Plant a Window Garden – Get a copy of "First Garden Activity Book"

As the days grow longer and the weather begins to warm, planting a window garden can be the perfect fix for spring fever! It can also be a great family activity as you watch the plants grow and change together over the season. Gardening teaches kids the rewards of sticking with a project that takes time to cultivate, which can be a rarity in today's world of instant-gratification.

With a window box you can look out on lots of flowers without having to go outside (which can be especially nice during the rainy month of April). Choose flowers in one or two colors, or go for a riot of bright colors. Look for plants with interesting leaves and for trailing plants to go at the front of the window box.

Here's what you'll need:

- Small plants (2 or 3 of each kind), such as Daisies, Bellflowers, Busy Lizzies, and Pansies.

- Potting soil

- Clay pellets or gravel

- A window box with drainage holes in the bottom and a drip tray

What to do:

1. Fill the bottom of the window box with a layer of clay pellets just over 1 inch (3 cm) deep, to stop the soil from getting soggy.
2. Half fill the window box with potting soil. If the soil is very dry, water it before you start anything.
3. Keeping the plants in their pots, arrange where to put them. Tall plants should go at the back and trailing ones at the front.
4. One at a time, take each plant out of its pot and gently loosen its roots by pulling them free from the potting soil.
5. Dig a small hole. Gently put the first plant in, making sure its roots have enough room. Press the soil around the plant.
6. Plant the other plants. Fill in the gaps between them with soil and press it firmly, leaving space for watering.

Once you have your garden planted, you have to remember to continue to care for it. As you see how differently plants grow and flower, you can get ideas for other arrangements to try out. Here are a few tips to keep your window garden in tip-top shape:

- Watering: Water the window box enough to keep the soil slightly moist. It will need to be watered every day in the warm weather.

- Dead-heading: The plants in the window box will flower for longer if you regularly pick or snip off any dead flower heads.

- Feeding: Once every six weeks or so, "feed" the plants by adding a little liquid plant food to the water in your watering can.

- Pest control: The simplest way to get rid of greenflies on the plants is to spray them with an organic pest killer. Make sure you assist the kids with this step.

- New plants: If one plant in the window box dies, carefully dig it up. Plant another in its place, pressing the soil firmly around it.

Have you ever tried any gardening activities with your kids? How did they turn out?

Share your gardening stories by posting an article (or articles) to Parenting.gather.com. Tell us about the garden(s) your child has grown or plans to grow. You can include pictures in your articles too! Two members who publish their article between now and April 13^th will be randomly selected to receive a copy of First Garden Activity Book and First Cooking Activity Book.

Over the next four weeks, the Parenting group will ask you to share stories about your child's cooking and gardening activities. If your article is selected not only will you receive the activity books mention above, but you will be put in a drawing to receive the Made with Care library before it hits store shelves in June! These book are created from FSG-certified and recycled paper materials, printed in the US with vegetable-based inks to reduce carbon emissions and written by authors who are champions of the green movement.

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