Sow and Grow Gardening Class! A family review of the event
We did a lot of planting over Easter. My son has been asking for a while if we could plant our own vegetables, the only problem being that I am not even remotely green-fingered. So after a bit of research (aka asking a friend over coffee how one ‘gardens’), we planted carrots, lettuce, beetroot and cucumber in an old fishing crate we had dragged home from the beach last summer. Apart from punching a few holes in the base for drainage – very important you know - we just kind of threw the seeds in willy-nilly, and are hoping for the best! We also planted some wild flower seeds to the front of the house and even re-potted a very sickly plant into a bigger pot. You would almost think we knew what we were doing!
So it was a bit of a stable-door / horse-bolting kind of scenario when we attended the children’s sow-and-grow class in Powerscourt on Sunday. The children were delighted when I told them we were going to a gardening class and rushed upstairs to put on gardening clothes - a dress with pockets for her and hiking boots for him, obviously! As I have said before, I love the approach road to Powerscourt. The view from the avenue gets me every single time, but due to my lack of gardening prowess I was a little anxious approaching this particular event. It turns out there was absolutely no need.
The class was held in the gardening pavilion. We were welcomed by very friendly and enthusiastic staff members who had a good few long tables set up with compost, pots and seeds laid out ready and waiting. They encouraged the children to get stuck in, which they did with great gusto. There was a nice seating area set up for us grown-ups, but this event was all about the children.
They first got a choice of planting either sunflowers or beans, they then moved on to planting begonia bulbs , which they all had a good feel of first. The staff had a group of three or four children each, and although there were about 10 four-to-nine year olds altogether, it was amazingly quiet as they all conscientiously listened to their instructions before getting on with their planting.
They didn’t stop there though. Once they had successfully planted the seeds and bulbs, they were invited to the vegetable patch to plant beetroot and bean seedlings. My son proudly announced that we had planted these at home, as I nodded along sagely as though this was our ‘thing’. When they had finished planting the seedlings they were presented with a strawberry plant and magic compost each to bring home, along with their sunflowers and begonias. The staff could tell the children were really in to this, so they went the extra mile and quickly rustled up some lovely baskets and flowers and asked them all to pick a selection and plant them in the basket to decorate the shop.
The children who had started as strangers worked together to plant lovely baskets which will be displayed in the window of the pavilion. When it really was time to go, my guys just were not ready so we went and explored the garden centre before finally heading home to take care of our new plants, safe in the knowledge that we now have SOME clue what to do.
We were invited to attend the children’s sow-and-grow class for the purpose of this review. However, at the price of €5 per child it is well worth the money and I would recommend it to anyone with children. Getting children out and gardening is so good for them and my children have definitely caught the bug!
Disclaimer: I was invited to attend the class, however all thoughts and opinions are my own.
So it was a bit of a stable-door / horse-bolting kind of scenario when we attended the children’s sow-and-grow class in Powerscourt on Sunday. The children were delighted when I told them we were going to a gardening class and rushed upstairs to put on gardening clothes - a dress with pockets for her and hiking boots for him, obviously! As I have said before, I love the approach road to Powerscourt. The view from the avenue gets me every single time, but due to my lack of gardening prowess I was a little anxious approaching this particular event. It turns out there was absolutely no need.
The class was held in the gardening pavilion. We were welcomed by very friendly and enthusiastic staff members who had a good few long tables set up with compost, pots and seeds laid out ready and waiting. They encouraged the children to get stuck in, which they did with great gusto. There was a nice seating area set up for us grown-ups, but this event was all about the children.
They first got a choice of planting either sunflowers or beans, they then moved on to planting begonia bulbs , which they all had a good feel of first. The staff had a group of three or four children each, and although there were about 10 four-to-nine year olds altogether, it was amazingly quiet as they all conscientiously listened to their instructions before getting on with their planting.
They didn’t stop there though. Once they had successfully planted the seeds and bulbs, they were invited to the vegetable patch to plant beetroot and bean seedlings. My son proudly announced that we had planted these at home, as I nodded along sagely as though this was our ‘thing’. When they had finished planting the seedlings they were presented with a strawberry plant and magic compost each to bring home, along with their sunflowers and begonias. The staff could tell the children were really in to this, so they went the extra mile and quickly rustled up some lovely baskets and flowers and asked them all to pick a selection and plant them in the basket to decorate the shop.
The children who had started as strangers worked together to plant lovely baskets which will be displayed in the window of the pavilion. When it really was time to go, my guys just were not ready so we went and explored the garden centre before finally heading home to take care of our new plants, safe in the knowledge that we now have SOME clue what to do.
We were invited to attend the children’s sow-and-grow class for the purpose of this review. However, at the price of €5 per child it is well worth the money and I would recommend it to anyone with children. Getting children out and gardening is so good for them and my children have definitely caught the bug!
Disclaimer: I was invited to attend the class, however all thoughts and opinions are my own. 
