Make a Miniature Garden

Learn how seeds and plants grow, and build observation skills with this hands-on garden activity. First create your miniature garden and then track plant growth with the Nature Cat plant journal.

Tally ho! Let's garden! In Where Have All the Butterflies Gone?!, Nature Cat and his friends build a special garden for butterflies and caterpillars. Talk about different types of gardens with your child. Ask: What kind of gardens have you seen in person, in books or on television? Have you seen a vegetable garden, a flower garden, an herb garden or a butterfly garden? What kind of garden should we plant? Look for ideas on the suggested plants chart on page three of the Miniature Garden printable.

Directions

Ask your child: How can we start our own garden? What supplies will we need? Give your child a tray or 6-celled planter and some soil. Add a few small stones to the bottom of the planter to help with drainage. Then use a spoon to fill the tray or each cell about 2/3 full of soil.

Let your child pick one or more types of seeds to plant. Talk about the seeds. Are they small or large? Are they round or oval? What color are they?

Give your child the Nature Cat plant identifiers that match your seeds. You can laminate or use clear contact paper on the sticks to protect them from water. Put the sticks along the edge where the seeds will be planted.

Ask your child to use one finger to press a dimple into the middle of the soil – either one dimple in each cell or several dimples in a line on a tray. Then place the selected seeds into the dimple. Cover up the dimple with more soil.

Help your child add water to each cell or along the tray until the soil is moist. If using a container with drain holes or paper egg cartons, be sure to protect your work surface with a plastic tray or by placing a paper towel under the planter to absorb any extra water.

The miniature garden is ready! Let your child help think of a place to put the planter. Be sure to select a place that will provide the right amount of sun based on the the suggested plants chart or instructions that came with your seeds. Water your plants regularly as directed and then watch them grow!

Use the Nature Cat Plant Journal printable to document the growth of the plant(s) over time. How long did it take the seeds to sprout? How tall did they grow? How did the plants change and grow over time?