On the subject of children:
Kids love little packets of seeds! One of my daughters (13) keeps her own shoebox full of seeds and when she & I want to cheer ourselves up we get out our seed boxes and plan the year's sowings.
![tongue2 :tongue2:](https://chat.allotment-garden.org/Smileys/green/tongue2.gif)
. She has her own corner of the garden too & last year grew much better sweetcorn than I did.
It's great then on nice days to wander round together and imagine what might be growing where in the summer. I like to draw out plans for beds, and so does she - so we end up with artistic coloured-in (and not quite to scale) sketches. My eleven year old daughter likes this too - although her labels are much more imaginative as she's very into writing her own stories and the maps get to be part of the story.
Oh and if you want to give a particularly pretty seed out to inspire - try the YinYang bean seeds!
I admit however that I am lucky, our back garden is our "allotment" so my offspring can wander in and out as they please. The disadvantage to this, of course, is the amount of "garden" that ends up in the house, especially on a wet day!
![laugh :lol:](https://chat.allotment-garden.org/Smileys/green/laugh.gif)
I've been gradually doing more & more each year in the garden, and although I do the bulk of the work, it is great to have kids who enjoy helping. Collecting produce is also popular. The first year is the toughest, but next year the bits you sorted this year will be easier to control so pace yourselves and don't worry if you can't do everything you want the first year.
Get the perennials sorted early I think - rhubarb takes so little effort after the initial establishment. Likewise fruit bushes and trees.
Best wishes.
Sally