There’s no denying it: screens are addictive. From messaging friends to doomscrolling daily news, it’s tough to tear ourselves away from those devious devices. And when kids see us with our noses perpetually in our phones, it may seem a bit hypocritical to encourage them to put down their own devices.
But if you can’t beat them—join them! While it may seem counterintuitive to pick up your phone or Switch and join your kid’s video games, there’s a method to the madness. When you show an active interest in cozy gardening games, like Stardew Valley, Township, Roblox’s Grow a Garden, and even Minecraft, you can gently plant the idea to transition on-screen gardens into the great outdoors.
Whether you’re a gaming expert or neophyte, you’ll find 5 easy steps to transition digital gardens into digging in soil—all while sneaking in a few fun gardening lessons without your kids catching on.
From Screen to Soil: 5 Tips to Get Kids Growing IRL (In Real Life)
Before you buy the first packet of seeds or turn over a trowel of soil, set realistic expectations—both for your kids and you. Truthfully, some aspects of online garden games outweigh real-world growing. Heat, humidity, and pesky mosquitoes can turn a fun outdoor activity into a sticky, itchy, whiny mess. Timing is everything when you introduce kids to real gardening. If possible, start the adventure with a spring garden, when the elements work in your favor: sweltering temperatures haven’t arrived yet, nor have the mosquitoes.
Along with the climate, consider the time of day—particularly if you’re gardening with young children. Avoid introducing kids to gardening when they’re hungry or tired. Early morning or after naptime makes for a more pleasant garden experience for everyone. And avoid big battles. If your child watches their favorite show at 9 a.m. every morning, the garden will still be ready and waiting at 9:30. Make the garden a place for fun, not fuss.
If you’re trying to transition kids from growing virtual gardens to tending physical food and flowers, consider a first step: garden crafts.
Save seed and bulb catalogs, and let kids cut out their favorite finds. Ask how they’d like their garden to look—no idea is too wild—and let them create their ideal space on a poster board to serve as their “vision” for the garden.
1. Show Interest: Play Garden Video Games with Your Kids
Some of us are gamers, and some of us are not. That’s OK. Whether you embrace the virtual gardening world or run screaming from pixelated petunias, playing cozy gardening games with kids is the perfect way to show interest in their interests. And they’re not alone.
According to a June 30, 2025, Associated Press report, the gardening game Roblox’s Grow a Garden, with its classical music and low-stress vibe, logged 21.6 million concurrent players on one day—surpassing Fortnite’s previous record of 15.2 million.
People, including kids, need an escape from reality.
If you’re a daily gamer or stare blankly as the kids build digital blocks into animals and objects that all look the same (although they’re pigs, cows, and garden plots, apparently), remember—let kids take the gaming lead. Ask them to explain the game’s premise—even if you already know it—and allow them to guide you through their digital world. Kids love sharing their knowledge and interests with adults, so let them shine.
As you navigate through the digital space, keep an eye out for ways to apply those virtual gardens into your real-world backyard. For instance, in the popular game Stardew Valley, the character inherits his grandfather’s dilapidated farm. Players manage the farm by clearing land, growing seasonal crops, and raising animals. Because players plant seeds that need daily watering and must be harvested before the next season, it’s a perfect tie-in to real-world gardens.
Likewise, whether players choose “creative” or “survival” mode, Minecraft engages kids in growing food as they build their worlds. Famous for the infinite terrain made up of voxels (cubes), the premise of Square Foot Gardening makes a perfect real-world segue from digital blocks to 1-foot by 1-foot garden grids in a raised bed.
And as you tour the gardens on their devices, point out food and flowers they can grow in the real world. Help them distinguish between fictional food, like glow berries in Minecraft, versus carrots, potatoes, and melons they can grow at home. Ask kids which food and flowers they like best on their games and make mental notes for phase 2.
2. Give Kids Their Own Garden Space
Digital gardens give kids control. In the virtual world, players create gardens filled with whatever they like—or at least, they start out with basics and earn more elaborate additions as they progress. No adult lurks over the screen, telling kids where and what to plant. The success—and failure—of the virtual garden rests on the player’s shoulders. Garden games help kids build confidence, correct mistakes, and celebrate successes as their gardens grow.
A real-world garden should mirror the digital independence. Give kids a garden space of their own.
Whether you have ample room in the backyard, a slice of space in the front garden, or a sunny balcony, kids can grow a garden anywhere there’s sun and a nearby source for water. Involve them in selecting the site, asking where they think the garden should be placed, based on their gardening games. Most games show players what plants need to grow successfully, so ask leading questions to help your young gardener pick the perfect place for their garden. (And add gentle reminders, if necessary, about light and water sources.)
If you have space, in-ground gardens mirror many farming-based games. Clearing the site, adding compost, and hoeing rows for crops may appeal to kids who want to follow the game closely in their real-world garden.
But for an easy transition from screen to soil, you might consider containers, raised beds, or raised planters. Perfect for smaller yards or poor soil, these products help get kids growing quickly.
Just remember: this garden space is for kids.
Let them lead the way, with only gentle guidance from you.
3. Empower Kids with Choices
Cozy garden games give players options—and now, it’s time to let kids transition those choices to their real-world garden. Here’s where seed catalogs, the designed posterboard, and games themselves can guide your young gardener.
Ask your child which foods and flowers they want to grow, as well as how those plants grow in the game. Let them take the lead. If needed, remind them which plants grow in cool seasons versus the heat of summer, as well as plants that need full sun and those that tolerate a bit of shade.
Next, let the kids pick their favorite foods to grow. When you study seed catalogs together, you’ll find many edible varieties with fun, kid-appealing names, like Dragon Tongue beans, Green Zebra tomatoes, and Tom Thumb peas. Discuss how many plants can fit in the garden space, but then the choice of plants is theirs. Offer commentary only if those plants won’t grow well in your USDA zone.
A few plant options to consider, based on those grown in cozy garden games, include:
Yellow Moon Carrot
Beautiful, bright-yellow carrot with clean, crisp flavor grows 7 to 8 inches long.
Chioggia Guardsmark Beet
A favorite for a distinctive candy-striped interior and sweet, mild flavor, it produces consistently round, flattened roots with the classic pink-and-white bull’s eye interior.
Strawberries
Everbearing strawberries produce high yields of large, sweet fruit from late spring through fall. Perfect for jam, preserves, fresh eating, or desserts.
Camaro Pumpkin
Bright orange, jack-o’-lantern-type pumpkin, ideal for carving. Kids will love growing their own Halloween decoration.
Clancy Potato
Starting potato plants from seed minimizes disease potential. Plants produce 3-to-4-ounce spuds in varying shades of red, with creamy white-to-yellow flesh, ideal for mashing and boiling. 2019 AAS National Winner.
Mambo Watermelon
A staple of summertime picnics, kids will love growing their own watermelons. An easy-to-grow variety, the vines produce perfectly round melons with a deep-green rind and bright red flesh. AAS Winner 2020.
4. Sneak in Some Garden Lessons
As the kids pick their plants, sow their seeds, and tend their gardens, remind them of several game-inspired tasks that translate into a productive, healthy real-world garden.
In Stardew Valley, for instance, certain crops—like beans—require trellising to grow well. Help your gardener build a trellis with bamboo poles and jute, or let them select a cute trellis to add character to their garden.
In Minecraft, bees pollinate crops, advancing plants’ growth, while in Stardew Valley, players plant sunflowers to attract bees. Adding pollinator-friendly plants to the garden mimics the digital game, helping to boost harvests.
Feeding plants, too, is important in both virtual and real-world gardens. Here, though, you may need to explain the difference between real fertilizers and virtual ones. In Roblox’s Grow a Garden, for instance, players use Quick-Grow Fertilizer to reduce harvest time by 30 percent. Stress the importance of feeding the garden with healthy, strong plants that produce a good harvest.
5. Celebrate Garden Successes Big and Small
You know how it is. The garden thrills—and disappoints.
Be your young gardener’s biggest champion, cheering on successes and comforting their disappointments. Share your garden-fail stories with your kids when things don’t go as they hope. Kids need to know grownups fail sometimes, too.
But most of all, celebrate!
When the first flush of strawberries ripens, let your kids eat them straight from the plant—and then ask them what treat they’d like to make with the next strawberry harvest. Help them pull carrots when the shoulders appear above the soil line—and make a soup together with the fresh food. Give them a pair of snips to collect sunflower blooms for a pretty bouquet to decorate the dinner table. They’ll love showing off the food and flowers they grew in their real-world garden.
And then, spend a little time playing with them in their cozy digital gardens to plan next year’s IRL (In Real Life) garden.
Do you know that National Garden Bureau members include the most innovative breeders and distributors of plants and products ideal to inspire young gardeners?
If you want to create a cozy kids’ space based on their favorite video game, check the plants and products available from National Garden Bureau members.
About National Garden Bureau
Founded more than 100 years ago, the National Garden Bureau educates, inspires, and motivates people to grow home gardens. National Garden Bureau members are horticultural experts, and the information shared with you comes directly from these experts to ensure your gardening success.
This post is an educational and inspirational service of the National Garden Bureau and our members. Please credit and link to the National Garden Bureau and the author member when using all or parts of this article.
