I guess improve the soil...... most suggest with compost.... alfalfa and cornmeal.... bonemeal etc. ...... check the site of course and make an outline...... sun gardens are easier.... do you have sun??????

flowersandthangs:
Well this might be the second thing to do! Assuming your niece is interested, or you want her to be interested. Ask her what she would like to grow. Suggestions, things my kids have liked, potatoes(they like digging them up), popcorn(why is obvious!), strawberries(kids can pick them and pop in mouth), regular corn.

Always an. . .Angel

green beans
cherry tomatoes
radishes are fun because they are easy and very quick- but I don't know any kids who like them!
nasturtiums- kids love eating flowers
chocolate smelling plants- heck, I even think that is neat!

basically anything that she likes to eat. my kids don't like to grow something they aren't going to like

Consider a raised bed- less weeding and less prep work

How old is your niece?? Nasturiums are fun to grow from seed, as the seeds look kinda big-ish, and they grow fast. Then you can put the flowers and leaves on sandwiches and eat 'em! The same with pansies. My dd (age 12) wants to have a vegetable garden this year, she wants to grow tomatoes and carrots among other things. Our ds (age 10) wants to plant a "rainbow garden", flowers shaped in a curve with a little row of each color of the rainbow. You might want to look for the books by Sharon Lovejoy, "Sunflower House" and "Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots". Both have lots of fun ideas.

We also found the tiny french alpine strawberry plants, the kids love them- they say they are fairy size.

Lavender can be grown and used in scones, or let her choose a rose herself fromn the local nursery that you can plant together; the unsprayed petals can be used to make sugared rose petals or to put in ice cube trays, or in a sugar bowl or place on cupcakes and cakes. If you have the space a small arch with climbing vines; such as corkscrew vine which looks pretty fun and is supposed to be very fragrant, or a honeysuckle which may encourage hummingbirds.

We're creating a "Secret Garden" of one of our side yards with our children for them. We interviewed them to see what they want their garden to be and what they wanted its useage to be. They both said they wanted to have their garden to read in, and play games. They also wanted lots of fragrant plants. I have a few pics of the Secret Garden in progress on my Picture Trail. DH is out there now rototilling the clay soil and adding soil amendments as I am typing!

Two fun movies with gardens and kids to watch with your niece, "The Secret Garden", and "Fairy Tale: the True Story".
careytearose

Here is a link that might be useful: look at the Landscaping Projects 2007 album