Although I never tasted a mud pie, I did my share of digging in the dirt as a child.

Some of my earliest garden memories are the vision of a spring border filled with midnight-dark and yellow Parrot tulips planted by my mom in front of our house, and row after row of orange tiger lilies blooming along a fence on my grandparents' farm. In school, we planted sunflower seeds in Dixie cups and watched them sprout on the windowsill.

Most gardeners have similar memories or sources of inspiration in their past. Today's kids may be suffering from "Nature Deficit Disorder." Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods," coined the phrase to describe the lack of connection with the outdoors that might be aggravating such modern problems as attention deficit disorder. There's a disconnect, he suggests, from lack of exposure to nature, because of so many distractions such as video games and text messaging. Although his evidence is anecdotal, he says parents should draw their own conclusions.

Planting spring bulbs is a fun way to encourage children to get their hands dirty. The Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center sponsors a Website for educators, www.thebulbproject.org, which offers educators, youth group leaders and home schoolers a forum for exchanging ideas and a library of activities that use flower bulbs to connect young people and nature.

"My own boys were city kids before we moved from Brooklyn to Vermont two years ago," says master gardener Sally Ferguson, NFBIC director. She got them involved in building rock walls in her garden, and the boys were proud of their work helping design and build the project.

She suggests involving the whole family, including grandparents, in spring planting projects. "Just remember, this is about empowering kids, not about winning design awards. Being told what to do is work, not fun," she points out.

Go shopping for bulbs and let them pick out their favorite colors. "Buy some hyacinth bulbs," says Ferguson. "Cut one open and you can clearly see the fully-formed baby flower inside just waiting to emerge next spring."

Give kids their own corner of the garden to plant, perhaps an area that has already been prepared. Explain planting depths for different bulb, hand them a trowel or other hand tool and let them start digging and planting. Have older children take on a leadership role and help the younger ones. Hook up the hose sprayer and let them dampen their newly planted garden.

Let them do something fun like spelling out a short message or create a simple design, like a heart, in the lawn using bulbs. Giant Dutch crocus bulbs are ideal for this project because they bloom early and their blossoms are close to the ground and make the message easy to read. In the spring, watch for the message to appear. What's cool is, the message should return year after year until bulbs multiply and it becomes a mass planting.

Choose an area in the lawn you don't need to mow right away in spring and where you are willing to let bulb foliage die back naturally. Children can arrange the bulbs to spell out their message and plant each crocus bulb individually about five inches deep (flat side down). Avoid using turf grass fertilizer on the area this fall.

Other Internet sources offer additional resources for getting kids interested in gardening, including www.backyardgardener.com and www.garden.org/home.