TIME goes so fast. It feels like only yesterday this column was talking about the second series of the ABC television program Old People’s Home for 4-Year-Olds – a beautiful experiment bringing older adults together with lively four-year-olds for connection, play and friendship.
Yet here we are five years later, once again confronting our own feelings about growing older.
In that series, the group visited a community garden in Sydney where they were joined by gardening favourite Costa Georgiadis.
Costa has long championed the joy of teaching children where food comes from and why getting your hands in the soil matters. The children learned how to plant, how compost works, and how fascinating worms can be when you’re four years old.
When your own grandchildren visit, do you show them your garden and what you’ve planted? Do you let them dig, explore and get their hands dirty?
Do they know where their food comes from – or is their understanding limited to packages on supermarket shelves?
The upcoming school holidays offer the perfect opportunity to change that.
Why not take the kids to an animal farm or book a short farm-stay experience? It could be a Christmas present that won’t clutter the house – no toys, just an action-packed few days discovering a different way of life.
Imagine them riding a horse for the first time, meeting alpacas, or dropping a line into a quiet farm dam stocked with little freshwater crustaceans.
Camels, alpacas, horses and all manner of farm animals are within easy reach – no need to join the long holiday queues heading up or down the coast. Just a short drive to somewhere peaceful, where the soul can settle for a while.
Many farm stays offer cabins, camping and enough animals to keep the kids happily occupied while you unwind.
Perhaps this column has sparked a few ideas – leaving the noise of the city behind and embracing something simpler.
To all readers, I wish you a joyful Christmas, a safe and stress-free holiday, and we look forward to sharing more stories from The Lazy Gardener. in 2026. Till next time.
