Growing young gardeners

The smile on Livvie's face as she holds the flowerpoint bouquet 

and a jar of seeds says it all.

In mid-November I took my 'Flowerpoint Presentation' to Lyttelton Main School, and presented it to the whole school, in three different groups. The juniors seemed to know much more about gardening than the seniors, and to be more engaged with it. I'd love to know why that is, and how long it has been the case. 

 I talk to the junior school in the school library

The juniors told me about their gardening successes and failures, and were very interested in what I had to show them by way of food flowers (a bouquet of the flowers of peas, rocket, chives, pak choi, etc.), food seeds and plants, preserves, and walnuts (which they caught when I tossed them out). They also enjoyed passing around my puppet helper, Frieda the Frog.

She was a big hit with the children in Room 3 (7-8 year olds) who made me lovely original thank you cards which told me about their gardens, and what they liked best. Some samples...

“I really liked the smell of the tomato and elderflowers and I really liked the seeds. I have heaps of minnie pumpkin plants in my garden because I knocked over a pot of pumpkin seeds and they grew.”

“ I am a good (sort of) gardner too. I am 8...I liked the puppet frog best.”

“ My favourite part about your flowerpoint presentation is passing around all the fantastic things.”

“ The best bit was smelling all your loveley flowers.”

“I liked getting the wall nuts. I really liked your frog too.”

“ My favourite part was when you fow the warnuts up in the air.”

“I really liked the tomarto plant. It smelled like tomarto.”

“I enjoyed passing the plants around, that was fun. I like the smell of the elderflower that was strong and sweet smelling.”

“My favourite part was when you let us pat your toy frog.”

I was impressed with how much the children knew about some tricky subjects related to gardening, such as photosynthesis, and how taking cuttings works. They are a credit to their teachers and their own efforts. As so often, I wished that important matters like food and environmental policies were decided by young people living close to ecological reality, and not by distant corporations that know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Still, if these children continue as they have begun, I feel that at least in Lyttelton the future is in good hands.

I made my Christmas tree this year from a branch of flowering kanuka hung with the children's cards, and put the very popular Frieda at its base.