Gardening with Children - Bean Tents and Corn Maze

What to do with a empty plot of good soil? Last fall I tore out my herb garden. Having a little herb garden had been a dream come true but it was time for a change! (Plus I can always plant it again another year - and make it even better!)

Over the winter I dreamed of several different ideas to use that plot of soil but after reading Roots, Shoots, Buckets, and Boots by Sharon Lovelace, I was inspired to plant a children's garden!
Ed got some bamboo from our neighbor and built a simple tent frame. We planted pole beans to grow up the bamboo. Behind the "tent" we planted sunflower and corn in a simple maze pattern. At least that is the idea. The children did a lot of "helping" including the two year old who hoed wildly! I was not sure if any of the seeds were actually still where they were originally planted!
In the paths, we laid down cardboard and covered it with grass clippings for mulch. Hopefully this would keep down the weeds and allow the children to see where they were able to walk until the plants emerged.
The seeds were planted the first week of May. We also added some marigolds the children had started in the house and some dianthus and lettuce plants. Last week the corn, sunflowers and beans began to emerge, surprisingly, they are mostly in the correct places!

The children are excited about "their" garden! Check back for further updates this summer!