Graduated Gardening

Starting seeds indoors is fun and a good learning tool, but sometimes you just need instant tah dah! Here’s where I turn to forcing bulbs, especially ones that already have a bit of flower coming up.

My little guy had fun taking hyacinths and plopping them in a cup of rocks for a little windowsill decoration near his play table. They can help scoop the rocks into the cup and pour the water so they really own the project. Just be sure the water only skims the bottom of the bulbs. Otherwise they may rot.

We had hyacinth on hand from my own forcing attempts, but this can be done with tulips, daffodils and crocus to name a few. Older children may want to plant several varieties and track their growth for a late winter project.

Note to self: Know your plants.
In my impatience for a little greenery, I happily started several seeds indoors. This included scarlet runner beans for the little guy. The plan is to add them to a teepee structure we put up a few weeks ago.
Many of the seedlings are going crazy indoors, yet it’s not quite warm enough to plant outside. That includes the little guy’s runner bean.

For now they’re serving as a living screen at the window in front of his work table. He likes to touch the vines and tries to smell them, as he does with all plants. These eventually will be placed outside, where hopefully they’ll put on lovely red flowers. I read that these will also attract hummingbirds. Unexpected bonus!

One word of caution: when planting scarlet, be careful that a bean isn’t eaten. Apparently the dappled beans are toxic unless thoroughly cooked. According an article at “Were You Wondering,” it only takes five raw beans to be harmful.

The little guy is big into a new tricycle he got for Christmas. After one of his many requests to go for a ride, I switched things up a bit and headed to a nearby wildlife corridor that is also the site of the city’s largest colony of Blue Herons.  The birds make their nests there from February through July or August, but sadly none was spotted this day. It was an opportunity to introduce him to an urban wildlife habitat, though, and let him explore plants of a scale not in our garden. This well-established Heather was a big hit, making a shaker noise every time he brushed his hand through it. I wish we had one in our yard of this size!

Our outing also served as a reminder to be diligent in teaching that he should never touch or eat anything without my permission, especially outside and in gardens. This delicious looking temptation was mixed in with english ivy and hanging over a fence along the sidewalk. It’s likely climbing nightshade, sometimes called bittersweet, and is known to be a thug in the garden and toxic to pets and children. That’s thumbs down in my book. I’ve read that pets will usually avoid, and because it isn’t really tasty like it looks, the little ones won’t eat enough to do real harm. But who wants that risk?

So off we went to our wildlife destination, Kiwanis Ravine. The demonstration site gives visitors a chance to see ongoing forest restoration, and features interpretive signs that detail the sloping ravine and dry upland areas. The space was donated to the city in 1950 by the Kiwanis Club, and more area was added in 1980 through public efforts. The ravine was one of 30 areas mapped out as a “green space” under a 1993 policy aimed at preserving natural habitat, according to Seattle Parks and Recreation. The law also sought to mitigate noise and air pollution, reduce the need for man-made storm water systems and preserve natural drainage.

I’m sorry to say I hadn’t been in this area before, although I’ve walked by. Perhaps I was deterred because I had the dogs, which I for sure wasn’t taking into a heron sanctuary! There’s nothing like a child to freshen up the routine, though. It’s just another reminder to never stop exploring plants and wildlife, because we all can learn a little something, regardless of age or expertise.