Most gardeners are dismayed to find bugs crawling in their vegetable and flower beds.

The young gardeners who plant and tend the Washington County Children's Garden, however, welcome some kinds of insects, and even go out of their way to attract them.

"EWW! Look at all the bugs!" a little boy said on a recent field trip to the garden on North Main Street Extension across from the Washington County Fairgrounds.

There were plenty of buzzing bees and caterpillars munching holes in big, leafy plants.

"Those caterpillars are going to grow up to be monarch butterflies," said Dawna Hartman, of Venetia, explaining that milkweed was planted because that's one of the things caterpillars need to sprout wings and fly.

Bees are especially plentiful in the pollinator garden, where efforts are made to plant things that bees like. As bees move from flower to flower they pollinate the plants, which helps them produce flowers and fruit, LuAnn Day, of Washington, said.

The 5-year-old Children's Garden is designed to appeal to ages 3 to 12, but adults are always welcome, frequently fascinated and can get tips from volunteers in the Washington County Master Gardener Program operated by Penn State Cooperative Extension.

The theme of plots in the Children's Garden include the pizza garden, winter garden, Mr. McGregor's garden, Harry Potter garden, herb garden, animal garden, butterfly garden, pollinator garden and rainbow garden.

The pizza garden is planted with tomatoes, peppers, basil and other herbs used to make the sauce in the popular pies that children love. Winter garden plantings include iceberg lettuce.

The Harry Potter garden has ornamental owls and the animal garden has plants with names such as lamb's ear, foxglove and snapdragon. Whimsical signs identify many of the plants, and master gardener tour guides provide further information, especially during workshops, scheduled in advance.

On Tuesday, 15 children and two teachers from Once Upon A Time day care center in Canton attended a workshop, which included a tour of the garden, craft-making and an educational session on critters that are good for the garden.

The Washington County Master Gardeners includes about 20 regular volunteers, said Ms. Day, who frequently conduct workshops at the Children's Garden. Attendees at recent workshops include Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, women and children from a shelter and 4H members.

The garden is open to the public -- at no cost -- and umbrella-shaded tables are available for picnics or lunch-time munching.

Perhaps the most popular plot in the Children's Garden is Mr. McGregor's garden, Ms. Hartman said. He's the farmer in Beatrice Potter's "The Tales of Peter Rabbit," who gets angry because Peter and other rabbits eat his vegetables.

A small jacket and pair of shoes decorate the McGregor plot because Peter Rabbit lost them when he ran from the angry farmer, Ms. Hartman and Ms. Day told the day care visitors. Plantings include cabbage and a special surprise: strawberries hidden beneath bigger plants that shield the fruit from the hot sun. Each child got to pick and eat one strawberry.

Children giggled about the pizza garden, and were interested in the herb garden. They enjoyed sniffing the scents of fresh herbs, especially fennel that smells like licorice. They also enjoyed stroking the soft, hairy leaves of the lamb's ears in the animal garden.

But the real treat came after Ms. Hartman read them a book, "Diary of A Worm," which explained why worms are good for gardens.

Each child received a silver baking pan lined with a water-soaked paper towel. Then Ms. Day and Ms. Hartman opened a plastic container filled with fat, wiggly night crawlers. Boys and girls were thrilled when they each received a worm and a magnifying glass, used to identify which end of the worm contained the head.

"Oh! I like worms," said Kira Powell, 3, of Washington. "He is so cute!"

Kira's dad buys night crawlers for fishing, and Kira actually does like to watch them said Cherie Bonus, Kira's mother and a worker at the day care center.

Under careful supervision from teachers and the master gardeners, the children handled and observed the worms.

While the worms were undoubtedly packaged for sale to fishermen, this group of worms caught a lucky break.

"It's time to take the worms to the gardens," Ms. Hartman said.

Each child got to return their worm to the earth, picking the plot of his or her choice.

Workshops are $3 per child in groups of less than 15 and $2 per child for larger groups. For information or to schedule a workshop, visit washington.extension.psu.edu/horticulture/gard.htm or call 724-228-6881.