My almost 2-year-old and I were in the back yard, attempting to water plants. I was covered in mosquitoes and desperately trying to wrangle the watering can (really an old water pitcher) from my son’s eager hands.

Then I realized: what am I doing? He wants to water the plants! I swatted the mosquitoes away and found a new measure of peace as I watched my child toddle around, dumping water on the hydrangeas, the already-blossoming mums, the tea olive tree and the butterfly bush.

It turns out that such outdoor time is becoming a rarity for today’s children. Ever hear of the No Child Left Inside Act of 2007? It gives states the ability to use state money for environmental literacy education. What might interest you more is that No Child Left Inside has become a full-fledged movement with over 520 member organizations in the country (find one near you here).

The movement has its roots in Richard Louv’s critically praised book, “Last Child in the Woods,” which described the new phenomenon of “nature-deficit disorder;” you can read more about the growing movement in Louv’s 2007 article for Orion Magazine, “Leave No Child Inside.”

A lot of my friends who are parents are on an eternal quest to lessen their kids’ TV times and get them outdoors. There’s good reason to do this—a new study published in the July/August issue of Child Development finds that even background television distracts children as young as 12 months, disrupting their play posing a “significant environmental hazard” to the development. (The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends discouraging television viewing altogether for children under the age of 2, and limiting TV time to 1-2 hours of “quality programming” a day for older children.)

What to do? Luckily, children and gardening go hand-in-hand. The very young can rest on a blanket outside as you work, perhaps playing with a pile of dead-headed blooms. Toddlers can carry tools, help dig and pour from a watering can. Older children can pick out plants to plot their very own garden.

Don’t have a yard? Consider container gardening for decks, porches, balconies or windowsills (A vegetable garden all in containers? Why not!). Or think about joining or starting a community garden. You Grow Girl is an excellent resource for urban gardeners.

Before you dig
Research beforehand: know your soil, sun and water situation (some drought-stricken areas, like mine, have restrictions on watering). Go for native, hardy specimens that will thrive in your particular yard. I make an effort to choose plants that thrive under neglect!

Learn your plant hardiness zone; that way you can plan for garden goodies year-round (even cold climate dwellers can enjoy “Autumn Joy” sedum or hellebores in the winter). I have a small garden that’s nothing but different varieties of phlox, which gives me an exciting show of pink and white in early spring, and a nice thick green carpet of foliage the rest of the year.

A word on tools
Older children might want their own set of gardening tools, and there are plenty adorable ones that come in bright colors and scaled-down sizes. With supervision, though, there’s no reason why your child can’t use the regular old spade you already have. Here’s another option: when I was trying to dig a hole quickly and didn’t feel like sharing my spade, Tommy happily scooped dirt with a plastic beach shovel beside me.

Planting with a child in mind
Think like a kid and engage all of your senses. Get plants that smell nice, feel weird, look funny. Look for furry leaves and intense colors. Plant low-maintenance things that grow easily and fast. Grow things you can eat. And keep trying until you find the right plant that turns your thumb green. (I can’t grow tomatoes to save my life, but I produced a very fine crop of soybeans one year.)

If you’re mostly interested in growing food, Eartheasy offers a list of top 10 kid-friendly plants here.

Here are just a few of my favorites, sure to spark a child’s already-fertile imagination:

• Breathe deeply with honeysuckle, lemon verbena, mint, lavender, lemon balm, rosemary, oregano and basil.

• Enjoy kooky shapes with bleeding-heart (common or wild), torch lily (sometimes called red-hot poker), spider chrysanthemum, lantana (my favorite kind is “Miss Huff,” with its bright gold and pink clusters), globe thistle and purple coneflower.

• Get fuzzy with velvetleaf mallow, lamb’s ear and common mullein (which has the added benefit of looking absolutely crazy—one of ours shot up to around 7 feet tall, sporting a corncob-like growth of small yellow flower clusters).

• Attract butterflies with butterfly bush, butterfly weed, marigolds, black-eyed Susan and daylilies, to name a few. The University of Kentucky’s Entomology Department has tips on creating a butterfly garden here.
  

Picking plants, digging holes and getting dirty is just part of the fun. If you find joy in watching things grow, imagine the sense of wonder and pride in your child’s eyes as he or she watches the fruit of their labor bloom before them.