by Nicholas Walker, Brand Ambassador for kathy ireland Designs – Jardin

Kids love mazes and so do grownups. A really fun garden project for the family is designing and growing your very own maze and you don’t need a castle sized garden to make it happen.  It takes creativity, enthusiasm and hard work but the end result is amazing!

First of all get out your pencil and paper and start drawing, keep it simple but interesting and remember that once outside you may have to adapt some of your ideas to the garden and space that you are working with.  A trip to the library with the kids may not seem like a gardening activity but there are a lot of fantastic books on mazes and like any big project doing a lot of research is the best way to ensure that yours it will be a success.

So now you have a design so it is time to head outside and see how the design will fit into your landscape.  In a limited space, mowing in-between the hedges and plants may be tricky so consider putting down landscaping matting then gravel or stepping stones for a very picturesque and low maintenance walk way through the maze.

About 25 feet wide is about as small as you can go to make your maze; but it smaller does not mean less interesting, in fact a small maze can mean giant fun for kids who love anything miniature.

Next step is to stake out the outline of your maze using garden stakes and string. Bear in mind how big the plants and shrubs will grow when they reach maturity. It is important that you leave enough room for pathways and for the design to be clearly seen.

A quicker, inexpensive and simpler way to make your maze is to use vines and fast growing plants such as: Clematis, Virginia Creeper, honeysuckles, Sweet peas, morning glories, Trumpet creeper, Wisteria. Check your climate zone plants for the vines that grow well in your region.  Vines need to grow against something and so trellis or posts will need to be used as the outline for the maze and they do need to be pruned regularly to keep the maze’s lines clean and sharply defined. You will not only have an amazing maze in no time but it will be a fragrant labyrinth as well and kids will love the sweet smell of success when the project is complete.

Bear in mind that the element of surprise is essential to a maze being interesting, so planting flowers of different heights will add to the mystery of your labyrinth.  Some annuals can pack a towering punch in a maze, sunflowers are easy to grow, inexpensive and they can grow to great heights; oh and kids love sunflowers. Corn is another fast growing, fun addition to any maze and they taste great at the dinner table too.

The center of your maze should have a grassy spot where the kids and you can rest and enjoy a quiet moment. A bench or a water feature adds a nice finishing touch or perhaps a garden gnome for a bit of whimsy.

Keeping your maze neat and tidy will take maintenance but the end result is such fun that kids will love to do the work. So enter the labyrinth and discover that home grown success is a puzzle that is well worth figuring out.

by Nicholas Walker, Brand Ambassador for kathy ireland Designs – Jardin

In the midst of winter it is hard to believe that spring is around the corner as the weather is still cold and the garden is still in slumber. For kids itching to be in the great outdoors February can be a bleak month but a wonderful way to see color and life in the garden at this time of year is to encourage birds to come and visit the backyard and the best way to do that is to feed them and they will keep coming back for more. Winter is a hard time for all animals seeking food and shelter so feeding the birds is a considerate thing and the kids will enjoy seeing them return day after day. Here are some great tips on how to feed the birds:

• Birds like to feed where they feel secure, away from predators. So place a feeder up high where cats and squirrels can’t get to it or if you choose a ground feeder put up a mesh fence around it to help protect the birds.
• Suet is a great choice for birds that eat insects. You can purchase suet at most meat counters or buy it as a cake with seeds and berries in it. It is a delicious treat for birds in the winter but not in the summer as it can spoil in the heat and become rancid quickly, not very appealing. String popcorn and cranberries together and hang them on trees and bushes in the garden, this is a fun task for kids to participate in and  an added bonus is that the garden will get decorated but hopefully not for long.
• An age old favorite for kids and birds alike is to smear a pinecone with peanut butter and cover it in bird seed, then hang the pine cone from a tree string or ribbon and see how the birds love it.
• Don’t forget that water is very important at this time of year as well and in very cold climates purchasing a bird bath heater is a good idea, never ever add anti-freeze to the water as it is poisonous to all birds and animals.
• Always store your bird seed in a dry, cool spot in a rodent proof container. Do not use seed that has been stored for a long time, if in doubt throw it out. Feed the birds and your family will have hours of bird watching pleasure and the joy of knowing that you have made another living creatures life easier during the hard winter months.