Indoor Garden Ideas for Kids

Today’s blog is a guest post from Gardener’s Path, a great resource for indoor and outdoor plants. They’ve provided this great guide to kid-friendly plants that are easy and rewarding to grow. Consider planning an Earth Day activity with your kids to help them learn about plants and nature up close!

There’s nothing that can enrich a home better than a couple of plants; most people who keep and care for plants would tell you that this makes them feel more fulfilled. And when your kids start growing up, you want them to develop this kind of healthy habit as well. That’s why many parents start teaching their kids about caring for plants early on; plus, it’s a great way to practice personal responsibility and a love of nature.

On the one hand, you need a plant that’s not difficult to care for; but you also need one that’s safe for your child. Obviously, a cactus is pretty much out of the question in this regard; you don’t want your kid potentially getting themselves stung on it. Don’t worry, though - we’ve got a couple of suggestions on better plant choices!

Golden Pothos

This durable vine has quite a few names people recognize it by; like devil’s ivy or the money plant. You may have heard of people calling it philodendron as well; though this represents a misuse of the name that belongs to an entirely different plant species.

The pothos itself is a climbing vine that has leaves in the shape of hearts. One of its great health benefits is that it removes benzene, xylene, and formaldehyde, which are common indoor pollutants. However, be careful with dogs and cats - as this plant is toxic to them. You may want it up on a hard-to-reach shelf or in a hanging pot.

Snake Plant

This is another plant that goes by many names; such as the devil’s tongue or the mother-in-law’s tongue. The plant has fairly long leaves that stem from the ground straight up. If you’re going to teach your kids how to take care of this plant, you want to get the kind that has hard leaves; these don’t require very frequent watering and they’re durable plants

If you’re wondering where you can get this plant, you’ll find that it’s one of those that easily grow out of simple cuttings; so all you need is a friend or acquaintance who already has the plant, or you can take cuttings of one you already have. Observing the root growth over time and potting it into a larger container is a great way to keep kids interested in the growth of your snake plant. Much like the vine we’ve described above, snake plants like well-lit, warm areas of your household.

Snake plants are known to get rid of toluene, xylene, and formaldehyde from the air, plus they’re great for bedrooms because they provide oxygen during the night. However, they’re also toxic if you eat them, so toddlers or pets shouldn’t have access to them without supervision.

Spider Plant

Spider plants are common houseplants, also known by the name of “airplane plant,” on account of the plant letting out plantlets from the end of its stems. If these plantlets reach the ground upon dropping from the mother plant and find favorable soil, they will soon begin growing into a new plant.

There are two varieties to this plant, which differ only in the white stripes that are found on the leaves. But, both of them can be kept both indoors or outdoors at the right temperatures. Just like the ones we’ve described above, this plant is great for your health; it gets rid of any formaldehyde found in the air around it - and it’s not toxic!

Succulents

This is an entire category of plants you can keep in your home, which includes a number of species - like the cactus. But apart from cacti, it also includes plants with fleshy, thick leaves; designed to retain plenty of water for life in arid environments. In this family, you’ll also find a number of other popular plants, like aloe vera and the jade plant.

These plants like well-lit, warm conditions, and don’t require as much hands-on care nor much  watering. They won’t grow quickly, but they’re hard to kill as long as you don’t overwater. If you think your kids might love their succulents too much, stick with a foliage plant like pothos that is more forgiving of enthusiastic watering.

Peperomia obtusifolia

Next up, we’ve got an incredibly pet-friendly plant in the Peperomia obtusifolia; while the name is definitely a mouthful, it’s a plant that’s quite easy to care for, making it great for people who have kids or pets. Its actual natural habitat is a forest area with a lot of humidity; it feeds on the nutrients gained from tropical environments and tree debris.

There are a couple of different kinds, with both dark green, patched green, and yellow gold leaves. You can care for them indoors, but light and humidity are quite important for healthy growth.

Syngonium

Our penultimate choice is a vine, but a sturdy one, and one that won’t require too much daily care, perfect for children who are just getting into gardening and plant care. There are quite a few names of this plant, though it usually goes by arrowhead vine, or “five fingers.” While you’ll find it outside in some regions, this is most typically an indoor houseplant. You can grow it on its own, or as a part of mixed planting.

Once it ages a bit, it will begin to vine, so a hanging basket might be a good idea for this one, though you can train it on a trellis or a pole for support. Overall, caring for this plant is very easy. You should simply let it dry out completely between waterings; the roots rot out if you keep the plant too moist.

ZZ Plant

Lastly, we’ve got the ZZ plant - one of the easiest plants to cultivate and care for with children in your home. It’s everything kids like in a plant - it’s tough, pretty, and easy to care for. It comes from the same plant family as the abovementioned pothos.

Though this plant is not a cactus, it requires little watering; people living in low-humidity conditions like deserts keep this plant and water them basically once every couple of weeks. Also, the plant doesn’t require too much direct light, so you can keep it basically wherever you want.

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About the author: Marko Jovanovic is a lover of all things related to music and technology. Passionate traveler, fan of great programmers. A firm believer that a good teacher is forever a student.