Gardening with kids: 5 fun and easy spring projects
It's not always easy to get my son out in the garden with me. Sometimes he’s all in, helping for hours and other times he’s done after ten minutes. But when he does join me, he loves it. He’s free to get messy, experiment and try things without too many rules; it's a kid's dream.
What I’ve found is that gardening with kids doesn’t have to be carefully curated. The simple stuff works best: scattering seeds, watering and snipping plants, or creating a new garden bed together. The projects that are personal and where the rewards go beyond the moment are the best.
Here are five easy projects that we’ve tried and that you can adapt to your own space this spring.
Project 1: Build a Kid-Friendly No-Dig Garden Bed
Few projects give kids (or adults) such instant satisfaction as creating a no-dig garden bed. Start by choosing a patch of lawn or a corner of the garden that isn’t being used but receives at least 6 hours of sunlight. Lay down thick sheets of cardboard or newspaper to smother weeds, ensuring there are no gaps for unwanted plants to come through. Directly on top of the cardboard, layer soil, compost, straw, or any organic matter you have on hand. It needs to be deep enough for a plant's root ball, so minimum of 10cm.
The cardboard does the hard work underneath for you — suppressing weeds, holding moisture, encouraging worms and slowly breaking down to feed the soil, while the layers on top are ready to plant into straight away. You can make the bed as big or as small as you want, and as long as your spot gets enough sunlight, your kids have the freedom to plant flowers, herbs or vegetables. You can even add a fairy garden, pebble path or small bird bath. The options are endless.
For kids, this is the ultimate transformation project: they get to build something with their hands, learn about worms and soil health, and then choose what to plant in their brand-new garden bed. It’s simple, low effort and hugely rewarding over time.
Project 2: Scatter Wildflower Seeds
If there’s one activity guaranteed to delight kids, it’s throwing seeds (although the results do require a bit of patience.) It's total gardening magic. All you have to do is toss them in bare soil, or in a pot, give them a little water and wait for the wildflowers to appear.
Seed bombs are perfect for children because they don’t require digging or precision. They can get their hands dirty (which they love) while finding out how plants grow. In a few weeks, they’ll be able to see the results of what they planted — an instant confidence boost and a learning opportunity.
Native seed bombs are my go-to. They’re packed with different Australian wildflowers, hardy enough for beginners, attract wildlife, butterflies and bees and provide variety and colour. These are all elements that will hold a child's attention for longer and show the importance of biodiversity.
Project 3: Pruning: A Grown Up Job Kids Love
If there’s one task my son always want to be part of, it’s cutting. With the right guidance, pruning can be a safe and satisfying way for children to get involved in the garden. It's fun snipping off dead flowers or tip pruning a hedge — it feels important and the results are instant.
Give your older kids a small pair of child-safe snips, florist scissors, or secateurs and show them how to clip bushy plants, pick vegetables or herbs, remove frost damage or deadhead spent flowers. By removing old blooms, they’ll encourage new growth and learn that a little care makes a big difference. Just make sure this activity is supervised; sharp tools must be handled with you or another adult right there alongside them.
It’s simple, practical, free and surprisingly fun. Kids get a kick out of knowing they’re trusted to take on the responsibility of a “grown-up” task.
Project 4: Choose Your Own Container for a Mini Veggie Patch
Take your kids to an op shop, tip shop, or even the back shed and challenge them to find something a little unusual to turn into a veggie planter. An old colander, teapot, sink, tub, or bucket can all work — as long as it’s food safe and has drainage (or you can add holes).
By starting with a container that feels special and different, I've found kids are instantly more engaged than if you hand them a plain terracotta pot. Once they’ve picked their quirky find, fill it with soil and plant quick growers like radishes, lettuce, spinach or cherry tomatoes. Watching food grow in their “treasure” container makes the whole project feel more theirs.
With a small trowel, a watering can, and the freedom to plant how they like they’ll learn about soil, watering and patience — with the tasty bonus of picking their own food.
Project 5: Personalise a Pot Plant 'Pet'
My son loves watering, but he's even more engaged when the plant feels like it’s his responsibility. A fun way to encourage this is to start with personalising a pot. It doesn’t have to be fancy — even an old plastic nursery pot will do. Grab some paint, shells, pebbles, or any craft materials you have on hand and let your kids decorate it however they like.
Once the pot is ready, plant a fast-growing herb or flower together. Then take it one step further: give the plant 'pet' a name. Suddenly, leafy greens become Larry the Lettuce or Rosie the Rosemary. Kids light up when they can treat their plant like a little friend — and the act of naming makes the connection stronger.
By turning it into something personal, kids are far more likely to take responsibility for daily care, whether it’s watering, pruning, or simply checking in on how “their” plant pet is doing.
Gardening with kids doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive. The fun comes from letting them try, get dirty and see the results of their own hands. Some days they’ll last ten minutes, other days they’ll stay outside until the sun goes down. Either way, the memories and lessons will last far longer.
Spring is the perfect time to start. Pick one of these projects this weekend, invite the kids outside and see where it leads. You might just find you’ve got a new gardening buddy by your side - like I do.
