Tips for Getting Kids Interested in Gardening

 

Gardening is a fun way to engage kids in hands-on learning and teach them important life skills. Gardening provides a comprehensive experience that fosters a love for nature, curiosity, and responsibility. Here are a few tips that can engage kids in gardening and make it an exciting, educational journey:

Plant Easy-to-Grow Plants:  I'd recommend sunflowers, marigolds, or zinnias. They are vibrant and grow quickly. In the vegetable department, check out tomatoes, beans, carrots, or lettuce. These grow quickly, allowing kids to harvest them in a few weeks. Let kids participate by digging, planting, watering, and caring for the plants. A plus is that kids tend to be more interested in eating vegetables that they've planted. 

Make it Fun and Creative: Have themed gardens. My kids loved fairy gardens with miniature decorations. Plant a pizza garden with tomatoes, basil and peppers. Create colorful plant markers to label the plants. Make a seed bomb by mixing clay, compost, and wildflower seeds into small balls which kids can leave in various areas of the garden. Let the rain wash the clay away and see the flowers grow and blossom!

Make it Educational: Explain how plants need sunlight, water, and soil to thrive. Introduce concepts like photosynthesis, pollination, and composting. Teach kids about insects like bees, butterflies, and ladybugs and how they help plants.

Gardening allows kids to learn how to care for plants and gives them a greater appreciation for the world around them.

Today's Insecure Writer's Support Group question of the month is, "What was the most inspiring feedback you've received from readers?" Well, I've gotten a lot of great reviews for my work. I appreciate every single one of them! But the biggest and most helpful feedback I got was from a publisher when I was submitting Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China. He said it was good, but that I should change the point of view to make it first person, alternating between the two protagonists.  It was originally a third person point of view. I took his advice to heart and rewrote everything. It made it a lot better! Not long after that, it was published!

What about you? Any inspiring feedback from readers?

A couple more things before I go...   

Happy Birthday to US! is on tour, and there's a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card (and signed copies of the book). If you'd like to enter, go here:  https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/happy-birthday-to-us-by-sherry-ellis-awareness-tour/

And I just performed Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody arranged for Viola and Orchestra with the Gwinnett Symphony. If you'd like to see the performance, go here.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoralI5HD6o

Garden Scents for Every Season

 

We often think of gardens as sensory experiences for our eyes. But gardens can also be sensory experiences for our sense of smell. Here are a few flowers that you can incorporate in your garden to enjoy their beautiful fragrances throughout the year. 

Winter 

Daphne Odera pictured above, is a real treat. It flowers in January and February when the weather is dreary and cold. It has fragrant, white to pink flower clusters and grows on an evergreen woody shrub. It likes part sun and part shade. 

Spring

Star Jasmine is an intensely fragrant, evergreen vine with white flowers, opening in late spring. It is excellent on trellises or fences. It prefers four hours of morning sun.

Summer

Gardenia comes in a variety of sizes and is perfect for the front of a border or along a sidewalk or pathway. All are evergreen and have white flowers that come in a variety of shapes with a recognizable aroma. An added bonus is that deer don't like the smell. I have found that gardenia are terrific for planting around hydrangeas (that deer like). It helps keep those oversized rodents away. 

Fall

Sweet Autumn Clematis is a vigorous vine with masses of small, white fragrant flowers. It's perfect on a trellis or fence.

Of course, depending on where you live, you can find many more fragrant flowers to enjoy throughout the year. Do you have any favorites?

And now for the ISWG question of the month: If you have a playlist that either gets you in the groove to write or fits with one of your books, what songs are on it?  Well, I honestly don't write to music. I prefer silence so I can hear the voices in my head. (Does this mean I'm crazy?) But, if I were to have songs, I'd listen to Sia music. Like Titanium and Unstoppable.  What about you? Do you have a writing play list?

 

Lotusland

 

If you want to see a rather eclectic garden, visit Lotusland in Santa Barbara, California.  This 37 acre garden was created by Madame Gann Walska, a polish opera singer and socialite.  She started the garden in 1941 and worked on it for the next 43 years.  The garden was open to the public in 1993.

Visitors will see all kinds of interesting things, such as a forest of dragon trees, avenues of succulents, weird little garden gnomes , a huge clock made of flowers, and a lotus pond.

The two-hour tour of the garden is by appointment only.  These are given Wednesday through Saturday between 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM.  Admission for adults is $35.00.  If you would like to schedule a tour, call 805-969-9990.

Today's IWSG question of the month is, "What elements  do you include in a book launch?" I always do a social media (and email) promotion which includes a cover-reveal and a countdown. Sometimes, I'll have a cover vote to spark interest. I also do an online book tour. I've used Silver Dagger Tours and The Children's Book Review Awareness Tour. The first is inexpensive. The second is expensive, but more effective in getting the word out and getting reviews. I also contact reviewers to try to get pre-publication reviews. I've been doing Authors in Grocery Stores book signings at Kroger. That's been a great way to get my books out there and make sales.

What do you do for a book launch?

Where Did Those Flower Names Come From?

 Dogwood. Bee balm. Fox Glove. Forget-me-not. Did you ever wonder where those names came from? Well, let me enlighten you.

Dogwood: What in the world does Dogwood have to do with dogs? Most likely, this naming has to do with the hardness of the wood. There is an old English word, "Dagwood." The slender stems from the tree were used as "dags." Daggers, skewers, and arrows. Sometime in the early 1600s, dagwood was changed to dogwood.

  Bee balm: Sounds like it's something for the bees themselves. But if you notice, this plant doesn't attract bees at all! There is a resin derived from the plant which can be used for soothing bee stings.

Foxglove: This one actually comes from a fun story—a fox was having a hard time sneaking into the henhouse to grab a quick meal. A naughty fairy decided to help him out by slipping his paws into the glove-like blooms so he could silently sneak up on the chickens. (Look at the flowers, and you will see the fox's paw prints.)

 Forget-me-not: This is from a rather sad story. A lover trying to cross a river to reach his sweetheart gets swept away by the currrent, but manages to grasp some flowers on the bank to throw to her as he calls, "Forget me not!" 

What do you think of these names? Are there any other flower names you're wondering about?

Today's IWSG question is, "Have you ever read one of your books a long time after it's been published? What was the experience like?"

I read my picture books all the time. I think overall, I'm happy with all of them. There are a couple of things on the first one I might do differently. I actually have not read my Bubba and Squirt books carefully since they've been published. I've made teacher guides for all of them, and I've skimmed over them while producing those. I should really read them all in a row and see how the story flows, especially since they were written over a long period of time. What about you? Have you read stories you published long ago? What did you think about them?

 

Villa d'Esta

 

If you like fountains, the gardens at the Villa d'Este, in Tivoli, Italy, are a must-see.  The gardens are on the grounds of the former residence of Cardinal Ippolito d'Este.  They were built in 1572.  Today, this garden is part of the UNESCO world heritage list.

The garden is organized in terraces and steps.  Visitors will see numerous fountains, grottos, and ponds.  The Neptune fountain, pictured at the top, is the largest and most spectacular fountain.  There's also an organ fountain, which, yes, plays organ music with the sounds of the falling water.  If you'd like to hear it, the first playing is at 10:30 every day, and then it occurs every two hours.

The garden is open daily from 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM.  Admission is 10 euros for adults.

January 7 question:  Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn't get done in 2025?

I honestly didn't do much writing in 2025. Mostly it was because of the grieving due to the death of my son. I wrote some in a memoir. Maybe I'll finish that. I will continue marketing my newest book, Happy Birthday to US! which I wrote in 2023 and was published in December. I have a picture book manuscript that I might clean up and see about getting published. I also have some ideas I came up with in 2024. Maybe I'll work on those. This is the year of recovery. To rest and to feel I'm on my feet and can keep marching. 

What about you? What are your writing plans for 2026? Anything you need to finish from 2025?

 Speaking of Happy Birthday to US! there's a tour going on. If you'd like to have a chance to win an Amazon gift card, visit one of the stops and enter the drawing. 

 

How to Attract Birds to Your Winter Garden

 

Temperatures drop and many plants go dormant in winter, but that doesn't mean your garden has to be quiet and lifeless. If you intentionally create a haven for birds, it can by a time of surprising vibrancy.

Here's what to do:

• Plant with purpose. Select plants with blooms or berries in the winter to privide much-needed food for birds. In the southeastern United States, some plants that grow well are junipers, holly, Blackhaw Viburnum, Wild Indigo, Beauty Berry, Golden Rod, and Partidge Pea.  
• Provide shelter. Leave some brush piles or stacked logs in a corner of the garden. Avoid cutting back dried perennials and ornamental grasses , add bird houses, try to have a quarter of your trees and shrubs be evergreen (like junipers and holly).
• Provide water:  Heated birdbaths (change water daily), shallow dishes with stones, slow-dripping containers all provide water. Remember to keep them elevated so cats and other predators can't get the birds.    

By incorporating these things into your winter garden, you'll create a welcoming haven for birds. 

Today's IWSG question is:  As a writer, what was the coolest gift I've ever received?  When my daughter visited Paris, she took a trip to see Monet's gardens. While there, she visited a gift shop and got me a blank writing book with one of Monet's paintings on the cover. This put together two things I really enjoy—writing and gardening. 

What about you? Have you ever received a cool writing gift?

Speaking of writing:  I'm excited to announce I have a new picture book out. Just in time for America's 250th birthday in 2026! 

    Here's the Amazon link:  https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Birthday-US-Sherry-Ellis/dp/196210124X/

And the last thing:  My book, Bubba and Squirt's Adventure's Around the World, published by Dancing Lemur Press, is in All Author's Cover of the Month Contest. If you like it, please consider voting for it.

Here's the link:  https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/20230/  Thank you!

Wishing you all a very Happy Holiday season!

Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park

 

Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park, located in Hamilton, Ohio, is a unique place to visit.  I took my kids here when they were little, and they had a great time exploring the huge sculptures.  The underground pyramid-shaped house, which is now a museum, is set in 265 acres of park-like grounds featuring 37 contemporary sculputures, gardens, 7 lakes, and quite a few hiking trails.  The museum contains displays of Roman, Egyptian, and Greek sculptures that are thousands of years old.  In fact, the goal of the museum is to have a collection which will demonstrate the complete history of sculpture by mankind.

 

The grounds are open year-round from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  The museum is open daily, from 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM.  Admission is $8.00 for adults, and $2.00 for children.

This month's IWSG question is, "How has life as a writer been? Is it what you expected?"

I didn't go into writing with any expectations. My daughter, when she was 3, convinced me to publish a story that was in my head. 20 years later, here I am, with 11 published books, and a new picture book coming out soon. (Happy Birthday to US!) I think I'd have to say I've found it to be a lot of work. And not much money compensation in return. I keep hoping, though, that one day my books will hit it big. I've spent hours writing, rewriting, and marketing my books. I've been out and about at author events and schools selling and signing them. I think the best thing, aside from the creative process, is when I get feedback from readers that they really enjoy my work.  Their support and enthusiasm  keeps me going. What about you? If you're a writer, how has your experience been?