Gardening with children at the Children's Garden

by Brie Last summer the kids and I started attending a weekly playgroup at the Children's Garden in Old Ottawa East. Located at the corner of Main Street and Clegg, the Children's Garden has transformed Robert Legget Park from an unused green space to a wonder of plants and vegetables.

For a black thumb like me it was the perfect chance to expose the kids to gardening without actually having to do it myself. This is what I call a win-win situation.

Now that the weather is warming up, the boy and I have started attending the playgroup again. Every Thursday morning from 10am to 11am parents and kids gather at the garden to play, do crafts, take part in a circle time, eat snacks and, well, garden.

The playgroup is free, but the volunteer coordinator does as for a small donation to cover the cost of the craft supplies and the snack that is provided.

So far the only plants growing are the garlic, but that should change soon. The Children's Garden has a team of volunteers that plant and weed throughout the spring, summer and fall.

Last summer there was an impressive number of vegetables growing. My then three-year old girl would always head straight for the tomato plants as soon as we arrived and would happily sit and eat them off the vine. Luckily, that was exactly what they are there for.

The Children's Garden is open to everyone, just like any other public park. It would be the perfect place for a family picnic or even a birthday party. Besides the weekly Thursday playgroups, the Children's Garden often hosts special parties, like the fairy party the girl attended last August. You can subscribe to their email updates to be informed of any upcoming activities.

Brie is the mom of a 3.5 year old daughter “the girl” and eighteen month old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.