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Show Students gather harvest in time for flower show When Nan McPolin and Violet Terry of the Woman's Athenaeum handed Benji Kahn, a fourth-grade student at Parley's Park Elementary School, a packet of mystery seeds last spring, he said he wasn't sure what to expect. But he dutifully planted them in a sunny part of the yard and watered them diligently. By midsummer, his garden plot had sprouted, but with what, he wasn't sure. He kept watering anyway. Finally, he said, a few flowers (including a giant poppy) appeared, and by the time McPolin stopped by again last week, Kahn's garden held a whole bouquet of blossoms. The Woman's Athenaeum holds an annual flower show at the Memorial Building each Labor Day. Last spring the group decided to expand the show by donating an assortment of vegetable and flower seeds to children at Parley's Park Elementary School and letting inspiration grow. McPolin said the goal of the program is to encourage youngsters to learn about gardening and to bring their own home-grown entries to this year's flower show. Last week McPolin took a tour of the gardens and found a number of them had been successful. "Janet Mindy Larsen admits most of the peas she grew this summer never made it to the kitchen they were eaten right off the vine. has done it all herself. She waters it every day," said Mindy Larsen of her daughter's efforts. Janet Larsen's garden featured a thriving vine of peas, two squash plants, several carrots and a sprinkling of onions and parsley. "The best part about having a vegetable garden is eating it," she said. "Everything tastes so good. But the hard part is when it frosts. It makes you feel terrible," she said while popping a pea uuo ner moum. Larsen said she hoped her zucchini would be ripe in time to enter in the show. The fruits of these students' labors will be on display in the junior division of the Woman's Athenaeum Flower Show Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nan McPolin's fragrant sweet pea blossoms also will be entered, along with bouquets from a number of local gardens |
