Grow a spaghetti garden. Plant herbs such as basil, oregano, rosemary, and parsley. My kids love to snip fresh herbs. They stuff their pockets full of scented “spaghetti” herbs.

Share your garden with butterflies and hummingbirds. Zinnias, Verbena, and Cosmos are butterfly favorites. Hummingbirds love nectar from Nasturtium and Lantana, and Hollyhocks.

Children love to pick up bugs and worms. Poke holes in top of an old jar. Add some dirt and a few, new found specimens. Be sure to release critters back into nature after a few hours.

Arm your kids with cameras to take photos throughout summer. They will enjoy remembering fruits of their labor. And, pictures will help your budding gardener plan for next year.

Happy planting. And, don’t forget to pick a few bouquets for mom.

You have permission to reprint this article electronically or in print, free of charge, provided that each article is: 1. Printed in its full form with no changes 2. Includes an active link 3. A courtesy copy of your publication is sent to above contact 4. And following byline appears at bottom of each article: About Author: Rondi Hillstrom Davis is co-author of award-winning book Together: Creating Family Traditions. To check out her website that's jam packed with family ideas, visit To subscribe to her online newsletter, go to

More about "True" Solomon's Seal, also known as Hairy, or Twin-flowered Solomon's Seal. The scientific name for this wild flower is Polygonatum biflorum. As noted above, this plant produces whitish or yellowish green tubular bell-shaped flowers. It can put out up to four flowers at once, but usually tends to produce two at a time - thus name "Twin-Flowered" - per penduncle. The twin-flowered solomon's seal has simple, slender, leafy stems and grows from eight inches to three feet tall. The leaves can be oval, pointed or lance-shaped and grow from two to four inches long. These have a soft, hairy texture along veins on underside of leaf. It too produces berries, and these are a blue-black color. The plant tends to wilt after producing berries.

This wild flower prefers to grow in woods or thickets, and on shady banks. It flowers from April to June and does well in areas such as Florida and Michigan. http://www.garden-scoop.com