It is all about scale. Matchbook Gardens may look like regular matchbooks, but inside they have a very green secret. Rip out a 'match', stick in the ground, and in about a week up pops either an herb or wildflower plant. An entire garden, the size of a matchbook.
We are long time guerilla-gardeners, and plan to use these to introduce the kids to the joy that is bringing life to otherwise bare patches of ground in the city. Our last matchbook was used to beautify a dirt patch in the alley behind our building, and we cannot wait until August, when those plants will be in bloom.
Of course planting from seeds means that it takes all summer to get the full effect of your planting and it can be tough for kids to be that patient, but on the other hand, gardening really doesn't get easier than this! No hoeing, no weeding, no mess - just rip and stick. $4.99 per Matchbook Garden.
Good Posts:
• Root-Vue: Indoor Gardening
• Gardening for Kids
• Guerilla Gardening
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Although extremely cute, I'm not sure what the point is. I started this morning by reading the NY Times article on green consumerism and its pointlessness, and i feel like this matchbook falls into that category. Why buy something that is packaged (more waste) when you can just as easily buy a packet of seeds (cheaper and less waste).
Guerrilla gardening is awesome, but why not just poke a hole with your finger and drop in a seed or two, the good old way? And how does a matchbook help teach children how things grow? Seeds don't come out of matchbooks, they come out of plants.
view Eliza's profile
These are very cute. Yes, it is cheaper and less wasteful to just buy a pack of seeds, but I think it would be good for kids because they often do not have the fine motor skills to handle tiny seeds.
view geckotoes1's profile
I bought a pack of matchstick garden- flowers. They didn't grow. Instead, they molded. Maybe some other people are having better luck with this product.
view Mrs.S's profile
On a somewhat related tangent regarding planting, children, and fine motor skills, my 2.5 yo's class in daycare planted grass seeds this spring in little cups. The grass grew very quickly, within a week or so, and they started working with children's scissors to give the grass "haircuts" and start learning cutting skills. Thought it was a neat idea, worth sharing.
view dollhouse's profile