Why planting bulbs with kids is always so rewarding

By
stevewhysall
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1

I’ve always enjoyed planting bulbs with my kids. Now I enjoy bulb planting with my grandkids. And Jake, 8, is always very enthusiastic.

There is so much we can learn by planting spring flowering bulbs in October. 

For starters, it is a very optimistic act itself: you are literally planting for the future, with spring in mind, so it’s hard to be pessimistic when you are planting.

But there are other wonderful lessons, especially for children. It’s great to teach them how small, relatively insignificant-looking things can magically transform into something beautiful and impressive – an ugly, warty bulb into a spectacular spring flower.

Me and Jake planting crocuses

I must say I have always liked the idea – I think it is one the Japanese always liked, too, as it related to the lotus plant – that there is something wonderful, even divine, about a flower that has the ability to emerge from the darkness and dirt of the earth and rises into the brightness and warm of light and sunshine.

There is also the very basic lesson about the value of persistence and hard work and the revelation of what can be achieved by deliberate, consistence and repeated action.

I mean, bulb planting is all about repeatedly digging a hole, pushing a bulb into the hole and then covering up the bulb. You do this over and over again and you end up with something very impressive – a lovely flower show in your garden in spring.

The crocus planters

It’s easy to overlook the fact that many things in the world are achieved simply by dedicated and repeated action. I mean, wasn’t that exactly how the Great Wall of China got built.

I remember an English professor once telling me, as I admired the elaborate walls of his Japanese-style garden, that I was confusing creativity and intelligence with the outcome of repetition. He thought it was a common mistake to mix up knowledge with intelligence. To my professor friend, knowledge was simply the piling up of facts and details over a course of time while intelligence was much more complex and involves the gifted and quirky ability to solve problems and think creatively outside the box.

Jake busy planting crocus bulbs in grass

Yes, I digress. I apologize. Back to bulb planting. 

My grandson, Jake, is such a joy to work with in the garden because of his massive enthusiasm. As you can see here, he throws himself into the task at hand wth enormous energy and commitment. I think he is a good advocate of gardening and would make a very good gardening teacher in his class at school. Maybe he should do a bulb planting project with his classmates.

Together, Jake and I planted 100 crocus bulbs plus 20 dwarf narcissus. Jake used a dibber to make the holes for the crocuses. He preferred using this tool rather than a trowel. With crocus, the bulb does not need to go very deep. All bulbs generally need to go into a hole 3 times their height, so a dibber is perfect for making the right size hole for a tiny crocus bulb.

October is the perfect time to plant bulbs for spring. The rewards are plenty.

All it takes is the will to get down to the garden centre and then down on your knees for a time as you push the bulbs into the ground. 

Spring is not really that far away.

swhysall@hotmail.com

crocus are inexpensive and plentiful and easy to plant

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1 COMMENT

  1. Lovely article and such a hard worker! I’m looking forward to seeing the joy on all your faces when this displays burst forth

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