Missionary Gardens by Lula I. Tarbell

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Mar 7, 1907

Missionary Gardens

By Lula I. Tarbell

Now that the bright, beautiful spring is soon to be with us once again, with its warm days, its flowers, and its birds, we should accept its invitations to get out and become acquainted with nature and her many friends.

One of the most practical ways I find of teaching nature study in our church-schools is to let the children become interested in a missionary garden of their own. Almost as soon as there is any sign of the spring at hand, I talk to the children about missionary gardens, and their importance. From the first, I offer my services to the children, to help them make and put in their gardens. I have found this beneficial in many ways. It gives the teacher the best of opportunities in nature work; for as she gets the hoe and works side by side with the children, she can teach the beautiful lesson of the parable of the sower, or at least some beautiful lesson from the many nature has given us.

One spring day last year I went home with a little girl, after school, to help her with her garden. On my way I stopped at a store and bought a package of beet seed, and gave it to her for her garden. She was so delighted with her little package that it had to receive the first attention when her garden was ready to plant. We worked together about an hour and a half, getting the ground ready to plant, after which we planted beets, Lima beans, tomato plants, and potatoes. After our garden was finished, I went to the house; and in conversation with the child’s mother, I spoke of how interestedly and how well the little girl had worked that evening. The mother replied that if she had been out there trying to help her, she could not have gotten any work out of the child with any comfort or pleasure. But my experience is that if we first arouse the interest of the child, and then let him feel that we are interested in him, and will help him, the work goes on in a nice, pleasant way. Some of the children have not needed my direct assistance in making their gardens, but I take pains to visit these at their homes and always inquire about their garden, and they are always glad to show it to me.

As a part of our missionary garden work, I made some little bags, which I presented to the children. In these they were to save their earnings from their missionary garden. The next morning one of my little boys told me that he had already seventeen cents in his bag because he had sold radishes, onions, and lettuce from his garden the night before. A few of the children are unable to have missionary gardens; but they are planning to find a way in which to earn some pennies. Some have missionary chickens, and others are going to pick berries. The little boy who had money already in his bag as the result of sales from his garden, realized over eight dollars from his garden last year. He is only a child of eight years. If one little child can do that, surely each child ought to be able to bring something to the harvest ingathering service in the fall, when our bags shall be opened.

The problem of the support of our church-schools is one which has confronted every church-school teacher. But others, perhaps, have found, as have I, that if we first get the children interested, it is not very hard to interest the parents. Planting missionary gardens is only one of the many ways in which the children can have a hand in helping support their own church-school. While I would not desire to give any one the impression that the children, with their missionary gardens, can support a church-school for ten months, yet I would say that one would be surprised to know what children can do along this line. Try it and see.

LULA I. TARBELL.