One expert offers tips to encourage the whole family to play in the dirt!
Ashleigh Byrne, a Brookhaven- based gardening consultant, has parlayed her first-hand experience gardening with her family into a flourishing business. The former teacher grew up gardening with her father and grandfather, and made the pastime a focus of the blog Whisk Grow Home that she founded in 2019. Once the pandemic hit and people were spending more time at home, she received overwhelming requests for advice on how to get started. In 2024, Byrne pivoted to exclusively sharing family-friendly tips via social media and her blog, as well as in-person and via virtual consultations to help families design, create and manage kitchen gardens.
“It’s cliche, but being outside together does bring families closer. It’s a way to connect, to lower anxiety or stress and for families to take ownership of the things they plant,” she says. Here are her tips for getting your family involved.
Set realistic expectations
Byrne says it’s important to get clear on what the family can manage. “Is it just one raised bed to grow herbs, or do you think you have the time to do flowers or cucumbers?” she asks. “You need to be realistic about what your lifestyle is like. Even I, who love to grow things and would be out there all the time if I could, only get 20 minutes some days.”
While it might be tempting to dive in head-first and really commit, she says to keep it manageable at first. “It doesn’t have to be fancy. A few decent-sized terracotta pots or a large patch of dirt with some good soil mixed in will do the trick. A raised bed is wonderful, but space or budget shouldn’t keep you from starting a garden with your family,” she says.
Offer age-appropriate tasks
Even toddlers can get involved. Byrne suggests buying them kid-sized tools to foster fine motor skills and get them used to the dirt. “Gardening makes them feel powerful and independent,” she says. Don’t be overbearing and controlling with tasks at this age. Try a sensory garden with herbs, velvety Lamb’s ears and plants they can prune with child-safe clippers.
Elementary-aged children can get more involved in the planning and maintenance. Byrne has schoolaged children and a bed dedicated to them where they get to make the decisions. “My son loves snap peas, so we grow them,” she says. Focus on concepts like the science of plants and the math and reasoning behind measuring and spacing.
Pre-teens and teens can lose interest in gardening, and it can be tough to get them to devote time to helping with tasks in the yard. Byrne says to focus on quality time instead. Any time spent together outdoors is a win. “Being outside can be a great stress reliever for this age,” she says.
Foster their interest outside the garden
It doesn’t all have to be hands-on work in the dirt. Instead, keep books about gardening on hand for family members of all ages to explore. Byrne suggests A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Huts Aston and Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert for preschoolers. She recommends Gardening for Everyone by Julia Watkins and Vegetable Gardening for Beginners by Jill McSheehy for older children. She also suggests taking them to the nursery to pick out plants and research them. “Whatever your child is into, lean into that,” she says.
ashleighbyrne.com
@ashleighbyrne
