Nature's Classroom: Plants for Curious Kids

I’ve been reflecting on childhood a lot lately: my own, the flourishing youth of the kids that belong to my fellow employees, and the future generations that have yet to inherit whatever mess of a world we leave behind. Summertime is often the golden season for children, with no school to worry about, plenty of swimming and sunshine to enjoy, and the whimsy of nature at their fingertips.

With our technologically focused society becoming more and more housebound, children are losing interest in the natural world. Reflecting on my own sepia-toned memories of summertime in the 90’s and early 2000’s, which were filled with treks through local woods, splashing in creeks, pushing skyward on swing sets and catching lightning bugs in the twilight, I feel a pang of sadness for iPad kids who glom onto their blue-lit idol at any given opportunity. I think it is our duty as lovers of nature, and as those that grew up in a bygone era where summertime was aglow with lush, green canopies and rainbow-sherbet-colored sunsets overhead - as opposed to the false luminescence of a handheld screen - to provide safe and provocative spaces for children to explore their outdoor environments while cultivating sensory memories that last well beyond their youth.

These formative moments helped to shape my love of nature as an adult and helped to establish a respect for the earthly creatures around me. This summer, now in my mid-thirties, I’ve been making an attempt to allow myself the childhood curiosity and exploration of my most cherished local environments.

Carefully stepping through leaf litter along our perimeter trails this week, I found myself enamored with nature in a way that my childhood self would appreciate: a mild startling from a garter snake slithering sneakily from its basking spot back into shrubby shelter; admiring dragonflies flitting about in a syncopated, aerodynamic dance along the pond’s edge; watching with awe as a pileated woodpecker eagerly pillages a rotting ash tree in search of insects; crouching over small, terrestrial pools in search of rogue tadpoles.

It is not solely the creatures that inhabit our natural environments that inspire playfulness. The plant species that sustain them and provide shelter offer equal opportunities for children to revel in the curiosities of nature. From interesting textures to bright and crayon-worthy colors, tactile and interactive seedheads, and pleasantly (or even unpleasantly!) aromatic specimens that stop even the staunchest of adults in their tracks, sensory plants that cater to the interests of children are abundant — although rarely thought of or incorporated into the landscape or garden setting for their benefit (unless, of course, that the designer has children relatives to be concerned with).

This week let’s take a look at some unique and captivating plants for the youngest and most promising generations of nature’s future stewards: those that will inherit and care for the soil that we have so mindfully tended in our own fleeting breadth of existence.

Plants with Fun Flowers

Asclepias tuberosa #1 (426 available)

Eupatorium coelestinum #2 (299 available)

Gaura lindheimeri Gaudi™ ‘Red’ #1 (203 available)

Liatris aspera #1 (653 available)

Liatris pycnostachya ‘Lavender Glowsticks’ #1 (189 available)

Rhynchospora colorata #1 (227 available)

Sanguisorba ‘Plum Drops’ #1 (55 available)

Verbena bonariensis #1 (31 available)

 

Flowers & Foliage with Fragrance

Allium ‘Medusa’ #1 PP28701 (596 available)

Agastache foeniculum #1 (281 available)

Agastache rugosa #1 (153 available)

Lavandula Phenomenal® PP24193 #1 (117 available)

Pycnanthemum muticum #1 (280 available)

Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Arp’ #1 (288 available)

 

Plants with Stimulating Seedheads

Aquilegia canadensis (620 available)

Baptisia australis (1516 available)

Bouteloua gracilis (177 available)

Penstemon digitalis (292 available)

Penstemon digitalis ‘Blackbeard’ PP30052 (486 available)

Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’ (380 available)

Verbesina alternifolia (56 available)

 

Plants with Edible Embellishments

Amelanchier x grandiflora Autumn Brilliance® PP5717

TREE FORM #10 (45 available)

MULTISTEM #7 (42 available)

Aronia melanocarpa ‘Viking’ #3 (40 available)

Fragaria virginiana quarts (150 available)

Prunus virginiana ‘Canada Red’ #20 (3 available)

Sambucus canadensis ‘Adams’ #3 (38 available)

Vaccinium angustifolium ‘Blue Jay’ (197 available)

Vaccinium angustifolium ‘Bluecrop’ (197 available)

Vaccinium angustifolium ‘Jersey’ (197 available)

 

Plants with Tactile Textures

Alchemilla mollis ‘Thriller’ #1 (120 available)

Amsonia hubrichtii #1 (3278 available)

Artemesia schmidtiana ‘Silver Mound’ #1 (78 available)

Cephalanthus occidentalis Sugar Shack® #3 PP26543 (445 available)

Eragrostis spectabilis #1 (688 available)

Equisteum hyemale #1 (188 available)

Indigofera gerardiana #3 (93 available)

Stachys byzantina ‘Helene von Stein’ #1 (231 available)