Something exciting happened in the Doll Cottage garden on Valentine’s Day.
Pendo was so excited, she couldn’t stop jumping up and down.
“Guess what? Remember the seeds I planted in the garden last month? The ones that grew into little green seedlings with itsy bitsy leaves? Well… today they have pretty white flowers opening up. Beautiful daisies”
Jabali had planted some vegetable seeds too. Spinach and lettuce and dhania (coriander). Pendo and Jabali watered their seeds every day. Not with a lot of water, just a teeny toy watering can because Doll Lady said too much water might wash the seeds away.
Pendo had been a bit unhappy when Jabali’s seeds grew faster than hers.
To be honest, she felt a little bit jealous, especially since he wouldn’t stop rubbing it in.
“My seeds are bigger than your seeds, na na na na naa,” he sang, and did a super annoying dance.
“Don’t worry,” Wise Yarn said comfortingly. “Every plant is different. Every plant is special and takes a different time to grow. We still have to take care of each one, no matter how slowly it grows.”
Wise Yarn reminded Pendo and Jabali that “Love, like rain, does not choose the grass on which it falls.” This was a favourite African proverb he liked to tell when he wanted to remind the dolls to be nice, and to be kind and patient with each other.
Now that Pendo’s awesome white daisies were blooming, she really wanted to rub it in.
She wanted to tell Jabali that her flowers were so much prettier than his veggies.
Na na na na naa…
But Doll Lady would say that veggies are just as good as flowers because flowers are pretty and make us happy and veggies are tasty and make us healthy. Wise Yarn would just say again that the rain falls on flowers and veggies alike and makes them all grow, and that Pendo must love Jabali and be kind even when he teased her, because that’s what friends do.
“I guess they’re right,” Pendo sighed. “Besides, it’s Valentines Day. Loveday. So I’ll let Jabali pick some of my flowers, and he will probably let me eat some of his veggies too,”she concluded with a smile.
“Well, I’m off to see if they’ve grown any bigger,”Pendo said, skipping off into the garden.
“I’m SO excited!”
Did you know that…
Kenya is one of the largest producers of cut flowers in the world?
Kenya also has lots of really unique vegetables that grow in different parts of the country.
They are also super nutritious and have interesting names 😊.
Some like Terere (Amaranth), Saget (Spider Plant) and Managu (African Nightshade) are quite well known around Kenya. Others like Mrenda (Jew’s Mallow) and Stinging Nettle are mostly known in the communities where they grow.
Veggie fun…
Ask your parents, grandparents or some older people around you what unique vegetables they grew up eating. Maybe they grow up eating Spider Plants 😊.
Can you grow some in a container? Perhaps you could create your own unique veggie garden to take care of and love on.