Everyone from children to the elderly can benefit from gardening. By working together on projects big and small, families and communities can build healthy connections with nature and each other.
Gather seeds of native flower in late summer from friends, family, seed companies, seed libraries, and your own yard even. Mix them with clay (or flour), some compost (or seed starting soil), and just enough water to form moist balls. Keep them smaller than a gift ball and let them dry in a well ventilated area but not direct sunlight or too close to a heat source. In the fall, throw these dried balls of native plant friends (in their survival ‘ships’ made of clay & compost) along the edge of your driveway or meadow.
A great winter activity with a variety of known methods. They can be grown in soil, or on pebbles. What they do need is to be put in a window that gets some sunlight during the day and in a room that stays warm at night.
Composting is best thought about as a system rather than just a project or a pile. Collecting Compost in the Kitchen requires a good container and then depending on what kind of pets or wild creatures are in your yard, a container may also be necessary outside.
In cold climates there is also the option to do Bokashi bucket composting in a mud room, basement, or heated garage.
This can be started in small pots on a sunny windowsill during winter and moved outside into larger pots or an herb spiral during summer.
Some plants can stay outside year round, others need to be brought back inside during winter. Healthy soil and use of mulch will also support their survival and proliferation. The following lists zones are the coldest that these herbs are known to survive.
Purchase or build a flower press in spring. Each week once flowers begin to bloom, gather a few and place them in the press. Remove once they are delicate and no moisture remains. Be sure to keep your flower press in a dry place and although it should be snug, don’t tighten it down too much because air flower helps the flowers dry evenly. These flowers are great for making many art projects including bookmarks, cards, window decorations etc. Ferns can also be pressed and then work well to form trees on handmade holiday cards.
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