A study done in 2021 detailed how a majority of children from ages 4-7 are confused if their food comes from a plant or animal. Creating and planning a garden addresses those concerns by teaching children the life cycle of a plant from seed to harvest.
Spring is the perfect time to start planning for a summer garden. The Richmond Public Library has many resources available to help caregivers teach children about food sources and how to garden. Whether one lives on a large plot of land or in a tiny apartment with a window or balcony, there are many ideas on how to garden in all types of spaces.
Online Library Resources
Check out our library online resources if you are interested in watching introduction to gardening videos. These can be accessed from RPL’s home page by clicking “Services” on the menu bar.
Under “Learning and Research” select Find It Virginia. Here one will find the Gale Elementary Online Collection. Under “Plant-Related Subjects” is all the information you need to learn about plants! Learn about seeds, photosynthesis, fruits and vegetables, pollination, flowers, bulbs and parts of plants in a child-friendly format. Includes basic a informational page with links to magazine and news articles about the subject, videos and images.
Universal Classes offers a several gardening related classes to watch. There is an Introduction to Gardening video as well as a Vegetable Gardening 101 class.
The Great Courses Library Collection has a course titled “How to Grow Anything: Container Garden Tips and Techniques” for those with a small-space challenge at their home.
Library Books
The library has many beginning gardening books in our children’s catalog. I have listed some below with a brief description along with a link to the book in the RPL catalog.
Maker Projects for Kids Who Love Greening Up Spaces by Megan Kopp describes different gardening terminology and contains a few projects to do at home. Perfect for elementary age on up.
Gardening Lab For Kids by Renata Fossen Brown contains 52 fun projects and experiments to learn about gardening. Lab #4 shows little ones how to start seeds in a cardboard egg carton. There are also more advanced projects like making a rain barrel or starting a compost pile. Although written for children, this book is of interest to readers of all ages.
The Little Gardeners Guide by Niki Horan contains color photographs and large type make this book geared to preschoolers who are just learning about gardening
The Nitty-Gritty Gardening Book by Kari Cornell is written for children kindergarten through grade 5. The book is divided according to the seasons with fun activities to do during that time of year.
While you are waiting for your seeds to sprout, you and your child can enjoy some fun garden reads!
What’s in the Garden? by Marianne Berkes. This book gives recipes that one can use with all the produce from your garden.
Michelle’s Garden by Sharee Miller documents First Lady Michelle Obama’s efforts to bring a vegetable garden to the White House to encourage healthy eating with children.
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney gives us a character who makes her corner of the world more beautiful with her flower planting efforts.
Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn shows Lola planting a garden and watching it grow.
Happy Planting!
