Playing outdoors and getting dirty is great for kids and adults, contributing to health and creativity. But for those days when it’s just too hot, too cold, or too rainy to spend long periods outdoors, try another fun activity. A fairy garden can sprinkle fantasy into your home. 

It’s an easy and fun project for you and your little ones. Just be careful about how many fairies you invite into your home. They’re mischievous little creatures that are likely to take over every empty shelf if you let them.

Planning Your Fairy Garden

Look around your community or nearby hiking trails. If you’re lucky enough to live in a community surrounded by nature, like Aberlin Springs, you have plenty to choose from. Just be careful not to disturb private property or animals’ homes. This is a great opportunity to teach children about respecting nature. (Also note that many municipal parks and preserves prohibit the removal of ANYTHING from their sites.) Look for twigs, rocks, moss, empty snail shells, pieces of tree park, or wildflowers. Choose to stick entirely with natural objects or incorporate items from around the house, too.

Fairy gardens can take any shape or size. Most plants require full light or partial shade. If you plan on having the garden inside pick the sunniest spot. The size of a fairy garden is only limited to how much room you have.

Picking your Plants

If you can, try to choose native plants for your garden. As an alternative, succulents and cacti are easy to care for. These desert plants require less water. If you have small children and want to teach them about responsibility and how to care for gardens this is a great plant to start with.

Herbs are another great choice. Fresh herbs are also relatively low-maintenance and if you like to cook you always have a ready supply of basil and rosemary to pick. Flowers need more attention but even if you don’t have the greenest of thumbs it’s still a good option to beautify your home and freshen the air.

Choosing a Planter

Any home and garden store is going to have countless planters to choose from. You can also create your own planter by upcycling objects from home. Try an old wagon that your kids have outgrown. Some people like to use teacups.You can even use an old rainboot or a drawer from a discarded piece of furniture. So get creative with some of the unused objects lying around in your home.

If you use a planter made from organic matter such as wood make sure the bottom can drain and aerate. Otherwise, it will start molding and will cause wood rot.

Pick Your Theme

This is probably the most difficult decision you’ll have to make throughout the whole process. You can check out any craft store and they’ll have just about everything you can imagine. Don’t care for fairies so much? That’s alright, you can make a miniaturized version of your dream reading nook. You’ll find model toadstools, and dragons, and gnomes oh my! Let your imagination go wild!

Tips and Tricks for a Healthy Fairy Garden

Putting everything together is relatively easy. Arrange the plants the way you want them. Settle them in the dirt and place the accessories. To keep your garden growing strong and tall here are a few tips and tricks.

Pick the Right Soil

Different plants require different PH balances and different consistencies for the soil. Succulents do not require a lot of water to survive unlike, for instance, a tomato plant. It is important that you place them in a soil that does not retain water. Dirt with organic matter like manure and mulch is the surest way to quickly kill these plants. If you are helping your child to create a miniature version of your own backyard or community garden, use the same soil you use there. (Get permission first, if needed.)

Flowers like black-eyed susans and milkweed are native to Ohio. Since they are already well adapted to the soil they will grow hardy and will require less maintenance. As an added bonus there is less likelihood you will have to buy new flowers next year. Since the native flowers are adapted to our climate, perennials will likely keep coming back each year!

Too Big for Their Britches

If you only give your plants a small amount of room to grow they will stay relatively small. However, if you give them the chance to stretch their limbs, they will not hesitate to do so. Sometimes they need a little support. Stakes can help. Instead of using wood or metal stakes from the garden store, get creative! Rarely used chopsticks are a fun choice. Has your child outgrown their baby cutlery but you can’t seem to part with it? Those make great support systems for your plants too.

Enjoy building your own fairy garden and bring a little bit of the outdoors inside. Get your hands dirty, spend time with your kids, and make something you can enjoy every day.

PHOTO: Cassie Kohrs

Growing food at home or in your neighborhood community garden feels great. You sweat and nurture and hope for favorable weather, anticipating the delicious results. Maybe growing zucchini is your thing. You’re the queen or king of growing zucchini. You know all the recipes for turning it into sweet or savory creations. You show up at every dinner party and event bearing zucchini bread. Every. One. People smile and say they love it but maybe they’re just a teensy bit sick of it. You start giving out zucchini to everyone who visits you just to get rid of it. You have pounds and pounds of the stuff and if you don’t use it up soon, it will rot and that hard work will be wasted.

It’s the curse of the brilliant gardener: too much of a good thing. Here are three ways to put those gorgeous fruits and veggies to good use and make a difference in your community.

Help a Nearby Food Desert

If you live near Cincinnati, Dayton, or any major city, chances are there’s a food desert within a short drive. Your produce could help. A food desert is defined as a place where no supermarket exists for at least a mile radius and residents lack transportation to get there. They rely on convenience stores and fast food restaurants for nutrition. According to the Food Empowerment Project, those who live in food deserts are more at risk for heart disease and type-2 diabetes.

Suburban farming provides a potential solution. Search Food Pantries Near Me for local organizations. Then, check with them to make sure they accept fresh produce. You might also look into donating to schools, neighborhood centers, and community events.

Sell Homegrown Produce at a Farmers Market

Selling fresh produce at an Ohio farmers market typically does not require a license, according to Ohio State University‘s agricultural program. If you live in a different state, check the requirements there. If you want to turn your fruits and vegetables into baked goods you may need a license even in Ohio. The website Ohio Proud can help you find a farmers market near you. Visit one near you to see if you like it and, if so, apply to become a vendor.

Hold a Neighborhood Potluck

If you’re lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with a shared garden, or if many of your neighbors have gardens, pool your resources. Hold a potluck or block party and invite everyone to share something. They can bring anything from fresh fruit to entrees they make from their harvest. You could even hold a contest to see who can create the most delicious or creative dish. Give a prize for the best zucchini bread!

These ideas should give you some great ways to put your excess food to good use. Remember to compost whatever you can’t use, along with any scraps. Composting reduces waste and, even better, gives you a rich source of nutrients to grow even more!

Photo: Pixabay / CC0 Public Domain

Do you remember making mud pies as a kid? What about rolling down a hill full speed only to find there was a great big puddle at the end? Do you remember how much fun you had? Sadly, fewer children these days get to experience that fun because parents are afraid of the germs when kids get dirty.

Of course, we want to keep our kids healthy and safe. But research shows that this abundance of caution could be detrimental to our future generations. Getting dirty and being exposed to the microbes in nature is a good way to prevent poor health in the future. Besides, kids enjoy it! The mess might be annoying to clean up but read on for five reasons a little extra laundry detergent is worth it.

5. Improves Motor Skills

One of the greatest benefits of playing outside is that it teaches children motor skills. This is especially important or infants. For instance, according to research done by Eastern Connecticut State University, by 10 months of age children already have a preference to what textures they like and dislike.

In that same article, the author goes on to explain that playing is a requirement for children to learn regulating behaviors and emotions. Children who play less are more likely show aggressive and antisocial behaviors. The outdoors encourage play, particularly unstructured play.

Babies that are introduced to the great outdoors while learning how to walk also have a great advantage. Most children learn how to walk on flat surfaces. While this is a fine way to teach them, it doesn’t expose them to all the different surfaces they will experience. A sandy beach or a grassy hill can improve balance and coordination.

4. Teaches Kids About Nature

When children play outside they tend not to notice they’re learning. As they play in the mud they discover different worms, insects, and roly-polies. Then learn what type of environment those different species prefer. They hear birds and other creatures that communicate through sound. They even learn different smells, which helps in learning about plants and decomposition.

Gardening also provides a great learning tool for children. That’s why Mercy Montessori has introduced a garden on the 5th floor of their school. “It gives students the foundation they need to be contributing members of society,” says Lisa Klus, assistant principal, and director of the microeconomy program.

For this same reason, families find their way to farm-to-table communities like Aberlin Springs. Children here are exposed to a lifestyle that they would have otherwise never experienced. By interacting with plants and animals they learn science, critical thinking, and even empathy.

3. Gets Kids Away From the Computer

In 2014 NPR talked about how too much exposure to electronic media affects the way children are developing. They cited a study that showed how children that don’t get enough time away from their screens are less likely to recognize human emotions.

Linking back the previous research done by Eastern Connecticut State University they say that “A sedentary play style in the early years is likely to become an overall sedentary lifestyle: inactive preschoolers are highly likely to become inactive adults.” (Reilly &Jackson, 2004).

Few will argue that playing on a computer or tablet is fun. After a long day of learning it’s nice to just plop down and play a game for a while. However, by limiting screen time you do your child a favor. You prepare them for an active healthy lifestyle as adults. Not only that but you are also teaching them human relations.

2. Relieves Stress

If you notice that your child is suffering from anxiety and depression due to stress, take them outside. (Do it for yourself, too.) Prevention described how being outside can reduce stress levels. “When it comes to alleviating stress, there’s just something about being in our natural element that’s hard to beat,” says Catharine Ward Thompson, director of the OPENspace Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

When pressures from school add up, take this opportunity to bond with your child. Take them to a park with a hiking path and let them talk about their feelings. You’re not only building a relationship with your child but you’re also putting them in a relaxing environment where they can be one with nature and alleviate some of the stress.

1. Introduces Healthy Microbes to the Body

The number one reason you should let your kids go outside, play in the mud, and just get dirty is that it introduces their body to essential microorganisms. The fear of dirt and germs is a trend that is now starting to reverse among parents. WebMD hypothesized that early exposure to dirt and germs could potentially prevent ailments like asthma and allergies as the child matures.

Children have a natural tendency to put things in their mouth that we feel they shouldn’t. The truth is that as long as it’s not a harmful chemical they should be fine. It’s true that they could get sick from not washing their hands after playing on the playground, but this is also exposing them to microorganisms that can help create natural antibodies.

According to the Huffington Post, scientists have discovered that our bodies are starting to miss microbes that were more common in previous generations. Scientists believe that the cause of this is twofold. First, children are not getting the essential exposure to good bacteria. Second, we are increasing the number of antibiotics we give children. This is detrimental because antibiotics kill not only the bad germs but the good ones. By doing so we are lowering our resistance to harmful bacterias.

You might cringe at the suggestion, but the next time your child goes out to play, leave the hand sanitizer at home. While you’re at it, if you have a family dog, or visit a friend with pets, don’t prevent the dog from licking your child’s face. Pets can also give microbial exposure to children that they wouldn’t otherwise have. 

You want what everyone wants for your child: a long, happy, and healthy life. So consider whether it’s time to let them get dirty and have a blast. And don’t just watch them have fun, join them! You could find it has some positive effects on your own life. If you’re looking for suggestions on how to get your children outside more checkout suggestions from The Children and Nature Network.

IMAGE: Pixabay / CC0 Public Domain