your ownThe garden's a fun place to spend the school holidays, with no end of activities to keep little minds occupied and entertainedMake the most of the outdoors this spring and summer by encouraging your children or grandchildren to help in the garden. There's plenty they can join in with, from growing crops and planting containers to pond dipping and collecting seed to sow next year. And why not suggest they keep a journal of their gardening antics as something to take to school to show in term-time? Cutting flowers to give as a present is also fun, with most border blooms being suitable for a homespun bouquet. Pick a mixture of evergreen foliage and pretty flowers (this makes a bunch seem larger), and plunge the stems into water the minute they're cut (carry a bucket with a little water in the bottom with you when cutting). Remove excess foliage, cut all the stems to the same length and tie the flowers with ribbon or raffia for a rustic but professional finish. Keep the stems in water until you're ready to present them as a gift, and ensure blooms stay fresh by adding a sachet of cut-flower food to the vase. Pick  bouquet!LITTLE SEEDLINGS22 www.dobbies.comm spring/summer 2012ISTOCK

at Dobbies13th  May  2012  Longest  Runner  Bean  CompetitionJoin in the start of our Garden Games!10th  June  2012  Garden  Party  GamesFun games with funky garden tools to be won1st  July  2012  Grow  Your  Own...  Lunch  BoxHow to grow tasty salad on a windowsillISTOCKISTOCK1 Ensure there are drainage holes in the window box, add a few stones to the bottom and half fill it with compost. Remove the plants from their pots and put them in place - you'll need around five plants per box. Fill gaps between plants with more compost. ???? Sow large seeds with very small children - pumpkins and squash are ideal as the seeds are enormous and easy to handle. The plants also grow incredibly quickly once they get going. ???????? Encourage older children to keep a record of their veg-growing journey - sowing date, thinning date and harvest date etc. This is like a simple gardening journal and will be useful if they grow the same crops again next year.???????? Choose fast-growing crops for impatient kids. Radish is the quickest of all, followed by mixed salad leaves. Tall crops, like sweet corn, are also fun to try. ???????? Growing crops in containers makes things easier. Position planted pots near the house so children constantly see their veggies and remember to tend to them. ???????? If children end up with an excess of any crops, suggest they bag them up to sell to friends and family. Making labels, deciding on a price and counting the profit is all part of the fun! 2 Water the window box thoroughly and put it in a sunny spot. Encourage children to make sure the compost never dries out and get them to remove blooms as they die (this will encourage new ones to grow). Also keep a 'pest watch' for slugs and snails. A trough or window box is just the thing to plant with children. They're cheap to buy, look pretty instantly and will put on a display for the entire summer if well looked after (a job for the kids). Let children choose the plants they like (any cheap summer bedding will do), as this will give them a greater sense of ownership. Window boxes made easy???? COOK! Use up gluts of tomatoes to make soup and chutney. ???? GO POND DIPPING Attach string to a jar and see what you find in your garden or local pond. Draw or write about discoveries. ???? SAVE SEED Hunt for ripe seed heads to sow next year.Other  fun  activities  to  try  this  spring  and  summerspring/summer 2012 www.dobbies.com 23TASTY CROPS FORThere's no better way to encourage children to eat their greens than by getting them to nurture their own. There are many veggies that are child-friendly to grow, including a few that can be sown and cropped within the summer holidays. Here are tips for success:hungry kidsLITTLE SEEDLINGS