A Spring Garden Poem About Growing Candy

Can you grow candy in your garden? The author of this Spring garden poem seems to believe that you can.

Candy probably isn’t what comes to mind when you think about a Spring garden poem. Daffodils? Tulips? Clover? Sure. But candy? Not so much. For that matter, what does candy even have to do with a garden?

Well, if you have ever had the luxury of picking fresh peas and eating them straight out of the pod, I think you might agree that they are the garden’s version of candy. Pea plants are quite beautiful, too, with their long, climbing vines, delicate white flowers, and the twisting pea greens. These Spring vegetables are certainly worthy subjects for a Spring garden poem, if you ask me.

Melissa Ellen Neil thinks so, too. In her poem, Shelling Peas, she takes us on a journey to a Spring day long ago. “Shelling peas isn’t easy,” she begins. The real question, of course, is about who finds shelling peas such a challenge, Melissa or her mom. The answer may surprise you.

At the very least, this sweet Spring garden poem will remind you just how delicious fresh peas are and how much goodness a garden gives us. It might even inspire you to grow peas in your own garden. That’s the power of poetry, right there. Or is it the power of a tasty garden? Maybe it’s both. I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Whether A Spring Garden Poem Or A Story That Will Make You Laugh Out Loud, There Is Plenty Here To Enjoy.

This story comes from our archive spanning over 30 years, and includes more than 130 magazine issues of GreenPrints. Pieces like these that imbue the joy of gardening into everyday life lessons always brighten up my day, and I hope it does for you as well. Enjoy!

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Shelling Peas

By Melissa Ellen Neill

Shelling peas isn’t easy.
I shelled my share as a kid.
They pop out of their shells,
they get eaten
they roll out of the bowl
and roll around on the floor.
We shelled
we ate
they rolled.
Mother mumbled
over each half-bowl of peas
swept the porch floor
and next year
planted more.

By Melissa Ellen Neill, published originally in 2018, in GreenPrints Issue #113. Illustrated by Linda Cook Devona

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Do you have a favorite spring garden poem? Or have you written one yourself?


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