A guide to children’s gardening to nurture growth and curiosity

Gardening provides lots of benefits to children, supporting their growth, development, and well-being. It connects them with nature and builds a sense of responsibility and confidence.

Activities can be engaging and inexpensive, giving your children lasting memories and plenty of chances to learn through play.

Let’s explore the top reasons to get involved in children’s gardening and check out some EYFS gardening ideas and practical tips to help you get started at home.

The benefits of children’s gardening

Here are the top benefits of children’s gardening: 

• Develops motor skills: As children move across uneven surfaces like soil or sand, they build balance, which strengthens their gross motor skills. At the same time, activities like pinching seeds, pulling weeds, and using small gardening tools help refine fine motor skills.
• Boosts the immune system: Spending time in natural environments like gardens helps strengthen children’s immune systems. Research shows that playing in soil and being around plants can introduce helpful microbes that support immune development and may lower the risk of allergies and other immune-related issues.
• Encourages healthy eating: Children will build better relationships with food by becoming involved in growing what they eat. If a child plays a part in growing a fruit or vegetable, they’ll be more likely to eat it, improving their diet and health. 
• Supports self-regulation: Caring for plants promotes patience and responsibility in children. Being in garden areas gives them more space, and they can be more encouraged to express their feelings. 
• Provides physical activity: Children can improve their physical activity and gain strength in many different ways in the garden. Lifting plant pots, digging soil, carrying watering cans, and pulling weeds all help build muscle and coordination while keeping them engaged outdoors.
• Improves well-being: Being in nature is naturally calming, benefiting children’s wellbeing. Taking part in outdoor activities and interacting with nature, such as growing plants, can also give children a sense of purpose, which can improve their overall mood. 
• Encourages STEM learning: Gardening gives children a hands-on approach to explore scientific principles. Problems may also occur, such as a plant requiring a structure for support as it grows, or a seed packet needing to be evenly distributed in a certain number of pots. This pushes children to think critically and supports their engagement in engineering, mathematics, and technology. 
• Teaches respect for the world: Interacting with plants and animals gives young children responsibility and builds their appreciation for the world, shaping how they live and make choices in the future.

EYFS garden ideas for exploration and learning

Gardening at home and garden-related activities offer wonderful learning opportunities for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). 

Here are some engaging EYFS garden ideas and activities you can try with your children

1. Planting crops and flowers

An easy, low-cost activity to do with your children is growing vegetables and other crops. All you need are some pots with drainage or a small patch of soil, and some seed packets. If you don’t have the option to plant in an outdoor garden, a few pots on a balcony, windowsill, or doorstep work just fine.

Some beginner and child-friendly crops and flowers to plant include:  

• Carrots
• Lettuce
• Berries
• Pumpkin
• Tomatoes
• Sunflowers
• Runner Beans
• Basil
• Mint
• Rosemary
• Marigolds
• Pansies

Once the pot is filled with soil, have your child gently press down the soil so it’s firm but not packed too tightly. Then, they can use their fingers to make small holes that are just deep enough for the type of seeds they’re planting.

Drop one or two seeds into each hole, add some soil on top, and give the pot a gentle shake or pat to even it out. Finally, let them water the seed using a small cup or spray bottle. 

Place the pot in a sunny spot, and encourage your child to check in on it each day to see what changes.

What this teaches: Growing crops and flowers helps children learn patience, care, and consistency. As they watch seeds grow into something they can eat or enjoy, they’ll have a hands-on understanding of nature’s cycles. It also encourages curiosity about the environment, seasons, and the importance of nurturing living things.

2. Sprouting Seeds

Instead of growing full plants in soil, you can try sprouting seeds, which focuses more on the very first stage of a plant’s life when a seed starts to grow roots and shoots. 

Use clear containers like jars or plastic cups with a damp paper towel or cotton wool inside. Your children can place seeds against the side so they can clearly watch the changes each day.

This activity is quick, clean, and ideal for limited space. You don’t need soil, and most seeds will sprout in just a few days with some light and moisture.

What this teaches: Sprouting seeds introduces basic science concepts like germination, plant growth, and life cycles. Children get a front-row seat to watch how roots push downward and shoots reach up toward the light. 

It encourages observation, curiosity, and patience, which are all key traits that support early learning and help build an understanding of how things change and grow over time.

3. Treasure hunting in the garden

Treasure hunting in the garden helps children connect with nature while developing their observation and reasoning skills.

Preparing for the hunt: Start by hiding small natural items like pinecones, painted rocks, or other treasures in different spots around the garden. You can also hide a “main treasure,” like a small toy or a special item, as the final reward.

Creating clues: Use simple pictures or symbols to make clues easy for young children to follow. Draw pictures of the garden bed, bird feeder, tree stump, or whatever landmarks are part of the hunt. 

For older children, you can make a list of items commonly found in the garden, such as leaves, flowers, rocks, insects, or birds. You can even make the list more specific to challenge them, such as asking for a round pebble, a pointy leaf, or a red flower.

What this teaches: Treasure hunts are an excellent way to encourage exploration and critical thinking. They help children develop their observation skills, patience, and problem-solving abilities. As they work through the clues to find the hidden treasures, children use logic and reasoning while expanding their initiative.

4. Decorating plant pots

Let children get creative by decorating their own plant pots before planting. This activity is best done outside on a sunny day, where the paint will dry more quickly and cleanup is easier.

Start with a clean container, like terracotta, plastic, or a recycled tin can, and make sure there are drainage holes. Terracotta is great for painting, while plastic works well for sticking on materials like magazine cuttings or fabric.

Apply a base coat of water-based emulsion paint and let it dry fully. While it dries, encourage your children to sketch out their design ideas, like patterns, animals, faces, or abstract shapes.

Using small brushes or sponges, they can add their designs one colour at a time. Remind them to let each layer dry before applying another to keep it neat. 

Finally, help your child seal the surface with a final layer of PVA glue or a safe varnish. 

Helpful materials to have: 

• Stencils
• Chalk 
• Acrylic paints or paint pens
• Brushes and sponges
• Stickers or tape
• Ribbons or yarn
• Googly eyes
• Fabric scraps
• Sequins and beads
• Natural items like dried leaves, twigs, and pressed flowers
• Craft glue or glue sticks

What this teaches: Decorating pots lets your child’s creativity flow. It also teaches planning and patience, while supporting fine motor skill development. Painting, glueing, and handling small craft items all contribute to hand–eye coordination and dexterity.

5. Build a terrarium

A terrarium is like a tiny indoor garden enclosed in glass that lets children explore nature up close. 

Start by finding a clean, clear container like an old jam jar, vase, or small fishbowl. Add a layer of small pebbles or stones at the bottom to help with drainage. Over that, add a layer of potting soil. If you have some, a thin layer of activated charcoal between the stones and soil can help keep the environment fresh and prevent mold.

Gently add ferns, mosses, and other terrarium plants into the soil and water just enough to dampen it. Children can then get creative by adding small decorations like shells, figures, and twigs. 

Once the terrarium is complete, place it in indirect sunlight. 

Your children can watch how water cycles through their container as condensation appears and disappears. If it’s a closed terrarium, they’ll see how it self-waters through humidity.

Encourage them to observe the terrarium each day and prompt them to consider if anything needs adjusting. For example, if the glass is fogging up, the environment may be too moist, and removing the lid for a few hours can help rebalance it. 

What this teaches: Terrariums give children a way to understand plant care, the water cycle, and mini ecosystems. They also build patience, responsibility, and problem-solving skills, as terrariums are long-lasting and require ongoing attention to stay healthy.

General tips for gardening with children

Make gardening and other outdoor activities more fun and educational with these simple tips:

• Stimulate their senses: Encourage children to smell flowers, feel different textures of leaves and soil, and listen to the sounds of nature around them. With sensory-rich experiences, they’ll be more engaged and willing to learn. 
• Embrace the messiness: Letting children explore messy activities, like digging, splashing water, or handling soil, supports creativity and builds confidence. 

Becoming comfortable with a bit of “dirtiness” also allows children to focus more on discovery and less on staying clean, which leads to more meaningful learning experiences.

• Avoid reinforcing fear of bugs: Use encounters with insects as teachable moments rather than something to avoid. Instead of reacting with discomfort, guide your children to observe different bugs and ask questions. 

When children learn to respect and feel comfortable around all aspects of nature, they build a stronger connection to the environment and are more likely to act responsibly toward it.

• Use child-friendly gardening tools: With smaller, suitable tools, the tasks become more manageable for young children. This promotes independence, as they’ll feel more capable and confident in their ability to help out.
• Create basic garden rules: Set clear, age-appropriate guidelines that create structure and safety in the garden. Teach children to walk carefully on garden paths to avoid trampling plants, remind them to be gentle when handling flowers, and show them how to use gardening tools properly to avoid hurting themselves.
• Let children gravitate toward the activities they enjoy most: Every child has their own interests and strengths, so let them explore the activities that excite them the most. By allowing children to follow their interests, you keep the gardening experience personal and engaging.
• Tending to young minds with the help of nature

Gardening and nature-based activities offer children numerous physical and mental benefits. Engaging with the natural world helps children learn about their environment while having a chance to exercise their curiosity and imagination.

N Family’s nurseries provide abundant opportunities for children to connect with nature. Different outdoor spaces can feature vegetable patches, sandpits, and other areas designed to support children’s development in a practical, engaging way. 

With thoughtfully designed, nature-rich environments, our nurseries encourage exploration, support creativity, and provide a nurturing space for children to learn and grow.

Find a UK nursery near you that values gardening and outdoor activities, and has the resources to help your children develop, explore, and connect with the world around them.