For children and adults, gardens evoke the senses. To see a beautiful garden vista, stroke the smooth grey leaf of Lamb’s Ear, smell the scent released by touching Lavender or hear the gentle rattle of a dried poppy seed head is to have an affinity with nature and somehow makes us feel connected. For me, plants and gardens are also very much about people, children and adults.
The sensuousness of a garden makes it ideal for children. They are natural diggers. There is a fascination for worms and a delight of picking a posy of herbs, so far from Club Penguin and Friv. Finding a radish, potatoes, a centipede deep in the soil is like finding treasure. Nature and its many facets also allows children to move to the next interesting thing quite quickly; a snail, many snails and snail race.
I run a gardening club in a small Hammersmith primary school. It is terribly oversubscribed and the reasons are that the children have little or no garden; lunch-time is a long, complicated, social minefield; parents are busy and simply growing things, despite perceptions that it is for old people, is fun.
So this week, we have been delving in compost heaps, making them, stirring them, chucking kitchen waste in them, working out how long things take to decompose, poking worms, smelling yucky worm juice. Touching, poking, smelling, back to those senses again.
Most plants strongly appeal to the senses, but children and adults are especially impressed with herbs. We have a herb bed on our postage stamp, school allotment. I grow herbs indoors and outdoors, on my doorstep and on my kitchen windowsill. Musts are evergreen and perennial rosemary, bay, sage and chives. Rosemary is robust and releases such a delicious aroma with lamb. Old wives tales tell how it grows well where a strong woman is in control. Early Christians believed its symbolic meaning was for remembrance and brought it and other evergreen foliage into their homes to represent everlasting life in the dark days of winter. Their pretty blue blossom is just emerging this spring.
The other great thing about herbs is you can buy them easily in nurseries like W6 in Ravenscourt Park, Homebase and supermarkets. You could also get them from Cultivate London, best producer at the Observer Food Monthly Awards 2012, and located next to the beautiful Brentford Lock. The charity converts disused land across London and produces herbs, salad leaves and vegetables and trains young people in practical horticulture. A stroll or bike ride along the tow-path, some herbs – a no- brainer really.
So not to be too evangelical about it, every child and adult need a herb pot and here is what I recommend:
- buy a terracotta pot from W6 or Homebase or use an old wooden wine box (with holes drilled in the bottom)
- chose a selection of herbs eg chives, sage, rosemary, thyme and viola (edible, colourful and available at this time of year); add some nasturtium seeds for summer colour
- put crocks (or broken bits of pots) in the bottom for good drainage
- fill with multi-purpose compost
- soak each pot fully with water before planting
- plant each herb in your container
- fill up the pot so it looks full and vibrant
- locate near the kitchen on a windowsill or near the back doorstepsee, touch, smell and taste and use in your cooking and make bouquet garnis for Granny
About the writer:
Sarah Heaton is a community gardener and garden designer based in West London. She writes about gardening, city gardens and gardening with young people, families and children. She runs a school gardening club in Hammersmith and designs city gardens. She trained at Capel Manor College, Gunnersbury Park, and qualified with a RHS certificate in the Principles of Horticulture. She is married with three children. Sarah can be reached at: [email protected] | 07946 352 732 or follow her on Twitter
(A version of this article first appeared in the Fulham Chronicle website “City Gardener” column)
