Until recently, children played outdoors after school and in the summer. Today, however, children are more likely to spend their free time indoors, watching television, playing video games, or using a computer. But children thrive in the natural world — studies show that they work and mature better mentally, physically, and emotionally when exposed to nature. This book offers a wide range of innovative examples showing how to create special places in which children can experience nature on their own home turf. Featured throughout are miniature paradises that parents and grandparents have designed just for the children in their lives, highlighting an enchanting variety of elements that will make any garden come alive.