside a kids' plot.  Though your space may be limited, earmark a separate portion of the garden for each child.  Such a spot gives children a sense of ownership, plus you won't worry that they're killing your zucchini.  ONe way to mark off a child's space is with small, plastic fencing available at garden centers and discount stores.  Keep the plot small so that your kids won't be overwhelmed with maintenance.  You could also identify their garden plants with tags.  Children love labels that read "Tom's veggies," or "Ann's carrots."  If there's no ground to divide, give each child a container to plant.  When children have stewardship over a piece of earth, they become amazingly attuned to it.
• Plan for Success.  Young children need your help in the garden.  Let kids observe while you work on a particular task in your plot.  Then they can practice on their own turf.  Even three-year-olds can handle small tools and follow simple directions ("Let's pull mulch up around the squash," or "cover the seeds with dirt").  Bear in mind that youngsters get bored easily, so keep work sessions short--10-15 minutes is about right.  If you break down jobs into simple, concrete tasks, they'll have a sense of accomplishment after each session.  One ploy that works is sharing the work.  You might suggest, "I'll pull this eed, and you can pull that one."  Praise is also a great motivator. 
• Propose a theme garden.  Children love to grow interesting plants.  For instance, you could plant by color:  An all-red vegetable garden might feature rhubarb, radishes, beets, "Ruby Queen" corn, scarlet runner beans and strawberries.  Pumpkins, carrots, squash, edible marigolds, and golden peppers make a beautiful orange plot.  A fragrance garden could include garlic, chives, mint (lemon, chocolate, and peppermint), Oriental lilies, lavender and heliotrope. With herbs like mint, and basil, children can "scratch and sniff."  Try a giant's garden with fast-growing sunflowers, yard-long green beans, zucchini, dinner-plate dahlias, and pumpkins. 
• Learn Together.  There are great books on gardening, bugs, butterflies, and a host of other topics.  Find some at your local library to read together.  Go online and visit some of the kids' gardening sites.  You and your children can learn a lot and find interesting projects to expand the gardening fun.

GARDENING PROVIDES KIDS WITH EXERCISE, A GOOD EXCUSE TO GET DIRTY, AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE SOMETHING BOTH BEAUTIFUL AND USEFUL. 

ALL 6 OF MY GRANDKIDS LOVE TO WORK IN "GRANDMA'S" GARDEN WHERE THEY LOOK FORWARD TO STRAWBERRIES, ZUCCHINI, CORN, SQUASH, TOMATOES, GREEN BEANS AND FIRST TIME THIS YEAR, PUMPKINS, WATERMELON AND GOURDS!!