Growing Patience
by Felicity BradleyCell phones, text messaging, bank machines, digital cameras, even many foods these days all cut down on the time we wait for things. Instant communication, instant photos, instant money, instant noodles, rice, soup—our fast-paced society encourages instant gratification. Is it any wonder that impatient drivers succumb to road rage or line-ups become unruly when people are forced to wait? How then, in our high-pressure, demanding world do our children learn to appreciate the value of patience?
The possibility of a future reward for efforts can be a hard sell to children unaccustomed to waiting for results. At this time of year however, the ideal spot for lessons in patience and the rewards of waiting for something is in the garden.
Digging, planting and caring for a garden or even just a simple pot of patio tomatoes provides an opportunity for children to practice and learn the benefits of patience. Gardening also helps kids understand that patience can be more than just waiting—planning, preparation and nurturing something along the way all have their part to play. Not only does the natural world develop right before a child’s eyes in a garden but it develops at its own speed and only with the nurturing that comes with careful tending. Gardening is not an instant process and can be fraught with unexpected setbacks, but the rewards are often well worth the wait.
Perhaps an upside of patience is anticipation. Many gardeners enjoy poring over seed catalogues and gardening books in the winter months, planning what and where to plant. The local library has many books with useful ideas on getting started on gardening with children. Reading up on the topic and developing a colourful plan of a prospective garden plot or planters can help engage a child’s interest, even before the weather warms up enough to start planting. Planning can also help narrow down options when it comes to purchasing seeds. Shopping for seeds can be a daunting prospect when faced with enticing rows of packages, offering every vegetable, herb and flower under the sun so it is a good idea to have some specific ideas beforehand.
Most seed packages come with good instructions for planting and caring for seedlings along with projections for germination. Consider these instructions carefully. A patch of ground with nothing but weeds growing can be disappointing for children waiting to see their seedlings. A gardening calendar noting planting dates, germination and harvesting time may be useful in tempering expectations. Crossing days off the calendar before an expected date builds excitement and can provide a useful record for future years.
The next part is easy. Most children love to dig in the dirt, and when getting dirty is actually considered a good thing, it is an extra bonus. A small garden plot or even a few large planters in a sunny location is a great way to encourage healthy outdoor activity and feed a child’s natural inquisitiveness and desire to explore. Discovering worms, bugs and even the odd archaeological artefacts (we dug up an old horseshoe in our suburban garden) adds a whole other dimension to the experience of preparing a garden and may well lead to other learning possibilities.
Perhaps one of the hardest lessons of patience is that sometimes reaching a goal is not just about waiting for something to happen and meanwhile putting it out of your mind and getting on with other things. Often reaching a goal requires some effort to help something happen. Gardens certainly fall into this category. Watering, weeding and general care of seedlings and plants can be a labour-intensive proposition but without a doubt, the more faithfully done the better the results. Or to ease the demands of a garden, choose a plant that’s less labour intensive. Peas, for example, start well in cooler weather when weeds are less likely to be a problem and when there is usually still enough rain to keep soil moist. A fast-growing crop such as radishes can also encourage children to keep up with the tending.
Finally, harvest time is all about the rewards for the gardener’s patience, and what better rewards than fresh garden produce or beautiful fragrant flowers? Not only is your produce well within the 100-mile-diet range, but you have also saved money and had the pleasure—and experience—of growing it yourself. Add to this healthy outdoor exercise, even if it is only playing around in the garden while Mom or Dad does the weeding, and you’ll see why gardening is such a worthwhile activity. So take some time out from your fast-paced world this spring, plant something with your children and watch it—and them—grow.
Felicity Bradley is the mother of two children. She loves gardening and tries to be patient. 
