Plant a love of gardening in kids

Kristin Berg Thompson's three children don't have to search very hard to find caterpillars in their backyard. The Minneapolis family created a butterfly garden several years ago, filling it with host plants such as milkweed, sedum, native prairie blazing star and purple coneflowers that attract butterflies and offer them a spot to lay their eggs.

The kids -- Trace, 12, Rory, 10 and Dorothea, 8 -- often bring caterpillars inside the house on a milkweed pod or place them in a butterfly tent to observe their metamorphosis before releasing the brilliant new butterflies into their yard.

"There is something very transformative about watching a caterpillar become a butterfly," said Thompson. "Sometimes after the release, the butterflies will stay and settle around the host plant, but others fly away. It's always a beautiful sight."

Karen O'Connor and Paige Pelini, owners of Mother Earth Gardens in south Minneapolis, said back-yard gardening of all kinds is more popular than ever and is especially catching on with families.

"Gardening is really entertainment with a purpose," said Pelini. "People are truly interested in finding genuine ways to spend time with their kids."

Whether in plots in the back yard or containers on the front step, planting a garden is a great way to engage kids in what Pelini refers to as "the lessons of noninstant gratification."

"We are such an instant society. With gardening, you just have to let go and know you're not really in control," said O'Connor.

This doesn't mean kids can't take on some responsibility and do their part to help create a thriving garden. Start by letting them choose the seeds or plants for vegetables and flowers they like or encourage them to try something new.

"I always say that I got my kids to like Brussels sprouts because I told them they were Barbie cabbages," said Pelini, mother of three teenage girls.

Other fun ideas for kids include the classic pizza garden -- tomatoes, oregano, onions and basil -- or what Pelini called a version of "Mr. McGregor's Garden," featuring small peas, baby carrots and cherry tomatoes.

As gardeners of every age know, the planning and planting is a lot more fun than what takes up most of the time in the summer -- weeding, watering and general maintenance -- but this too is a teachable moment for kids.

"The middle part is hard. It's hard for all of us. But if they stick with it, kids can be so proud of what their garden looks like and what it produces," said O'Connor.

Kids also like sharing flowers or vegetables from their garden with friends and neighbors. The Thompson family, who originally received many of the plants for their butterfly garden from friends, also enjoys giving others tiny caterpillars attached to a milkweed pod in a little jar so their friends can watch the transformation process for themselves.

"I believe urban kids really need a way to experience nature," said Thompson. "And starting a garden is really not complicated at all."