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I should have known when he was two and had to have green shoelaces. I really should have paid more attention when he wanted a green gardening hat and insisted on sleeping in it. The dreaded green gardening bug had taken a bite out of my little grandson. Now what could I possibly do about it?
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I love it! When Ethan was just turning 3, his dad took him to Lowes to buy a sandbox to play in at Nana's house. They came home with a GREEN battery powered loader for little kids.  When I asked what happened to the sandbox, Ethan told me that he needed the loader to help me move mulch to all my flower gardens. I should have known, the green shoelaces were the first clue. Last summer in addition to moving mulch from one end of my gardens to the other, my little guy also had a large container all his very own in which he planted a few seeds that I had leftover from years earlier. I had no idea whether or not they would grow, but grow they did, filling the container and providing lots of smiles, giggles and a million questions from my grandson. We greeted the dawn waiting for one pink morning glory to wake up and bloom. We ended the evening watching the moonflower blooms gradually open. Of course I have to take into the equation that he is a little boy, and the interest in digging in the dirt and slinging mulch around and finding earthworms is very normal. Add wiping eyes, ears, nose and mouth with dirt covered hands just adds to the excitement. Wash it all off with the garden hose and you have one happy little guy! Watching Ethan and his various interests grow and bloom is more exciting to me than waiting for my first daylily bloom, but before going through another growing season with him I knew I needed a more organized plan. My budding young gardener also loves books, every night before bedtime when he is with me, we read. With that thought in mind, I thought of ways that I might combine his interest in books with his interest in gardening, and maybe I have come up with a winner. Let me share it with you, and you can decide. Altered books is a term for a contemporary art form. Artists have a unique way of turning trash into treasure, and creating an altered book for a child is more than fun. All you need on hand is an old hard back book that you no longer want or need, a kid's glue stick, markers and colored paper. Now I know that a lot of old books are treasures, but I am talking about small old books on useless topics like how to write a letter or cleaning your treadle sewing machine. Those you no longer need, and the thinner the book the better. An altered book is any book that has been recycled by creative means into a work of art. It can be rebound, painted, cut, folded, torn, added to, collaged, and taken away from. I like to make sure mine have uses, too. The first thing you should do is to decide how many pages you want to keep in your book . Our book is going to include packets of seeds for children, so we need to allow for the added thickness the seeds will create. Once you have decided on the number of pages you need and allowing for a few extra just in case, start tearing or cutting out excess pages. Don't tear them all away from the same spot. Scatter the torn pages from front to back so that you will have some extra space between pages to allow for seed packets. Now that you have your pages torn away, think about the cover. Since I am making the book for a little guy who loves green, I am going to find all the green that I can in old magazines, scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, even construction paper will work. The tearing away of extra pages created some damage to the binding of the book, but you can repair that by gluing on a piece of paper that is large enough to cover the double pages. This strengthens the binding and it also covers any obvious tears that might have been made when you removed the pages. Keep the design simple. I found papers that matched and used them to create more interest i n the background. Change your design and your paper for each page. Change always eliminates boredom. Once the pages are finished and you are happy with it, decide on the seeds you will be sharing with your little guy. Since I am working with a 3 year old, I wanted to keep it simple and I wanted him to be able to understand it by looking at pictures as well as a few simple words. I printed a large picture of each flower that he would plant, and I also printed the flower's name in bold colorful letters. I also drew big yellow sunshine faces so that he would know the plant needed to be planted in full sun. The seeds that I chose all have similar requirements, again keeping it simple. Don't overwhelm a little one with too many seeds or too many directions. The fewer the better. Use small plastic seed packets or if you purchase seeds, simply use the packet they come in. If your child is old enough and near enough to you, he can help with placing the pictures, the words, the sun, and the seeds on the page, or you can do it for him. I use a double page for each plant. There are two reasons for this. First, the child doesn't need to be overloaded with information, and secondly it leaves room for pictures of the plant as it grows and blooms, and of course shots of your little guy when he smells the flowers! I made this book for Ethan, but the same could be done for older folks who have limited space or limited abilities. You might also adapt the idea for a project for a senior citizen's residence, or for anyone who has never gardened. You need only to adapt the directions to the age and ability of the recipient. Another idea is to use vegetable seeds and he will learn to grow his own food. I hope this article has encouraged you to have some fun with your children or your grandchildren, or with anyone with whom you would like to share your love of gardening. If you are not sure yet, take a look at your little one's shoes. If he is wearing green shoelaces, it's a sure bet he is ready for gardening.    My thanks again to my friend Gloria Cole, who planted the idea for this altered book. The photographs are from the private collection of the author.
 | I am a retired high school art and humanities teacher. I grew up in the Appalachian mountains of southeast KY and now I live with my two rescued cats, Jazz and Daisy, in far western KY. I love daylilies and perennials, and thanks to my DG friends this year I am adding roses to my gardens.
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Subject: Thank you!
Posted by c_jdub (from Aldrich, MN) on March 10, 2008 at 1:08 PM:I have a grandson interested in birds - gardening and birds go hand in bush. A great idea for an upcoming April birthday. Happy Easter! ...
Subject: Wonderful!!
Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on March 7, 2008 at 5:09 PM:You have done it again. What a wonderful idea! Thanks for sharing, my dear!!! ;) ... Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on March 7, 2008 at 7:03 PM: Ditto !!!
... Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on March 7, 2008 at 9:02 PM: What fun! One of the best things about a present like that is the promise implicit in every page... lots of time with Grandma in the garden!
Last weekend, I had a great time with my brother's kids... I brought up some seed packets and cut up some milk jugs for winter sowing. They had fun reading the descriptions and looking up the plants (in PlantFiles, of course) to decide which ones they wanted to sow in "their" jug (each chose 2 kinds, and for once nobody wanted one that somebody else had picked)... afterwards, they continued to play "look for pretty photos in PlantFiles," for quite some time. (It was also a good excuse to cuddle up with Aunt Jill and, more importantly, play with the cool touch-screen on my new laptop.) I figure it's part of my job description to make sure they get their hands good & dirty every so often! :-)
A journal or scrapbook project for their summer garden is a great idea... They've each been promised a corner of a new bed, and they're pretty excited about it. ... Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on March 7, 2008 at 9:26 PM: Great ideas Jill....and the fun part is when they see what they have grown. Last year Ethan could never get over his moon flower blooms. He could not believe he had helped them grow!
It is so good that you are sharing all your plant knowledge with them, not something they are likely to forget!
...
Subject: How much fun is that...
Posted by Bettypauze (from Victoria Harbour, ON) on March 7, 2008 at 1:21 PM:Shar, absolutely loved your story..can see you've had just as much fun preparing than Ethan will have planting and remembering his garden with you!
Love the stories you write, you've so many memories to share, Aunt Bett and now your garden time with Ethan...
Looking forward to many more... ... Posted by victorgardener (from Lower Hudson Valley, NY) on March 7, 2008 at 3:27 PM: Wonderful once again, Sharon! I am happy that both my boys have shown interest in gardening and each has his own little garden to take care of. Your idea is a great project for my little guy. Thanks! ...
Subject: Timely article for me.
Posted by Sheila_FW (from Fort Worth, TX) on March 7, 2008 at 8:10 AM:Thanks for the article Sharran! I will retire in a couple of months and planned to spend more time with a Great Nephew. I had thoughts of planting a butterfly garden and sewing wildflower seeds with him this spring. Your book has given me yet another inspriation to be able to make memories with him. ... Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on March 7, 2008 at 11:58 AM: So glad it will work for you, Sheila. I am sure your nephew will love it, and don't forget to take pictures along the way.
Thank you. ...
Subject: lovely
Posted by Dutchlady1 (from Naples, FL) on March 7, 2008 at 7:20 AM:Inspiring the next generation of gardeners... how fun. ... Posted by pixie62560 (from South China, ME) on March 7, 2008 at 8:14 AM: Very crafty and a great idea!! I think i'll make one for my DGD's who love helping me plant sunflowers and pumpkins. ... Posted by grampapa (from Wheatfield, NY) on March 7, 2008 at 8:18 AM: What a wonderful idea! I wish I had little ones to share it with. I enjoyed very much sharing your little story of Ethan's gardening, though. I takes me back :0)
thanks
~ jan ... Posted by plantladylin (from Daytona Beach, FL) on March 7, 2008 at 9:20 AM: Oh what a wonderful, creative idea! I know your little grandson Ethan will treasure his very first Gardening Book, made with so much love and care with the help of his grandmother! I have a hunch it will still be around when he's 23!
What a great way to get young children interested in gardening. I remember a couple of my niece's and nephews at that age, used to love planting flowers with me. They mostly loved the hose and watering everything in site but they also liked picking the flowers once they bloomed!
Your idea of a children's gardening book would be a great project for a kindergarden class! If they had a little plot of ground where they could plant some seeds, it would be a total learning experience for them too! I know some high schools have class gardens ... why not kindergardener or elementary classes too?
Thanks so much for sharing your great article! ... Posted by gloria125 (from Greensboro, AL) on March 7, 2008 at 10:10 AM: Of course I thought this was a great idea! You have so many!
And if only every grand parent would teach gardening, or wood working, or just an appreciation of the morning to a grandchild our world would be a richer place.
Thanks, Sharran. ... Posted by cathy4 (from St. Louis County, MO) on March 7, 2008 at 10:58 AM: What a neat book, and a good project while we wait for the snow to melt. Thanks for sharing! ... Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on March 7, 2008 at 11:57 AM: I am so glad you liked the article, and glad you got new ideas from it. I like the idea, Pixie, of keeping the varieties of seeds to a minimum, strawberries and pumpkins would be a good start. I want to see pictures!!!
Plantladylin, you are so right, wouldn't it be a great school project for a lot of different ages?
Thank you so much for all your kind words, glad it was something you can use.
And Gloria, ideas can't go anywhere without that little push, you know.
Thanks. ... Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on March 7, 2008 at 12:46 PM: Fantastic fantastic fantastic! I knew I had to read Green Shoelaces, and I'm so glad I did! I made DD#1 a book when she was one or two about sitting in her car seat - all the pictures starred her, of course. Thank goodness, she's only 17 and I have NO DGD or DGS! But I have both that belong to my DSS, and they are JUST the right age for a book like this, and I am JUST the strange, kooky not-Grandma not-Aunt that would make it, too. PERFECT!!!! I kneel in the long shadow of your excellence, Sharran. THANK YOU!
xx, Carrie ... Posted by soulgardenlove (from Marietta, GA) on March 7, 2008 at 2:31 PM: Love it!! ... Posted by terichris (from Naples, FL) on March 7, 2008 at 9:01 PM: So nice! My girls will love this! In fact we have a birthday coming up in April. Thanks for the great idea! I have some small envelopes made of velum or a waxpaper type material that will be great to glue into the pages for pressed flowers or photos! Thanks again for the inspiration. ... Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on March 7, 2008 at 9:21 PM: Have fun with your girls, Terichris....it is a fun thing to do with lots of ages.
And it is a project that can be adjusted to fit all ages, too. I hadn't thought of pressed flowers, but another great idea to include.
Thanks. ...
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