Rainbow Garden Step 1 — Rainbow Pots

Ever since I came across this picture of the Keukenhof Tulip Fields in Holland, I’ve wanted my own version of rainbow garden.

The problem is I’m a terrible gardener. I don’t even like gardening very much (just the finished product).   But I’m determined to do some digging the dirt with the kids, and armed with inspiration, I’m giving it another go.   I’ll blog the process in three steps (as we do them).  The first step is an activity for the children: painting the pots for our garden.

Materials

While researching what paint to use for our garden project, I discovered outdoor paints is available in large tins.  An alternative in smaller amounts, is outdoor craft paint, but there is only limited (and boring) colours.    A little more reading, and I decided to use non-toxic acrylic paint, and seal with an outdoor gloss varnish for protection.  Bright is ALL part of this garden, so happy colours are a must!

Pots (I bought pots from Ikea but Terracotta pots work well too)

Acrylic paint (and paint brushes)

Outdoor Gloss Varnish (I used Jo Sonja’s Gloss Varnish – Indoor & Outdoor Use)

Rainbow Pots

I let the children loose with blobs on paint a piece of paper, water in plastic cups and paint brushes.  (We have a dedicated collapsible craft table so I don’t stress about mess).

After the paint dried on the pots, I did three coats of varnish.  I did this over a few days, just when I thought about it.  The varnish took about 1 hour to dry between coats.

So, step one of our garden project is done and I love it!  For the next step in the process, I’ve asked dirtgirl from dirtgirlworld to help me with gardening tips and what to plant, so look out for that post soon.

More

Part 1 Rainbow Garden: Paint Pots

Part 2 Rainbow Garden: Planting Nasturtiums

Part 3 Rainbow Garden: Watching it Grow

A Rock Play Garden

Another post from dirtgirl: 10 Winter Gardening Tips for Kids