By Brenna R. Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

UNION - Sam Burgheim excitedly called across the garden to his little sister. "Look over here, there's a watermelon," the 5-year-old said as he bent down to show Emily, 3, the large green melon.

Then he was off. Exploring the pioneer cabin, spotting peppers in the pizza garden and sticking his hand in a bubbling water fountain.

Sam was doing exactly what organizers hope kids will do every day in the Children's Garden at the Boone County Arboretum. Explore. Play. Learn.

"Children are always told don't touch," said Gwen Birthelmer, of Union, who helped create the garden that opened Sunday at the arboretum in Central Park. "We want them to explore, we want them to climb and do all sorts of kid stuff."

The Children's Garden, created by the Friends of Boone County Arboretum, is designed to teach children about plants and how nature works while they are having fun.

The goal is to "teach them about the environment in a subtle way," said Susan Schultz, volunteer coordinator for Friends. "So hopefully, eventually they can be good stewards of the environment."

Volunteers spent three months building the garden with support from the County Extension Service.

The Children's Garden is the only such garden in the Tristate, organizers said. The gardens are becoming popular; 40 percent of the nation's arboretums have or are planning children's gardens, Schultz said.

Sam and Emily's mother Michelle Burgheim knew her kids would love the garden when she got a flier about the opening at her Erlanger home.

"They love to see and feel," Burgheim said. "It's just kids love seeing and feeling. When you tell them about it, it's not as interesting."

Children can try to find the three letters missing from the ABC garden, which has plants from every letter but three; climb on an overlook platform or wander through an evergreen maze. There is a section of Kentucky native plants, a section of plants pioneers used for medicine and the pizza garden, featuring all the toppings of a veggie pizza.

Kayla McGriff's favorite section was a bed of flowers designed to look like a patchwork quilt.

"It looked like a quilt," Kayla said. At Kayla's Pleasant Valley home, she is already learning about gardening by growing sunflowers and tomatoes with her father, Mike McGriff.

He brought Kayla and her sister, Alyssa, 2, to explore the new garden. "It's great with the stations, the ABC garden. ... There's a lot of interactive things to do," McGriff said. "Just getting them outside is a good thing."

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Email bkelly@enquirer.com