Gardening with children can be a rewarding experience for both the youths and the adults.

It is a great time for gardeners to pass on their enthusiasm and knowledge to the next generation. This includes not only your own children, but nieces, nephews, grandchildren and yes, possibly those children next door.

Moving the youngsters away from the TV and computer to the garden might be as easy as giving them their own garden spot and helping them find plants that are different and interesting to grow

A garden for a child can be as small as a pot of marigolds on the deck or as large as a tilled up area planted with their choice of flowers, vegetables or fruit. Children can enjoy having a corner of a perennial flower bed or a row in the family vegetable garden.

Most importantly, their garden needs to be a place where they can take ownership of the planting, tending and harvesting.

There are so many plants to choose from that even the most experienced gardeners can get overwhelmed with the variety.

So keep the age of your budding gardener in mind and suggest plants that are appealing and easy to grow. Most young gardeners will be impatient see their plants make an appearance.

Try planting seeds that germinate quickly, such as zinnias, radishes or cosmos. Larger seeds such as beans, corn and sunflowers are easier for the young to handle.

A trip to the nursery to buy plants can give the garden a head start and make waiting for those seeds to sprout a little easier.

Remind the children to keep the seeds and the seedlings watered. Children and water equal fun, but oversee the watering. Too little water will dry out the seedbed and stress out the seedlings, but a hose turned on full blast can uproot plants and flood the soil.

Neither are ideal conditions for growing.

There are wonderful plants that can lure any child outdoors. Seed catalogs are a great resource for finding unusual varieties to plant.

Pumpkins can be grown if there is enough room. What could be more fun than growing "Spookie," "Jack-O-Lantern" or "Lumina" (white) to carve when Halloween arrives?

Also, you can try the tiny "Jack-Be-Little," "Baby Boo," or "Sweetie Pie" pumpkin-shaped gourds that are just two or three inches wide.

Most children have seen tomatoes, but who wouldn't be interested in one that is white ("Italian Ice") or yellow ("Golden Rave")? No child would want to sit indoors and miss moonflowers unfurling their blooms when the sun sets.

Harvest for the young gardener comes anytime he or she wanders out in the yard to pick a cherry tomato or gather a fistful of flowers to take indoors. Your child will be so proud to have grown the beans that are on the dinner table that night.

Harvest time for the adults is seeing this child grown into someone who loves to garden, someone just like themselves.

Debbi Manes is a member of the Penn State Master Gardeners of Butler County.