My hoe hit the earth with a thud. "I hate yard work," I muttered to myself.

Somehow, through disinterest and neglect, my husband and I had allowed our sparsely vegetated backyard to become the neighborhood eyesore. It was time for some sweat and hard work. My husband helpfully offered to watch the baby. This left me hacking vines and digging up weeds with my 5-year-old.

"Look, Mommy!" my son exclaimed, pointing to the upturned soil. "What’s that?" I set down the hoe and bent over the pile of dirt to look.

"Oh, it’s a grub," I said, flexing my sore hands to pick up the tiny insect. "Some bugs dig into the earth. This one," I added, as I dropped it back on the ground, "would make good fishing bait." I sighed and picked up the hoe again.

"Can I do that, Mommy?" My son was eyeing my hoe with interest.

"I guess so." I handed him the hoe and watched with amusement as he tried to lift it.

"Here," I said, "why don’t you try this one?" I handed him a smaller garden tool and he scampered happily toward the flower beds. Soon, he was whacking the earth with unbridled enthusiasm. My son was so intent on his new job that he didn’t notice me leaning against my hoe, watching him with a growing sense of pride. In time, he brought me an earthworm, asked why plants had roots and begged me to let him plant the flower seedlings. Observing him, I learned something valuable: My dreaded task was his delight. My son loves to garden.

How soon can you start gardening with your child? Leslie McDermott, a public relations specialist for Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, believes that children should begin gardening as early as possible. She says, "You can never start them young enough. I have an almost 6-year-old, and he’s been gardening for two years."

"At ages 3 to 5, children can begin to enjoy simple, fun gardening activities," says Lynn Richard, children’s program manager at Brookside Gardens. She suggests exploring seeds as a first activity. "Observe a variety of seeds. Sort them by size and color." Your child might even make a seed collection, she says.

Kate Copsey, a certified master gardener and freelance garden writer (www.katecopsey.com), warns that planting seeds and waiting for them to germinate may grow tiring for young gardeners. She points out that "ready-grown plants that give the instant garden are more gratifying."

Copsey suggests planting fast-growing seeds, like giant sunflowers, and then having the child measure the plant’s growth. "Another fun thing," she says, "is to carve the child’s name on a little pumpkin. Then as the pumpkin grows, the name-scar grows too." Setting aside one day a week to work in the garden will increase the "Wow!" factor of these activities, she says.

"Gardening with children has so many benefits," says Richard. "I think the greatest benefit is that the act of gardening — whether indoors or out — instills in children a sense of wonder."

Stimulate your child’s imagination.

"The garden provides an environment where basic life sciences are learned by the child and exploration is inspired, not taught in the classroom," says Richard. This was certainly true at my house. It wasn’t long after my son picked up the hoe that he had given himself a new name. "I’m Garden Boy," he said proudly. "I live in that tree over there."

Richard says, "It is through the process of creating and maintaining a garden that one can learn about the foundations of life, our earth’s habitats and ecosystems, and the interdependence of plants and animals." And these lessons don’t have to be complicated to be meaningful. For example, when my son brought me a worm, I took the opportunity to teach him how worms help to aerate the soil by making tunnels. These underground channels provide space within the soil for plants to take root. I also made mental notes of his many questions that I couldn’t answer. When our yard work was completed, we consulted several gardening books together to find the answers. (If you don’t have a green thumb, check out the titles in the sidebar for inspiration.)

In today’s mobile society, many of us are relative newcomers to the area where we live. Gardening, particularly growing native plants, provides a way for children to feel a connection with their new home.

One of Richard’s suggestions is to plant a theme-based garden. She says, "Through a theme-based garden, children can learn so much about history and the value of plants. For example, in our current children’s theme garden (Phil and Rhoda Dendron’s ‘Eastern Woodland Indian Garden’), visitors can learn how American Indians depended upon plants for shelter, medicine and food. A wigwam, dugout canoe and scarecrow platform help to interpret the theme. Children can learn about American Indian early farming techniques, transportation, important food crops, the gathering of food crops, and can even have fun playing an American Indian game made from plants."

Regular chores, like watering and weeding a garden, teach responsibility. "[Children] get to experience that even the best laid plans fall prey to unforeseen problems, [like] droughts, bugs, fungi. How you deal with these problems is a lesson in tolerance and overcoming obstacles," says Copsey.

In our case, my son and I discovered that, although the season had started out rainy, that didn’t mean that we could forget about watering. We learned the hard way that gardens need constant attention. A few hot days delivered a painful lesson about plant death and the high cost of buying replacement seedlings out of season.

One of the best benefits of gardening is having a shared goal with your child. Whether you are tackling the weeds together or deciding what to plant next, you are strengthening your bond as a family. Gardening with my son taught me that a boring chore for grown-ups can translate into quality time with children.

"Young children, particularly, learn from us, not from outsiders," reminds Copsey. "For your child to enjoy gardening, you have to be seen to enjoy it, too."

But don’t worry. Gardening doesn’t have to be complicated. As Richard puts it, children learn by doing, whether they are sitting in the garden with you reading and relaxing or digging in the dirt by your side, measuring the height of those new seedlings.

Richard suggests that parents first introduce gardening by teaching children where fruits and vegetables originate. "Look on a map to see the geographical area where a particular plant or spice comes from," she says.

Next, she recommends growing some of the fruits and vegetables that you have already purchased from the store. Save the seeds from fruit that you eat, and cut the tops from root vegetables like carrots or radishes. Plant the seeds in small containers of soil; place the vegetable tops in a shallow dish, and cover them with a thin layer of pebbles or gravel. Provide your new garden with plenty of water and sunlight.

Richard says, "Some bean seeds and corn can germinate on damp paper towels providing an opportunity to observe the process of germination. Talk about seed parts, the function of each and what plants need in order to grow — space, sunlight, water and nutrients."

After you have tended to your kitchen garden, it is time to visit and tour a farm. "Explain to children how produce is farmed," Richard says. "Talk to your children about the importance of an agricultural farm. Explain how farmers and growers are dependent upon honey bees to pollinate their crops … Plants in general need insects, especially honey bees, to carry their pollen from one flower to the next to ensure seed production." This simple life cycle of reproduction is fundamental for the survival of most plant species, she says. Richard also reminds us to support community-based agriculture by purchasing fruits and vegetables from local organic farms.

"Of course, it would be ideal to make gardening a family activity," says Richard. She suggests that the family plant a garden outdoors. "The best [option] is giving your child space to have his or her own garden and letting them select the plants they want to grow."

Does your child love gardening? Check out these organizations:

4-H, a national science organization for youth that includes gardening activities, is open to children in grades K-12. To find a club in your area, contact the county extension office for your state (or district). The county extension office can also provide information about the Junior Master Gardener Program, a youth gardening certificate program for children in grades 3-8.

In Washington, D.C., contact the Cooperative Extension Service at 202-274-7115.

In Maryland, contact the Maryland 4-H Center at 301-314-9070.

In Virginia, contact your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office or the Virginia 4-H State Office at 540-231-6371.

Brookside Gardens, located within Wheaton Regional Park, features a children’s garden and offers classes and workshops (including summer camp) for children ages 3 to 12. While you are there, be sure to visit the Visitor Center Children’s Classroom. From now until June 9, 2007, children ages 3 to 6 can enjoy a free story time and craft there on Saturday mornings, 10:00-10:30 a.m. and 10:30-11:00 a.m. No registration is required for Saturday story time; to find out more or to register for classes and workshops, call 301-962-1400.

Green Spring Gardens, in Alexandria, offers a number of classes and events for children and families. Garden Sprouts, a program offered on Thursdays and Saturdays, is tailored for children ages 3 to 5. Family Fun programs are offered on Saturdays for children ages 6 and up. Let’s Grow Kids’ Garden 2007 is a Saturday afternoon hands-on gardening class where children ages 8 to 12 get to tend a children’s garden. Call 703-642-5173 to find out more about specific times, dates and fees. Green Spring Gardens also has a reading corner with a photocopy machine. A master gardener is available every afternoon from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m., to assist visitors with using this on-site library.

Here are some titles for the youngest gardeners:

Growing Vegetable Soup, by Lois Ehlert

Jack’s Garden, by Henry Cole

Seeds! Seeds! Seeds! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

Tops & Bottoms, by Janet Stevens

These books are for you to share together:

All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space! by Mel Bartholomew

Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children by Sharon Lovejoy

The Enchanted Gardening Book: Ideas for Using Plants to Beautify Your World, Both Indoors and Out by Alice Herck