By maximizing the magic and minimizing the chores, our readers bring out the green thumb in their kids. Here are their best projects, tips, and activities.

1. CREATE A LOVING GARDEN
Faced with a bounty of choices, how does a flower gardener decide what to plant? For Ann O'Keefe of Lisle, Illinois, the answer was to let love lead the way. She and her kids, Patrick and Erin, asked close friends and relatives to name their favorite flowers, which were then incorporated into the O'Keefes' planting scheme. For years, the garden has bloomed with family favorites like Aunt Lisa's Irises and Papa's Peonies. Today, both kids are teenagers, but their time in the "loving garden" helped nurture a passion for nature that persists today. As it happens, so do some of the original flowers. "After all these years," says Ann, "it's nice to have a living reminder of the people who've meant the most to us."

2. GROW VEGGIES FROM VEGGIES
After my daughter, Lily, and I planted our first vegetable garden together, she emerged with a better sense of where her food came from -- but she still thought seeds originated in a paper packet. To disabuse her of that notion, I let her rescue a few tomato seeds from her tossed salad, dry them on paper towels, and stow them away until next spring. By the time her first seedlings poked up, she'd absorbed an important lesson about the circle of life.
Tip: If you want to save your own seeds, start with green beans or peppers -- reliable and easy to grow -- and store them in paper bags in a cool, dry place.