In A Dinosaur’s Garden

On my second Clarence Day in the erectile halls of the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show , I discovered Sproutopia in a generous side room . The folk at the show thoughtfully created a space where the ducky munchkins could learn while blowing off a little steam . There were kids jump on beanbag chairperson , a too - cool collection of carnivorous flora , and table loaded with miniature gardens . It was those little tabletop reality , created by educatee around the Bay Area , that entice me in .

I wish well I ’d been in the classrooms when the projects were taking form , so I could watch over the design process unfold . How did the tyke get their creative juices flowing ? What methods did they use to select a theme and decide on materials ? Did they have a budget ?

Sound intimate ? These are the same problems everyone grapples with designing their own pace . Garden design is a complex employment in balancing the conflicting needs of plants and people , while creating beauty and benefit . The youngster seemed to have no fuss .

Their garden fell into three category :

Theme Garden

One of my client account their dreaming paper as “ Don Ho meet Gilligan ’s Island . ” Five words that talk volumes : bamboo , palm tree , lush foliation , alien fragrances . I can just hear the kids brainstorming themes for their own projects : “ I ’m thinking hobo camp tree house on the moon ring by sawhorse stables and mermaids , and totally edible but not using much weewee . ”

nontextual matter for Art ’s Sake

Eco - Kids

Conserving resourcefulness is part of that openhanded picture and the “ Little Water Garden ” doubly lived up to its name – it was n’t very big and it accent plants that do n’t use a lot of water . In the quad of that little categorical , they planted four arid ecosystem and populate each with appropriate types of vegetation . Right Plant / Right Place is the footing of sustainable landscaping and the fry nail it .

Sproutopia was one of the highpoints of my San Francisco Flower and Garden Show sojourn . Seeing how the kids approach garden innovation reinforced of few of my fundamental beliefs:• The basic rule of garden intent do naturally , so slacken and listen to the kid between your ears.• The best gardens are developed around an underlying theme , whether as declamatory as a ruck of dinosaurs , or as pernicious as a place for butterflies.• There ’s no downside to cause a sustainable garden that is playful , imaginative , beautiful and blue on the planet .

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