If You Build It, They Will Come.

This past week my favorite woman in the world (who also happens to be the queen of creative), came to visit and Eisley and I were over the moon with excitement! The rest of the world disappears when Gigi is in town and Eisley was throwing out “I don’t want mama anymore” like I was cramping her style. Its okay baby girl, I get it. I have never loved and appreciated my mom more than I do now that I am a mother with a daughter of my own.  I could go on and on but I’ll just say she’s top-notch and when I grow up I want to be just like her.

Day One: Prepping

Anywho, one of my summer bucket list to-dos was to build a small garden for E.  I wanted to give her a colorful and imaginative space she could call her own where curiosity and independence go hand in hand and fairies and gnomes are welcome. I thought it would be all the more special to create while my mom was in town since gardening is way more in her wheelhouse than mine. I love gardens but I’m more of a succulent kind of girl where I plant it and let it take care of itself. Our backyard is on a canyon so we are pretty limited in terms of what survives the harsh sun which is why we chose to do herbs, strawberries and some snapdragons for a pop of color. At nearly 23 months, Eisley is obsessed with being outdoors and watering all the plants in the yard. She has a serious love of nature with bees, ladybugs “wizzards” and “honeybirds” (that’s lizards and hummingbirds) at the top of her list. The minute I told her we were going to make a home for all of her little friends, she was hooked and I knew this project was going to be a personal favorite.

my mom teaching her how to get her hands dirty

Day Three: Just Stopping By

I’m all about recycling and re-purposing things I already have when it comes to kiddo projects so I used four small, rectangular planter boxes and whatever leftover paint I could find in our garage. My mom and I painted the wood and decided to stagger the planter boxes vertically which required my husband to  build a staircase frame to lean up against the house. We chose snapdragons for the top planter, an assortment of herbs for the middle and strawberries for the bottom. Eisley collected rocks which my mom then hand painted with the word and picture for an adorable, toddler-friendly label. I used Mod Podge as a sealant on the rocks. I painted small, wooden letters spelling her name for some added color and personalization, sealed them with Mod Podge and then glued Starbucks’s coffee stoppers to the back of each letter to use as a steak to place in the dirt.

Day Six: “Stwaberry” picking

Five Step DIY Planter-Box Garden Tutorial in Pictures:

1. collect old planter-boxes

2. build frame

3. sand and paint planter-boxes

4. plant flowers, herbs, fruits, etc. in soil

5. decorate

This garden is the perfect size for my almost two-year old or any toddler/child just starting out. I spent about $50 total on the flowers, herbs, fruit and soil and the rest of the materials needed I already had. Eventually, I would love to incorporate more fruits and vegetables to teach her how fun it is to grow, pick and eat from her own garden. I’d love to hear what you’ve done to get your little ones in the garden. ❤

Shop the Look–> Shift Dress: Vince | Ladybug Flutter Top (same print, different syle): Gap | Sun Stripe Bodydress: Tooby Doo | Glitter Jellyfish Slip-On: Tom’s

Happy Friday!!