Gardening is good for you and it's never too soon to start. It's a great way to get children out of doors and busy. With a bit of luck, they might succeed in growing something and make that magic connection between something that grows and something they eat.

They will also, of course, probably get gloriously muddy...

Whether it's a small patch of cress on a damp flannel, a giant sunflower, or a grow bag full of tomatoes, it could be the start of a lifelong passion. Sunflowers are wonderfully dramatic - and good for the birds later. But given the space, there's no reason why small children shouldn't grow "proper" vegetables - potatoes or beans are a good bet.

All they need is some seeds, a patch of garden, a window box or a flowerpot or two. And a bit of encouragement.

Although many will be happy with an adult-sized trowel or fork, there are plenty of child-sized tools and kit to help the job along.

Watch out with older children. Some of the tiny tools look very appealing and might be ideal for a toddler, but aren't always designed for heavy use. A tough eight-year-old could snap some of the small trowels very quickly - instant disillusionment that not even the combined forces of Charlie Dimmock and Alan Titchmarsh could put right.

We looked for tools that were small enough for children to handle comfortably but strong enough to do the job - we're not into "pretend" gardening. And if bright colours and gimmicky presentation add to the fun of it all, well we're all for that. If they plant the seeds of a passion for gardens, they'll be worth every penny.

OUR FAVOURITES

Many stores have buckets, spades and watering cans, but these are designed more for beaches than cabbage patches. But we also found some gardening gear that was fun and practical too.

ASDA

The range included brightly-coloured fork, trowel and rake for £1.78 - ideal for grown-up window boxes too.

But we particularly liked Asda's Eat What You've Grown Kit. For £4.97 you get a clear blue plastic lunch box - always useful - with a pack of cress seeds, some mung beans and dibbler, some compost and six little yellow flower pots. Very appealing.

Whether anyone would actually grow the cress and then make them into sandwiches for school or a picnic, is possibly unlikely, but the idea is there.

SAINSBURY'S

The child-sized gloves, aprons, etc were appealing but our favourite was their grasshopper trowel for £2.50.

WOOLWORTHS

The range includes nice little tote bag with pockets for a tough plastic fork, trowel and a trigger spray, which small boys will of course use as water pistol, but you can't have everything.

EARLY LEARNING CENTRE

They have a lot of gardening ideas, some more practical than others. The rake and hoe trolley, for instance, is just another pushalong toy really, but they have plenty of forks and trowels and spades and rakes and hoes.

We liked their Garden Tidy (£10) - fork, trowel, rake, hoe, watering can, spray bottle, pots and tags, all in a very professional looking carrier.

But what we liked best was the Grow Your Own range - a bucket, some compost, pots and labels and a packet of strawberry or tomato seeds, complete with very clear instructions for £7. Nicely packaged and with a good chance of success.

This year it could be a tomato or two. Then who knows? By the time they're ten it could be an allotment - and next step their very own gardening TV show.

Tried and tested

by Genevieve Lloyd, aged six:

"I liked the water spray best, but I also liked digging a hole in mummy's garden with a trowel.

"I had never planted seeds before, and I come down every morning to check them and to spray them with water. The cress and the mung beans are growing very well. My strawberries have not come up, but we keep saying 'anyday now' - and I keep spraying them with water."

Bouquets of the Week

Dear Sharon,

OUR grandson Thomas has special needs and taking him out can sometimes be challenging. We recently had a trip to Northallerton and took Thomas to Bettys. When we eat out we are prepared for one of us to make a sudden exit with Thomas as he finds it difficult to sit still and is easily upset.

We were a bit nervous about taking him in but we needn't have worried. The staff there were wonderful with Thomas. They were very pleasant and friendly and the waitress spoke to him nicely and made a fuss of him and helped him choose his drink. It made him feel very grown up and he behaved beautifully.

He really enjoyed himself and we did too as we were able to relax and enjoy our lunch. As you can imagine, that is a rare treat, so we would like to say thank you to all at Bettys.

Mrs Kathleen Collins, Durham.

TAKING a child out to eat somewhere civilised can always be a bit of a risk and even more so when there are extra challenges, so well done to Bettys for bringing out the best in Thomas and making the outing a treat for him and his grandparents.

MR G Buckley of Darlington would like to thank the kind people who helped him when he was taken ill in the Indoor Market recently.

Philip and Kath Earnshaw are "wonderful neighbours" says Mary Bradshaw of Spennymoor who is grateful for "all their help in these recent difficult months."

Open wide please... it's not very often we get a nomination for a dentist but as they are becoming almost an endangered species we are glad to mention Stokesley Dental Practice in East End, Stokesley. Mrs J Mathews, of Hutton Rudby, writes: "Everybody who works there is so kind and helpful that it almost makes going to the dentist a pleasure!" Praise indeed.

If you want to say a public thank you for good service or to a helpful neighbour , kind stranger or efficient business, then just write with all the details to Sharon Griffiths, Bouquet of the Week, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF. Each week the person nominated in our main letter gets a real bouquet of flowers or a box of hand-made chocolates from The Little Chocolate Shop in Leyburn. www.thelittlechocolateshop.co.uk

Don't quote me

car insurance up for renewal? Don't even think about renewing without checking out some other quotes. It could surprise you. I've just checked out ten quotes for myself and they varied from £280 to £904 - which is a bit of a difference.

And don't believe the first one that writes to you. The Nationwide, for instance, wrote to me saying "You could save £50 on your car insurance!" when actually it would have cost around £340 more.

Cheapest of all was esure - if you can stomach the thought you're helping pay for that dreadful Michael Winner ad - but you have to have at least four years' claim-free motoring to apply.

Check by using a broker, ringing round - just two or three calls will give you an idea of the likely range there could be - or go to one of the Internet sites which will compare prices for you. Try www.its4me.co.uk, www.screentrade.co.uk or www.thisismoney.co.uk

Just because one company is best for one member of the family, doesn't mean it's best for all. They all have their different ways of calculating the quote with slightly different emphasis, so what's good for one might not be good for the other, even with a discount for more than one car.

All our cars were once insured with Norwich Union - now one's with Cornhill, another with the AA and one with Tesco, because those were the individual best deals.

When car insurance costs so much. It's got to be worth a little effort before you renew it. And if you find out you already have the best deal, then it's worth the price of a phone call o r two just to feel smug.