With Spring upon us, it’s time to start thinking about sprucing up the porch and yard with some flowers. My mom used to get a lot of her planting done in a creative way–she’d have a planter pot competition.
This is how is worked: Each family member got assigned a big whiskey barrel style planter pot on our back patio. Then it was off to the nursery to buy soil, fertilizer and steer manure. Mom chose all those things while we were set loose to choose the flowers to plant in our pot.
The rule was that Mom would chose a winner in six weeks. The criteria was overall appeal, healthy plants and creativity.
Of course this plan was brilliant on many levels. First, Mom got all her pots planted in one afternoon with all of our help and lots of enthusiasm. Second, we learned a lot about plants and what grew well in our climate, and some basic landscape design. Third, she didn’t have to worry about taking care of the planters, because we each took care of our own. You couldn’t win if your plants were withered and uncared for.
My pot and my sister’s pot tended to look like a rainbows gone crazy, while the pots my Mom did on her own tended toward a cool, two-color, or even a monochromatic scheme. Dad’s were usually solid marigolds. Friends and relatives that came over could usually pick out who did which pot pretty easily.
It’s funny that I don’t ever remember if I won, or for that matter, if anyone ever won, but I do remember the lessons I learned. For example, it’s tempting to crowd together a lot of flowers so the pot looks good right away. But overcrowding doesn’t make for a pretty pot in the long run. You have to plant judiciously and then be patient. I also learned how to keep away pests and not to over water.
The best lesson came later, when I was grown and had my own children to carry on this tradition: Take a chore, make it fun, add a little friendly competition, and it doesn’t seem like a chore at all. And the kids might even learn valuable skills. Mom was one smart cookie.