Tomatoes Beefsteak

Herbs Parsley, Triple Curled Forest Green

This is a reliable sandwich tomato that produces high yields of 1-2 lb. deep red fruits on 6-8 foot vines. The flavor is delicious.

This is a great herb for a children’s garden. The densely curled “fluff” of leaves is irresistible for little hands, and when harvested, it tastes good.

Tomatoes Red Grape Sugar Plum

Flowers Four O' Clocks, Marvel of Peru

Every child should grow tomatoes and if they can only grow one kind, it should probably be a grape tomato. These grape-sized tomatoes are the perfect size for little hands to pick and eat right off the vine. They are unbelievably tasty especially when still warm from the summer sun.

This is a MUST HAVE for a children’s flower garden. Four O’ Clocks are a great teaching flower. Because Four O’ Clocks bloom at 4:00 PM each day, they teach children how plants can respond differently to changing light levels. They are a unique, interesting and easy to grow flower.

Tomatoes Yellow Pear

Flowers Marigold, Jolly Jester

This is my favorite tomato and the first tomato that my children ever grew. I don’t think there is a better tasting tomato, fresh off the vine. However, the vines are susceptible to disease, and we have frequently lost our whole crop halfway through the season. If you have the room to plant several kinds of tomatoes include this one in the mix. The look on your child’s or grandchild’s face when his/her little cheeks are stuffed with yellow pear tomatoes will make it all worthwhile.

This is a delightful little marigold that will instantly call to mind a plant full of little clown blooms. Easy to grow.

Watermelon Golden Midget

Flowers Moonflower

This is a wonderful watermelon for children. Little hands can easily harvest the tiny 3 lb. fruit, and it is easy to know when they are ripe because the rind turns a bright golden yellow that contrasts beautifully with the sweet salmon-pink flesh. Matures in just 70 days.

This is a MUST HAVE for a children’s flower garden. Like the Four O’ Clocks, the Moonflower is a great teaching flower. This beautiful, 10-12 foot long vine will only bloom in the evening. It produces an abundance of large, beautiful, white and intensely fragrant, trumpet-shaped flowers. It is a great example of how plants respond differently to varying levels of light.

Watermelon Moon & Stars

Flowers Morning Glory

This is a MUST HAVE for a children’s garden. This is a legendary variety developed in 1926, lost for decades, and then rediscovered in Macon, Missouri. The dark green rinds of the melons are covered with tiny yellow “stars” and at least one large yellow “moon”. The vines have speckled yellow on green leaves. The red flesh is incredibly sweet. Melons range from 10-20 lb.

This is a MUST HAVE for a children’s flower garden. These rambling 10-12 foot vines are also a great teaching flower for children because they only bloom in the early morning.

Heavenly Blue

Scarlet

Watermelon Orange Glo

Flowers Sunflower, Mammoth

This is a very unusual watermelon. Large 20-30 lb. fruits have remarkably sweet orange flesh and a distinctively mottled light green and dark green rind. Prolific yielder.

Every children’s garden should have some sunflowers. Mammoth is the largest sunflower we know of. The plants grow to a marvelous 10-12 feet tall and the flower heads can be more than a foot in diameter. The birds will love the seeds that they pick from the heads or that fall to the ground – so will the squirrels and chipmunks.

Herbs Basil, Italian Large Leaf Sweet

Flowers Sunflower, Red Sun

No introduction to herbs in a children’s garden should be without basil. This variety is very easy to grow from seed and tastes great. The plant is beautiful to look at too.

3.5 ft., bright red flowers.

Herbs Basil, Dark Purple Opal

Flowers Sunflower, Teddy Bear

The dark purple leaves of this basil make a sharp contrast to other basils and to other plants in the garden. This herb is a visual treat as well as a tasty addition to salads and dressings.

This dwarf, 18-30 in., fully double sunflower will delight children. It is a great picking flower for Mom or Grandmom or it is just beautiful to look at in the garden.

Herbs Chives

Flowers Zinnias

Chives are quick and easy to grow and can be harvested again and again by cutting off the tops. They are a great herb to introduce to children and they taste great on top of the sour cream on a baked potato.

Just like I believe that every child should grow tomatoes, I believe that every child should grow zinnias. They should grow their favorite colors, and they should pick and pick and pick them. Zinnias are the easiest of all flowers to grow, and they will reward each bloom that is picked by producing two more. Zinnias are America’s flower, and they should bring enjoyment to the youngest gardeners as well as their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

Canary Bird - Yellow

Oriole - Orange

Polar Bear - White

Royal Purple - Deep Purple

Will Rogers - Scarlet

Herbs Parsley, Italian Giant

Flowers Antique Sweet Peas

This is a new variety which grows to 2 feet, but still produces tasty green leaves. Its size is what makes it of interest for a children’s garden.

Along with the rose, sweet peas were the favorite flowers of the Victorian era, and many strains were developed prior to 1910 for the depth of their colors and their wonderful fragrances. Like zinnias, sweet peas are a marvelous picking flower.

Beaujolais – Burgundy

Black Knight - Purplish-Maroon

Blanche Ferry - Rose-Red and White

Geranium Pink - Cerise-Pink

Indigo King - Violet-Maroon

King Edward VII - Crimson