Exploring
Nature Play
Activity recipe: Miniature gardens
Difficulty: Tricky.
Age range: Any age (some children may need support from an adult).
How many can do it? Groups of six to eight.
Where can you do it? Indoors or outdoors.
Why we like it? Making a mini garden is great fun, whether you
grow a real seed or just use it to play. It offers a great opportunity
for children to use their creativity and look at the world in miniature.
Ingredients
A plastic tray or tin lid (for the base), pebbles, shells, twigs, moss,
seeds, acorns, fir cones, gravel, leaves, scrap material, string and
a small amount of soil or compost.
Method
1. Put a thin layer of soil at the bottom of your tray (by adding water you can use
this to make lovely mud pies).
2. Decide what to put in the garden e.g. Paths, ponds, swings and trees.
3. Put your plan into action by using the things you have collected e.g. A foil bun
case would make a great pond, maybe add a swing (use twigs and string), camp
fire (made from twigs and coloured paper), den (made from scraps of material
and lollipop sticks). Remember this is the children’s garden and what you might
think would make a fabulous hammock, they might not!
Top tips
1. Enjoy a nature walk through your local woodlands and collect ingredients for
this activity. Check Play England’s play map to see if your woodland is on there –
and if it isn’t, why not add it at www.playengland.org.uk/map.
2. Base your miniature garden on a favourite park nearby or maybe design the
‘best garden ever’.
3. Drawing a picture of the garden first may help with the design.
4. If you are using seeds, your garden will need to be watered.
Make sure your base is waterproof and strong enough to hold
the water, if necessary keep it outside.
Play England is a registered charity,
no. 1150216, and is hosted by the
National Children’s Bureau.
What the
kids say
‘This is so
much fun!’
‘Look! We can
put just about
anything in our
special garden.’
‘I’m going to keep
this forever.’