Gardening Tip:
By Sara Snow; Green Lifestyle Expert, TV Host and Author of Sara Snow’s Fresh Living
Summertime is the time to be outdoors and gardening is a perfect activity to relax a busy mom’s mind and entertain small children.
Even if you don’t have a big yard for a garden, you can use a small patch or containers to grow some edible plants with your kids. What you plant is completely up to you, but I recommend starting with foods that you’ll actually eat because those will be the things you’ll most happily tend to. Basil, oregano, chives, parsley, and rosemary are good starter herbs. And cucumbers, tomatoes, pole beans and lettuce are great easy vegetables to grow.
Here’s a simple idea: grow a salad bowl. Take a large container, about three feet across, and plant a variety of lettuces (arugula, romaine, endive, and red leaf will make a colorful and nutritious salad mix), as well as some chives and other herbs for dressing, and a dwarf cherry tomato plant. Harvest and enjoy!
With a few strategically placed pest-repelling plants, you can make your garden a more restful place, so you can relax outdoors without the temptation of spraying chemical laden repellants. Studies have shown catnip to be ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than the common bug spray ingredient DEET. Catnip, geraniums, lemon thyme, marigolds and rosemary are just a few mosquito-repelling plants that you can easily grow.
