This past sunny weekend found me in some of my favourite places…chilling by the soccer pitch, freezing by the baseball diamond and elbow deep in dirt in the backyard. The temperatures don’t seem summer-like, but I think it’s safe to say that we can look forward to frost-free nights, and that means I can plant with abandon. As a very fairweather gardener, I’m always looking for products that will make the time outside more fun and enjoyable.
This season, along with the marigolds, geraniums and pansies, I’m planting garden-in-a-bag. Available at Indigo stores across the country, the Potting Shed Garden-in-a-bag for Kids is just $16.99 and provides a full afternoon of fun (decorate the bag with crayons, markers or paint, dump in the soil, plant the seeds and water them), but also a season full of strawberries.
Children can spend the first 14-21 days watching their seeds germinate and sprout in their bag, and then a few weeks later the plants can be transplanted to a backyard or container garden and the real fun begins. Have your kids start scouring the cookbooks for strawberry ice cream, strawberry jam and strawberry pie recipes!
I think this new product makes a great go-to birthday gift for kids aged 3 and up. It’s also available in sunflower for your flower child!
Another great product for this season that you may want to use yourself is Green Beaver Company’s Gardener’s Balm. Using as many Canadian-grown certified organic ingredients n their products is a priority for this company and that’s why you’ll find them at health food stores across the country.
I tested the Gardener’s Hand & Heel Balm after a day spent digging in soil and found it very soothing. It’s also supposed to be great for rough elbows and knees (who me??) and eczema patches in the winter. It’s got a nice clean scent and left my hands soft without feeling greasy.
Now if the temperatures would just ease on up a little, I could sit back and watch my garden grow…