Ginny Plants a Garden
Bedtime Story #9 of 12
On a bright day in May, ten-year-old Ginny Green squatted in a patch of dirt in her backyard. She held a spade in her hand, a special tool for digging. Her mother June squatted besides her with some packets of garden seeds.
“Which kind of seeds should we plant?” June asked. “We can do a vegetable garden with string beans. Or we can grow daisies.”
Ginny thought it over before frowning at her Mom. “I don’t like string beans.” Then she grinned, saying with enthusiasm, “But I love daisies, they’re so yellow and they grow really big.”
“Okay, daisies it is.” June smiled. “Start digging.”
The sun shone as they shoveled holes in the dirt. Ginny tried to make a straight row like her Moms. Once they reached the end of the row, Mom handed Ginny the packet of seeds. “How many should I put in a hole?” Ginny asked.
“Drop a single seed in each one,” Mom said. “Then press it into the dirt and cover it up again.”
“You mean like this?” Ginny pushed a seed into a hole.
“That’s great honey. We even have enough seeds to do another row.”
Once more Ginny and June dug holes and planted the daisy seeds.
“Okay,” June said after they’d covered the last seed. “Now get the hose so we can water them.”
Ginny turned the water on and brought the hose over to the garden. She used her finger to create a gentle spray like rain falling on the seeds. When she finished, she put the hose back and asked, “How soon will the flowers come out?”
“Well, this is where we have to be patient,” June replied. “Seedlings, like children, don’t sprout up overnight.” She stood and hugged Ginny. “They take time, nurturing and love.”
Ginny giggled and hugged her back. “Yeah, but how soon will I see a flower?”
June sighed and then laughed. “The first plants should spring up in June.”
“Aw, Mom, you’re making a joke.”
“No, honey, I’m not kidding you. I wouldn’t do that. According to the instructions on the seed packet the flowers will bloom from June to September.”
“All right, I guess I’ll just have to be patient.”
“That’s my girl. In the meantime, don’t you have some homework to finish?”
“Yeah, I have a test tomorrow.”
Every morning for a few weeks, Ginny peeked out the window at the garden before heading to school. She continued watering the seeds when she got home and tried not to feel disappointed when the flowers took so long to appear. During the last week of school Ginny forgot about the daisies, excited that vacation was about to begin.
But when she came home one day, June grinned at her. “Take a look in the back yard,” she said.
Ginny raced out of the house and stood in the garden, amazed at the green leafy stalks filled with blooms that seemed to have sprung up overnight. Her mother had continued caring for them.
“Thanks, Mom,” she said.
