Teaching children about how life develops in the garden and greenhouse can be vital to their development, it has been suggested.
Using horticulture to explain how the natural world works is a great way to increase childrens understanding and give them a healthy hobby, madeformums.com said.
The website pointed its users in the direction of a book by Amanda Grant which teaches parents how to pass on vital skills to their offspring.
Grow It Cook It With Kids explains how youngsters can learn a lot from the world just outside their back door.
The online resource features a number of hints and tips about how best to introduce children to the world of food growing, with one section dedicated to herbs.
It explained that species such as thyme, sage, rosemary, mint, basil and parsley are all good for beginners due to their usefulness in the kitchen and their relative ease and speed of growth.
Parents should take their kids shopping for herb plants, where they will be able to taste and smell them before buying, the website claimed.
Meanwhile, those who would rather grow something else could find out where to buy it in the Royal Horticultural Societys new edition of its Plant Finder book.