Boothbay Region Garden Club member, Linda Bonin, has these young kindergarten to 2nd grade students captivated by her reading of the beautifully illustrated book, “The Saved Seed.” The early reader traces the year long journey of a seed saved from a Halloween pumpkin through its rebirth as a seedling that grows into a vine and finally produces a new pumpkin in time for the next season. You needn't read any further to see that these children are completely and happily engaged in the lesson they are learning about the life cycle of a seed plant. Without even realizing it, the children are also learning basic gardening tenets as the book outlines the steps taken along the way to nurture and grow a new plant that started from the seed of another plant.

Bonin, who chairs the BRGC Youth Program, has been busy this fall gifting copies of “The Saved Seed” to all of our local libraries and elementary schools. The book, written and produced by members of the National Garden Clubs, Inc. (NGC), helps promote this year's president's theme, “Plant America,” a focus chosen by NGC President Nancy Hargroves to encourage more garden participation and learning.

As the photo illustrates, garden club members also have fun while promoting education about the preservation of our environmental resources.

Check out the BRGC website at www.boothbayregiongardenclub.org to learn more about upcoming programs, events and activities offered throughout the fall and winter seasons. BRGC is affiliated with NGC and is a member of the GCFM (Garden Club Federation of Maine).

“The Saved Seed” is available for purchase through NGC by going to the website, www.shopgardenclub.org/shop/.