Chloe the Gardener is thrilled to have Kristen Crouch visit Chloe’s Gardening Club.

Kristin is the host for Eastlink’s television show That Bloomin’ Garden. Her show is geared towards the new gardener in hope that she can encourage someone to try their hand at gardening and further beautify this earth we love. Kristin is passionate about teaching children how to garden. She recently developed a junior gardener class that she runs twice a year in local schools.
Kristin has a diploma in general horticulture from the University of Guelph. She has worked in the landscape industry for many years and recently retired to devote more time to teaching.

– It is my goal to develop new gardens at schools and youth centers so we no longer have to say we are two generations away from growing our own food – Kristen Crouch

There is just as much life under the soil as there is on top.

Go to your recycling and grab a few old newspapers.

Place the newspaper on the ground outside and get them wet with the hose or use a watering can. Take the newspaper and lay it down over an area where you might want a new garden or over an existing bare spot in the garden. On top of the newspaper, place some old leaves to help keep the paper from blowing away. Leave the paper in place for one week, don’t forget about it!

After one week is over, check the paper by carefully lifting one corner up. It will feel wet and sticky but that’s okay. Nature has been at work decomposing the paper in a special way.

Look closely and you should see worms under your newspaper.

Why are they there and not in the soil? Worms like dark places and that’s just what you created when you placed the newspaper on the soil. Worms are busy in our soil all the time. They come up for air on rainy days, take a peek at the world and then crawl back down in the soil.

This is great for your garden as worms travel in the soil and make tunnels to let air into the soil.

Worms eat organic waste, soil and minerals in the soil and their body turns it into compost which makes the soil great for growing plants. They are truly a gardener’s best friend.

You can follow Kristin on Twitter : @deltagardener and visit her blog: That BloominGarden

CALLING ALL OUTDOOR BOYS -The Dragonfly Boys want to know:

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SUMMER OUTDOOR ACTIVITY?

Just leave a comment below telling us your favorite outdoor activity and you’ll receive a FREE PDF printable copy of BOYS SUMMER ACTIVITIES. (Just in time for summer holidays)

Once the Dragonfly Boys have collected enough activities they will compile a SUMMER printable booklet with the COOLEST  summer activities from around the world.

WHERE DO YOU LIVE?

TELL THE DRAGONFLY BOYS what country you live in.

Dragonfly Boys live deep in the forests in many different parts of the world.

Help the Dragonfly Boys make the COOLEST “GREAT OUTDOORS” Activity Booklet EVER!

What’s your favorite Summer Outdoor Activity?

Swimming in the Lake? Fishing by the River? Flying a Kite? Cooking marshmallows on the Camp Fire? Making a Bow and Arrow? Collecting Bugs?

Just leave your comment below and your activity will be included in the FREE printable booklet .

Don’t worry Girls-The Butterfly Girls will be calling for your Favorite Summer activities next week-stay tuned!

Chloe is super excited that Spring is almost here- she will be planting her favorite seeds very soon but not just yet….stay tuned!

Spring Break Garden Fun

Chloe thought she would share the delights of  natural play structures and treasures you can collect from nature for your very own garden.

Chloe and all her Little Humbug friends have endless amounts of fun playing in the Forest, hunting for treasure, climbing trees, balancing on fallen logs, jumping and flying off boulders.

Fallen trees become balancing Beams

This log is a favorite in our garden

Logs and boulders make excellent balance beams and obstacle courses for a large garden.

These are great natural materials for climbing, jumping and acrobatics. Not everyone has the space  for boulders and fallen logs in their garden, however, even the smallest of gardens can accommodate a few piles of treasure collected from nature.

Sticks and stones, Pebbles and Cones- become sculptures and buildings

A tree stump makes an ideal table for little ones

Objects from nature offer more diversity in shape, texture and visual appeal than in any collection of store toys.

Make piles in various areas of the garden to be raided as needed. Chloe made a collection of stones, sticks, cones, nuts and shells.

Let their imaginations run wild…

Sticks, foliage and pine needles  become shelters for Butterfly Girls and other little visitors to your garden

Part of the fun is hunting for nature’s toys: Watch Let’s Go Outside video: Hunt for Pine Cones

Swing into Spring

Dragonfly Boy loves to RECYCLE and found this old tire on one of his visits to the city when all the Human children were fast asleep. Chloe and Dragonfly Boy will show you how to make one of these cool recycled tire swings later in the series.

So this Spring Break-create some natural play structures in your garden- for happier, healthier children.

Disclaimer: Please respect nature-do not remove objects from nature without asking permission first.Do not pick wildflowers, do not remove bark from trees.

At last, the weather was mild enough to get on my bike….Yippee!!!

Juggling work, demands of the children, husband and home- leaves very little “ME” time. However, last week, I was determined to make time to meet my dear friend for lunch. She’s an absolute gem and we both love biking and the outdoors. With all my family back in Scotland (and working from home) I very rarely get time away from the children. I’m not complaining-but we all need time away from our loved ones, (even if it’s just an hour with a friend). The kids need it as much as we do.

When I’m on my bike I feel like a kid again. That sense of freedom-that I can go wherever I want.

Heading down to the lake I snapped a shot of the view.  It’s a beautiful ride and easy too… down hill all the way.

My friend and I shared a few laughs and collected little treasures from the shore. As we neared the end of our walk along the lake appreciating the tranquility and the lapping of the water, geese arrived. Lots of geese.

Both my friend and I spend a lot of time outdoors with our families.

And guess what…so do Geese!

These gorgeous birds are real family-oriented birds. Usually in their second year of life, a Canadian goose will find a mate and stay with it for life. Both parents look after their young and the family spends all of its time together.

Then they were off…

And so was I…I had to meet Sam coming out of school.

Happy to be free from school- Sam gave me one of those loving-happy smiles that makes a mother melt. He asked for the bike and helmet, lowered the seat and handed me his back pack.

Guess who was walking home.

As I walked, he peddled slowly (he wouldn’t be going anywhere fast-it’s up hill all the way home). Having spent a wonderful hour down at the lake with my best friend, I was relaxed and eager to hear about his day and I felt totally tuned in.

Sometimes I’m not tuned in

When your in the house,  although you’re there in person, occasionally, you’re not always tuned in-giving them the full attention they so rightly deserve.

Being Outdoors (and grabbing some ME time) helps you tune in

An hour later we arrived home……….. happy and healthy.

What do you do with your- ME time?

Canadian Geese -Get the Facts from Canadian Wildlife Federation

Canada geese and other migratory waterfowl make use of natural wetlands as habitat. Unfortunately, Canada’s wetlands continue to disappear. As much as 70 per cent of Canada’s original wetlands have been lost in some areas of the country.
Help conserve these precious habitats for Canada geese, other wildlife and people. Learn more about how you can help conserve Canada’s wetlands! visit: http://www.ducks.ca/conserve/index.html

A mother’s love is instinctual, unconditional, and forever (unknown author)

Thanks to my mother and father who nurtured my creativity, they helped shape the artist I am today.  Both art teachers they encouraged my brothers and I to be creative at a very early age. My father is a very conservative painter where as my mother is the complete opposite-eccentric & vibrant like her personality.

A little Eccentric – She learned to ride a motor bike at 60

Mum at 79 years-I hope I can look that cool when I reach that age.

My mothers creativity is inspiring…

Mother’s Tulips (Pastels)

Nature was her inspiration when drawing these beautiful tulips growing in our back garden. This favorite picture of mine, hangs in my bedroom- a constant reminder of happy times spent with my mother in our garden.

Wished my mother lived nearer (Scotland is so far away) Luckily I get to wake up to her happy painting every morning.

My Mother is Passionate about the ARTS

As Pablo Casals, world famous great Cellist once said and I quote:
“Each second that we live is a new and unique moment of the universe and a moment that will never be again, and what do we teach our children?”
“We teach them that two and two make four and that Paris is the capital of France.
When will we also teach them what they are? We should say to them-do you know who you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. You have the capacity for anything.” Pablo Casals.

To be that…

“To be that, they should all have the opportunity to try and enjoy not only the fundamentals taught in school but also the world of music, art and sport. To deny them that is to deprive them of a wholesome life, for music, art and sport (physical exercise) can be carried forward and continued into old age when (two and two make four) seems of little relevance.
To be creative is possible for every child if given the chance and can enhance their lives and those of others so much, making for a much more rounded personality and a richer life for us all”. Jean Carrie-My Mother

Dove in Tulips- Wood  (marquetry)

Another Tulip Scene from the back garden. This time featuring one of the beautiful doves that frequented our garden every year. As a child I was fascinated by my mother’s patience, cutting each little piece of wood to fit exactly into it’s allotted position.

A love affair with elephants…

And then there is her fascination with elephants. It all began when the family was watching an episode of David Attenborough’s captivating series-Life on Earth. I remember her running out the room returning with a sketch pad and doodling away whilst Attenborough talked about these delightfully playful animals. This watercolour painting is the result of that particular programe.

She now has a  collection of elephants of all shapes and sizes from around the world.

She may like elephants but is terrified of snakes…

I love this picture of mum and the kids…her kookiness shining through!

Enjoying Mother Nature’s Magic with mum and Jasmine

When we left home my mother worked as an art therapist working with patients who were terminally ill with cancer. Years after, she still receives cards and letters from the patients she helped thanking her for giving them a new perspective on life through CREATIVITY.

Mother finishes up with…

“the art, music and in particular the outdoors has constantly played a great part in my life and I know it has been passed on to my own children who are now doing similar things with their own children”.

“I believe that being close to nature is a great gift we can give our children and that gift they will enjoy forever”.

I couldn’t agree more mum, thank you – for giving me that gift.

Missing you terribly-all my love Marghanita x

The Little Humbugs love being CREATIVE and want to showcase your kids ART.

Delighted to announce The Little Humbugs Art Gallery Winner for JANUARY.

My Rainbow Humbug By Sorcha from Ireland.

The Little Humbugs loved this colorful Butterfly Girl.

Sorcha from Ireland wins a special Butterfly Girl “Sleep Over Kit” full of All Natural Butterfly Girl goodies.

BEST  PHOTO  JANUARY 2010

Alexis having lot’s of fun outdoors in Mexico with her Butterfly Girls Jasmine and lucy. Alexis wins a Jasmine poster for her bedroom.

FEBRUARY’S PRIZE – A Signed Print of your favorite Little Humbug. Winner will be notified by email and announced on the Little Humbugs FACEBOOK FAN PAGE in March 2010.

How to enter: Just send in your art. It can be anything to do with nature, a drawing of a bug, a photograph of your favorite tree or a sculpture made from recycled nature materials. What ever you like! Remember to tell the Little Humbugs your favorite Little Humbug character!

Send your art and your first name to :info@littlehumbugs.com

Visit the Little Humbugs Art Gallery: ART GALLERY

Thanks to  Jorma Jyrkkanen, a zoologist and Naturalist living in the BC Mountains who wrote  “Love it or Lose it, Why Nature Matters“.

Why Nature Matters.

When I was a boy in Manitoba, 12 years old, I hiked a lot.

I used to go out ten miles away into the Fort White Nature Reserve
north of a big Cement Plant south of Winnipeg. I hiked along farm
roads til I got to the Bush. I recall it was a large forested area with
abundant poplar trees, wild crab apple, huckleberry and ponds.

Once while there I found a Marsh Hawk’s nest on the ground with 7 babies
in it. The parent’s were very angry that I was standing there and the male,
a Light Grey color, bashed me on top of the head. I learned that when he
dived, it I raised my hand at him, he would stop hitting. Well, I so loved the
babies I took one. They were little and covered with down and their
eyes were barely open and their heads wobbled.

I told my mom and dad I found it and needed to take care of it. I sensed
it was wrong to do what I was doing but I just loved it.

So I became a Marsh hawk’s step mom and step dad. Boy, what a chore.
I had a .22 Cooey rifle dad bought me and I hiked out to the prairie to
hunt gophers to feed it. I was busy every day looking for things to
feed my little baby and he grew. The local butcher gave me liver
and scraps of meat which I fed my baby, Marhsa.

Pretty soon he got his wings and was able to fly. That created problems.
Either I kept him in a box or he would follow me everywhere
screaming for food, even to school. I had to lock him up during the
day in a big box when I was gone. When I came home and opened the
door he would fly out and cruise the neighborhood. I practiced his hunting
skills by throwing him animals that weren’t dead and he would grab them
and kill them and eat them.

The sad day came when I let him out and he flew around and vanished.
I worried kids would throw rocks at him and kill him because he didn’t have
the normal fear of humans animals need to survive. They need that fear
because we are the most dangerous animal on the planet. People with guns
just clinking away, kill many animals just for fun because they can. Hawks
and owls are found dead all the time that have been shot for no other
reason than that they didn’t have enough fear.

I learned from Marsha and from a Coopers hawk and Red tailed hawk and
a Great horned owl I had, that nature is best left to nature. Happy
endings only come when animals are in their natural homes and we care for
and protect them. I went on to study zoology at university and learn all about
living things and found out from studies of DNA, our genetic material,
that all living things have the same code that makes us what we are.
That material, DNA is so similar in all creatures from plants to fish to birds
to humans, that there is only one explanation. We all came from common
ancestors long ago.

Other living things are our distant cousins so they are family. I sensed that
about my hawk. It had two wings like my two arms. Two feet like my two
feet. A head at one end and a tail at the other and I have a stub of a tail
bone. I know because I broke it while speed skating in a race at school.
I worked many years with nature and learned many of its secrets. I learned
that the most important thing is that we need nature to live. We need to care
it so that creatures like Marsha will have nesting places and places to hunt.

Most important, we humans have grown so big and powerful that we must
take special care not to destroy nature because it gives us life itself. I gives
us life through the other life that must live there too and each living thing
needs its special home and special place to find food, mates and nesting and
resting places. Our bodies are built from nature completely and so is every
other creatures. If we poison the land we poison other creatures and we
poison ourselves. If we destroy a woodlot or a pond or a lake or an ocean
imagine all the creatures that will have no place to live and be safe.

Children Can Make a Difference
I later found hawk’s nests with broken eggs in them and didn’t know at that
time that a pesticide, DDT was causing the destruction of the eggs. It made the
shells so thin they didn’t support a parent sitting on the eggs. The Prairie hawks
and owls were in serious danger. I gave a talk as a 13 year old boy to
the Winnipeg Natural History Society annual meeting, on my finding of
broken eggs.  That was in 1958. DDT was later banned because of the bad things
found out about it. It was wiping out hawks and owls and eagles and falcons
and all these things are needed for nature to be healthy.

Being a mother, father to a hawk is kind of like being an Avatar. I know
what it is to be an Avatar. I see humans from the same kind of eyes.
I urge all Children to learn about nature and when you do, you will love
it. When you love it you will care for it and all its little and large creatures
and they will reward you with a rich and beautiful world to live,
love and play and work in.

Photograph supplied by Jorma.

If you open Google Earth fly like an Avatar to Winnipeg and then scroll
south west to Fort White. You will find the Cement plant and the nature
reserve north of it where I found Marsha and a Coopers hawk’s nest and
a Red tailed hawk’s nest as a boy 52 years ago. We must love nature or
lose it and then we lose ourselves. Help nature and it will care for you and
your families for as long as we live on this planet.

Jorma Jyrkkanen, Naturalist, Zoologist (copyright Jorma Jykkanen)

A big thanks to Jorma for sharing his passion for nature. You can follow Jorma on Twitter @JormaJyrkkanen

Welcome to our first post on Gardening with Chloe. Both Chloe and I are super excited to start the series with an inspirational gardener- Carole Brown from Ecosystem Gardening

Carole is a Conservation Biologist and passionate about teaching people to manage their properties to benefit the environment, conserve natural resources, and create wonderful habitats for the wildlife around them.

With butterflies being one of our favourites insects for obvious reasons,  we asked Carole if she could share her wealth of knowledge and resources on how to attract these magical creatures to our gardens. Chloe and I hope your children have the opportunity to dance with the butterflies in your garden or local park.

First, thanks to Chloe the Gardener and Marghanita for inviting me to write for you. I am honored to be here! Butterflies are like flying jewels, floating and swirling throughout your garden. And the good news is that it’s really quite easy to create habitats for them in your garden. Butterfly gardening is a magical and exciting way to interest your children in the wonders of nature.

When you are planning your butterfly garden, the first step is learning which butterflies live in your area so that you will know what to expect. It used to be that I would sit for hours with a butterfly field guide, making a list of butterflies in my area one by one as I checked the range map for each species. Fortunately, none of us has to do that anymore! Here’s a list of several places where you can get a list for your state:

1. Butterflies and Moths of North America has a great interactive map where you can click to get a list of butterflies for each state in the U. S. as well as Mexico. It’s only odd that they do not provide the same capability for Canada as well. After you get a list for your state, you can click on each species to see what their needs are.
2. For the butterfly species in Canada I’ve found a wonderful site called, ironically enough, Butterflies of Canada. This site is full of wonderful information for attracting all manner of butterflies.
3. And the North American Butterfly Association has a fabulous site dedicated to butterfly habitat gardening.

Now that you know which butterflies may be in your area, the next step is to determine if any of them are endangered because they need all the help we can give them. I do this by typing the name of my state followed by “endangered butterflies” into Google search. For example, I live in Pennsylvania, and the list of endangered butterflies that I found on Google included the Pipevine Swallowtail. This butterfly must have Pipevine (Aristolochia tomentosa) for its caterpillars to feed on, so I have planted that in my garden. When most people think of butterfly gardens, they think of plants with lots of nectar because that is what most adult butterflies feed on. But every species of butterfly is dependent on only one plant (or one plant family) for its caterpillars to feed from. So if you truly want to provide for butterflies in your garden, you must provide the correct host plant for the butterflies you want to attract. For example, Monarch butterflies must have milkweed (Aesclepias family) to ensure its survival.

Many skippers feed on various grasses and many butterfly caterpillars feed on various trees and shrubs, so you have to begin to think beyond flowers. Here are some references for getting the most bang for you garden buck by choosing plants that support the highest number of butterflies, plus a resource for locating a nursery that carries these native plants:

1. Top 10 Best Woody Plants for the Butterfly Garden
2. Top 10 Best Herbaceous Plants for the Butterfly Garden
3. Native Plant Nurseries in the U.S. and Canada

Part of the excitement of butterfly gardening is having your kids search for butterfly eggs which are really tiny, so you have to practice looking at each host plant to find them.

After the eggs hatch, teeny tiny caterpillars emerge which will grow bigger and bigger the more they eat. They cannot grow to the right size if there’s not enough food for them, so plant enough to feed these little piggies!

When the caterpillar reaches the right size, it makes a chrysalis where it will stay until it is ready to become a butterfly. These are sometimes hard to find, but again practice teaches you and your kids what to look for.

If you’re really looking, you may be lucky enough to see the new butterfly crawl out of its chrysalis and spread its wings in the sun to let them dry. These cold winter months are the perfect time to start planning your new butterfly garden, remembering that you need to find the right host plants in addition to planting lots of nectar plants for adult butterflies.

[Carole Brown is the author of Ecosystem Gardening, where she teaches you to garden sustainable, conserve natural resources, and create welcoming habitats for wildlife in your garden. Follow her on twitter.]

With Spring peaking around the corner,  I feel compelled to jump outside with the kids and get the garden ready for growing some yummy vegetables, fruits and colorful flowers.

I am no expert so I have enlisted the help of my children’s book character – Chloe the Gardener along with some wonderful gardening experts from all around the world.

In the coming months  I will introduce you to several celebrity gardeners who will be guesting on the blog and sharing their passion for gardening.

Over the coming months, Chloe the Gardener and friends will also be adding their tips and ideas for your kids to have fun with gardening,  yummy healthy recipes to try out, natural crafts to make and lot’s, lot’s more.

What are the benefits of gardening with your child?

Gardening offers a fun and enchanting way for children and parents to connect with nature.

Gardening cultivates a sense of wonder in children…

Providing a source of joy and motivation for further learning…

…How to attract wildlife to your backyard

…Learning to appreciate fresh, healthy foods

Learning how to grow your very own fruits and vegetables

Don’t have a garden or yard-no worries – we’ll show you how to grow in pots.

Being outdoors in the fresh air…. Keeps you healthy.

…Learning to be physically active

Dig in and get DIRTY!

Digging a vegetable patch is no easy task but when working together it’s fun and keeps you fit. (Part of the fun is getting dirty-think of all the mud pies you’ll be able  make).

We want boys and girls to enjoy gardening: Dragonfly Boy will be flying in to give us some Composting Tips along with super cool crafts and how to be kinder to the planet.

And not forgetting …the gifts of the garden can be used to make natural crafts that little ones will treasure.

Blossom perfume…

To kick off the series I have a wonderful friend from the Twitter world : Carole Brown from  ecosystemgardening Carole is passionate about teaching people to manage their properties to benefit the environment, conserve natural resources, and create wonderful habitats for the wildlife around us. Carole will be sharing  “how to go WILD and attract butterflies and other wildlife to your garden”.

Carole’s post will be featured this week…so please drop by!

So look out your wellies and shovel and Let’s Go Outside!

If you are a gardener and would like to contribute to this series please contact me on: info@littlehumbugs.com

Chloe the Gardener will also be featuring in the Let’s Go Outside webisodes throughout Spring and Summer so remember to tune in!

My book character Chloe the Gardener is available online @ www.littlehumbugs.com

Watching and listening to birds is fascinating for children at any age and you don’t have to go far. Encourage birds to visit your own backyard with this simple natural bird feeder.

We’re going on a Pine Cone Hunt!

We want to make a BIRD FEEDER.

Jasmine and Sam are delighted with their pine cone collection.

Time to head back up to the house to make the bird feeder.

Guess who we spotted looking for cones too?

Chloe shares her cones with Flint the Dragonfly Boy.

How to make your natural bird feeder:

You will need a pine cone, some twine or string, peanut butter and bird seed (Sam added some of his own harvested Sunflower seeds to the mix).

1. Tie the twine around the pine cone.

2. Spread the peanut butter all over the cone, covering it completely.

3. Roll the cone in the bird seed.

4. Hang your cone on a branch where you will be able to view the birds.

5. Wait patiently for the birds to arrive and feast on your cone.

This is a great outdoor activity for all ages and the rewards are awesome.

Watching the birds arrive at your feeder is Magical. Borrow a bird book from the library to identify which birds you have visiting your feeder.

Lucy the Bird Keeper’s Tip:

Lucy’s Tip : If you can’t find any pine cones where you live, you can collect some small sticks. Tie them up in a bundle using some twin then spread peanut butter all over the sticks. Then roll the sticks in the seed mix-hey presto- your very own bird feeder!

HAPPY BIRD WATCHING!