9 garden toys and gifts for kids that will help get their hands dirty.

If you have yet to get your kids into gardening, you're in for a treat - kids are naturals. Last year my husband built us a small garden box in the back yard, and my kids and I planted some seeds and watched them grow into tomatoes and squash and peppers, which became spaghetti and casseroles and fajitas. It was such a fun process for them to see how their dirty fingers and hard work produced something so wonderful.  Let alone teaching them that no, tomatoes don't come "from the store." To get your kids excited for gardening, try some of these easy, low-pressure and garden toys and gifts for kids to inspire even the tiniest of green thumbs. I'm not sure what it is about gloves, but my kids love to wear them, and gardening is no exception. And having their own tools to work with is huge. These kids gardening gloves and kids garden tools both by Melissa and Doug will last you through a few harvests, and they might actually make your "helpers" helpful.   We discovered the Tickle-Me Plant a few years back and it's still a terrific gift to get kids excited about plants where they might not have been before. Touch it...and it closes. (Feed me Seymour.) Fun! Plus it grows indoors or out. Another alternative from the same company if you want to make it sound a little more gruesome: The Zombie Plant Kit. Don't worry, it won't eat your kids brains, but it may help expand them.   Gardening Lab for Kids by Renata Fossen Brown has lots of easy projects for back yard fun, but there are also some small-space activities for urban kids who don't have acres of yard available. You don't have to start with a 10 x 10 vegetable garden, and this book is a good introduction with low commitment. Kids love micro-sized projects, and we think they'll really get into these DIY terrarium kits by Acme. Each kit comes with all the materials they need to create a their own little mossy world.   With the growing wishes seed kit, you can teach your kids about the meanings different flowers have while you watch them grow. I like that you could grow these in a large yard or a small flower box, whichever is more your pace. And there's something about the whole packaging that might even get "ew a worm!" kids digging in the soil.   If your kids do want to plant a small vegetable garden, let them get creative and build their own supports with the Stick-lets we recently discovered. They're made for building forts and toys outside, but we love them as a great all-around creativity builder.   My youngest son loves to eat carrots, so we plant them in our garden. But it's kind of a bummer for him not get to see them grow (you know, since they're underground). I might get him the Rootvue Farm Garden Laboratory Kit this year--he can see through the glass panel to learn what's happening with those yummy plants he loves that grow down instead of up.   If your child has caught the gardening bug, they'll want to do it year round. This little wooden vegetable garden at Moolka will keep the youngest gardeners happy in the dead of winter. Check out more of our outdoor favorites on our Outdoor Play Pinterest board.