Playing in the Dirt

Tucker kids have an unexpected place to play in the dirt – the . The library and the Lake Ivanhoe Garden Club now sponsor Petals and Thorns, a junior garden club serving youth in the Tucker area. Led by librarian Carol Hayes, Petals and Thorns meets once per month and seeks to educate children about gardening and their environment.

“A lot of garden clubs throughout the nation sponsor junior garden clubs. I’ve wanted to have one for years,” Hayes explained.  The additional green space that came with the library’s new location prompted Hayes to found Petals and Thorns in the fall of 2010. The group aims to inspire more than just future gardeners. “We have a dual mission,” said Hayes. “There is the gardening, but it’s also about environmental awareness. I love gardens, but I recognize that it’s just one way in which people become a lot more aware of the environmental needs [of an area]. ”

Petals and Thorns’ current garden contains a bird feeding area and two plots. One is a butterfly bed, home to verbena, lantana, Spanish lavender, and other blooming plants known to attract butterflies and bees. In the second plot, children have planted beans and squash. More vegetables will be planted in the coming weeks, and the children plan to donate any food harvested from the garden to a local soup kitchen. The bird feeding area features a bird bath and several types of bird feeders, some of which were made by students.

Most of the Petals and Thorns participants are elementary-school-aged children and their parents, but students as old as 15 have attended and enjoyed the programs. Hayes eagerly encourages more Tucker students to participate. “We are a very open group. Our attendance varies from month to month because of what’s going on in the kids’ lives. I want people to feel free to come, but not feel uncomfortable if they can’t make it to every meeting.”

Petals and Thorns enjoys the backing of the Lake Ivanhoe Garden Club. Pike Family Nurseries and the Friends of the Library provide financial support.

The group meets at the Tucker library, and students actively work in the garden or participate in workshops or programs directly related to gardening or the environment. Past programs have included sessions on native plants, bird feeding and watching, and the relationships that develop around gardening. The June 4 meeting will feature a presentation by Monarchs Across Georgia, a committee of the Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia.

 “My long term goals for the garden would be having a strong enough core group that the older kids would be able to teach the younger ones about some of the basics, and that they’d be able to be involved in the [Henderson Park] Community Garden, that they would have the skills and the knowledge and the interest to go beyond this group and expand. If you keep it just here, it doesn’t benefit the community and the world.”

Join Petals and Thorns for their next meeting on June 4 at 2 p.m. Contact Carol Hayes at 770-270-8234 for more information.