Palmers Gardenworld Rotorua owner Darryl Pierce said the key to success was choosing plants that were quick to grow and following the interest of your children.
"The best thing I can advise is to do things that are fun and that get quick results."
He said one of the best ones was growing grass inside stockings to make "grass heads" which was always plenty of fun for kids.
To make grass heads get a stocking and put some grass seed in the stocking foot then add some potting mix on top of the seed. Tie a knot in the stocking so it makes a little "head" then leave the extra fabric hanging.
Pop it in a yoghurt container filled with water so the nylon tail absorbs the water and draw a face on the stocking head with a permanent marker to make a face.
Kids will love it as they watch the grass sprout from the head as "hair".
Mr Pierce said another fun activity was getting kids to write their name in lawn seeds and watch it sprout. It's a great way not only to get the kids excited about growing things but a good literacy exercise too.
While people could get their kids involved with gardening at any time, spring was a great time to get into the outdoors, Mr Pierce said.
"Growing strawberries is a really fun one with kids."
He said when it came to growing vegetables it was a great idea to grow something the kids loved to eat as well as something that produces its fruit or veges fairly fast.
Plants like apple trees which could take several seasons to fruit would lose their attention but peas, beans or tomatoes were all good ideas, he said.
Mr Pierce said there were plenty of kids-sized gardening tools available now which can help encourage kids to get involved.
Growing swan plants were another good idea. Mr Pierce said there were already monarch butterflies around the place looking for plants to lay their eggs on so people could be almost guaranteed that if they bought a swan plant then they'd find caterpillars not long after.
In fact, the only trouble might be keeping the butterflies away - as caterpillars can work their way through a fair few plants. But there's plenty to be learnt watching the journey from caterpillar to butterfly.
Other popular favourites, according to Mr Pierce, are the giant pumpkins and giant sunflowers.
To tie in with the gardening there's plenty of other outdoor, crafty activities that you can incorporate into the gardening.
Why not try making plant markets and decorating them to label the plants - you can make them yourself or even chose some rocks to paint the label on.
Another idea is to buy cheap terracotta pots and get the kids to paint them up before planting them.
Other fun ideas for getting kids out in the garden include building bird or butterfly feeders.
