Haskins Garden Centres are encouraging children to get outside and connect with nature by celebrating Nationals Children’s Gardening Week (May 26 – June 3).

Presented by the Horticultural Trade Association, National Children’s Gardening Week celebrates the fun that gardens hold for kids. Haskins shares these values and is supporting young gardeners in their centres and online with activities for children and parents to enjoy.

Children will be able to learn how to encourage wildlife into their gardens, complete a range of great worksheets, and discover plants that grow in spring as well as get their hands on some gardening goodies in store throughout the week.

National Children’s Gardening Week falls in a traditionally warm week in May, meaning the conditions are ideal for families to get green fingered.

In 2016, Haskins launched Garden Gang to provide parents with free gardening projects and activities to keep outdoor busy bees entertained. There are a variety of quizzes, puzzles and games in the Garden Gang section of Haskins’ child-friendly website.

Haskins’ Garden Gang suggests some great ideas on how to get children interested in gardening including; making a bug home, making a bird snack and growing lettuce on a window sill. Alasdair Urquhart, plant advisor at Haskins in

Ferndown, said:

“We want to encourage kids to get outside, enjoy nature and have fun! National Children’s Gardening Week gives us the perfect opportunity to shout about how great gardening can be as a family activity.”

The annual gardening festival supports Greenfingers Charity, which is dedicated to providing magical gardens for children in hospices suffering from life limiting illnesses and a charity which Haskins Garden Centres frequently supports themselves. Haskins is located in Ferndown in Dorset, West End in Southampton and Roundstone and Snowhill in West Sussex.

For more information on National Children’s Gardening Week, visit www.haskins.co.uk/garden-gang