With the Easter holidays looming, spring into action with these great Easter-themed antics to enjoy with the kids. They’re guaranteed to encourage burgeoning botanical interests, whether you have a garden or not!
GRASS SEED EGGS
Remember Troll dolls? Well, these are the egg shell versions! Fantastically easy to make, all you need are some clean, empty egg shells, grass seeds or cress seeds (or any other quick growing seeds you fancy using) some cotton wool and paint, felt tips, or – for the ultimate in eggspression – some googly eyes as in the picture above. Hair should start appearing roughly six days after planting and the kids can delight in watching it grow right before their very eyes!
You can see the process in pictures with full instructions on alittledelightful.
MOSS TINS
Super simple and super pretty, it’s not just the kids who’ll enjoy making these moss-covered planters. Simply clean some old tin cans, place a piece of moss on the tin and attach by wrapping some twine around several times. Repeat until the can is covered. Trim the moss around the base once you’ve finished, place some pebbles inside for drainage and pop in your blooms of choice!
The full process can be found on oncewed.
EGG SHELL GARDEN
If you fancy trying to grow more than just ‘hair’, then creating a mini garden in egg shells will not only be lots of fun, but look how beautiful the finished box is! Another fantastically simple idea, all you need to do is fill your cleaned shells with some soil, plant a pretty mix of succulents and flowers, then finish by adding a layer of moss to cover the soil.
If you’d like more instructions check Maiko Nagao and for more images look up Le Robin’s Nest.
CARROT BUNTING
Not strictly botanical this one, but too much fun to miss out! Tempt the Easter bunny in with pretty and bright carrot bunting, which will look lovely either indoors, or draped along balconies, hedges, or patios. To craft your carrots you’ll need orange and green card, string, a stapler, a 1/16 inch hole punch and if you’d like your veg to have a wavy trim you’ll also need a scalloped border punch (but they look just as good straight-edged too!).
You can find exact lengths and measures on fiskars.
PLANT CARROTS
Or why not have a go at growing the real thing! Carrots can be grown all year round, although the main planting season is from April to July, so they’re a perfect project for the Easter weekend. You don’t need a garden to plant them in either. Short-rooted varieties will thrive in containers and growbags, or take heed from champion growers and go for record-breaking roots by sowing your seeds in lengths of drainpipe!
The RHS have a great guide to growing carrots on their website.
Happy Easter growing and making! For more ideas to get your little ones growing make sure you come along to the GROW London, 20-22 June, where there will be a fun-packed kids programme with many workshops led by children’s gardening expert Dawn Isaac.