Gardening with grandkids

If you are among the lucky few who can actually treat these pests as salad greens, be glad.

For most of us it means getting down on the kneeler or swiping away with the hoe or mulching, mulching, mulching.

Of course, the weeds don't have to ruin your pleasure as you contemplate your garden on these marvellous balmy mornings.

We can all develop a blinkered approach which screens out the undesirable and enjoys the freshness and colours regardless, but it's a bad feeling to see precious plants dwindle away because we have neglected them. 

So – do a little a day, prioritise the needs and bring it on.

Maybe one of the priorities could be fostering a love of the garden with the grandchildren.

As this column continues, I'll try to offer ideas I know have worked for and with young fry.

As a starting point, try to recall your own experiences with grandparents and gardens.

Most of us can recall at least one or two, whether scrabbling in the soil for spuds or picking the fruit crop or sniffing those flowers that only grandmothers seemed to grow.

Hunt for weeds

Youngsters seem to like planting, harvesting, and watering.

There's not a lot of enthusiasm from them, I’ve noticed, for raking paths, collecting dead heads or even weeding.

Unless - and here the deep cunning of the older generation applies - we turn it into a hunt, perhaps with a small reward.

Choose a clearly identifiable weed, eg Cleaver, sometimes known as biddy bid, is a good one. If the weed can be pulled rather than dug, so much the better.

The game is to find as many as possible within a specified area, and pull them roots and all. You will be inspecting the result and demerit points will/may apply!

If it's planting that you can envisage, quick results can be important.

Patience is not usually a virtue in anyone under about 30. Nasturtiums (which can of course be delicious in salads and sandwiches), Virginia stock and sunflowers are all winners. In the kitchen garden, it could be radishes or maybe mustard and cress.

Still thinking creatively, how about a hut?

Construction ideas are endless and sites need not be in the context of a leafy estate. Make it clear from the start that permanence cannot be guaranteed.

An easy one, achieved in most gardens, is a wigwam affair of sticks or stakes, either freestanding (advanced master builders look on and despair) or a leaning structure fashioned against a fence or hedge or wall.

If you have ivy, trails of this monster can be cut to enhance a camouflage look which seems to appeal. Decoration and a flag will probably follow and you will almost certainly be guest of honour.

Let's pass on some experience to another generation of the countless joys that a garden can conjure up.