Going into the garden with children is always time well spent - it gets them off their screens and interacting with nature. We've put together the below list of simple, entertaining things to do in the garden with the whole family, from birdwatching to building a bug hotel.
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Build a bug hotel
Why not get the kids to build their very own bug hotel? It should be a multi-storey hotel created from natural materials – think bits of old wood, cut down plant stems, logs, straw twigs, bamboo canes – anything that's lying around – and can be as large or small as you like.
Discover how to make a bug hotel
Sow some seeds
Simple, but brilliant. An excellent way to get the kids excited about planting and the garden is to show them what happens when you plant a seed in soil and keep it watered and warm. Different seeds can be sown at different times, from tomatoes and chillies early in the year to hardy annuals in spring and autumn to biennials and salad crops in summer. Go for larger seeds that grow tall fast, such as sunflowers or runner beans, or fast-growing crops such as radish.
Give them a patch to focus on
For older kids, it might be worth thinking about offering them a corner of the garden that can be their own and encouraging them to think about what they'd like to plant in it.
Bird watching
Observe the birds that are visiting your garden or install or make a bird feeder with your children and get them to note the birds they spot in a little pad. You'll have a family of twitchers before you know it.
The advice on feeding birds has changed recently - read more about the current advice.
Garden reading
There are a host of great children's books on gardening out there. We love I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast, which is very bright and colourful. It focuses on amazing plants around the world.
Get them digging
A helpful army of volunteers can be an ideal way of getting things done. If you need to dig a new bed in your garden or on the allotment, get the kids in their wellies and get them a spade or fork.
Dry and press flowers
left inside the press for four to six weeks until the paper and the flowers are perfectly dry. - © Andrew Montgomery
Flower pressing is coming back into fashion. And it's a gorgeous way of keeping the lovely blooms for longer. Invest in a flower press and encourage the kids to start picking and pressing for cards, posters and more. Read our feature on a duo who are doing it to excellent effect.
Let them play
Even if you don't have lots of space, or equipment, there's lots of fun to be had with a bit of mud, water and wellies. Mud pie, anyone?
Make a note of the wildlife
Take a notebook and get the kids to spot all the animals - slimy and creepy crawly - they see. In this digital age of smartphone apps and online ID guides, it’s never been easier to tell different species apart. You could also try pond dipping using a net and ID tray or moth trapping using a sheet and torch at night – but take care not to harm your subjects.
Every year, thousands of ‘citizen scientists’ take part in important surveys that monitor the UK's biodiversity, from the Big Butterfly Count every summer, to the UK Ladybird Survey, BeeWalk; the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme; the Big Hedgehog Map and the Great Stag [beetle] Hunt among them. The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch is the largest of them all, and takes place every January.
How to attract more wildlife to your garden
Editor's note: This article was originally published on 26 March 2020 and was updated on 12 August 2026.
