The Botanical Gardens

Part I:

Bao was bound and determined to figure this out. He was gardening for the very first time, and had not a clue on how it worked, but still, he wanted to do it on his own. Sometimes being stubborn isn’t a bad thing, he thought, especially when pertaining to learning. The first step to being a gardener is looking the part. This is surely the key to doing proper gardening, Bao thought. So he rummaged around in his closet and found an old pair of overalls and a sunhat, and borrowed gloves from Baogonia, who really insisted that it would be for the best for her to assist for his first time doing this. Nevertheless, Bao persisted. He geared up and prepared for this new journey. 

The thing about learning is, if you’ve never done something before, you don’t always have a clue on where to start. Luckily, a special little some-bao-dy hid a booklet on gardening in his right glove, which he was rather grateful for, although he might not admit it at first. He sat down on a stepping stone that was tucked away behind some trees in the gardens and began flipping through the pages. It seemed easier than he thought: dig a hole in the dirt and place a seed in the hole, making sure to bury it back up and water it frequently. Simple enough. 

Bao sat back up, and grabbed the trowel that he had been lent by Baogonia. He began digging a hole around 2 inches deep, and once he felt like it was satisfactory, he stopped. Bao then grabbed the bag of seeds, grasped one between his paws, and placed it in the hole. Once the seed was snug in the ground, he covered it back up with the dirt, placing a final pit-pat on the newly planted seed. He repeated this process until the bed he had picked out was filled, but not too filled, since the book specified that plants, like baos, sometimes need their own space. 

Once the plants were settled, Bao sat back and waited. Time passed and passed, and it began to get darker out. Bao huffed and grabbed the booklet once more, flipping back to where he had left off. After reading the following chapter, he sighed, as it seems it would take weeks for these little plants to bloom. That made sense, he thought, beautiful things take time to grow. 

Part II: 

The booklet specified that plants needed plenty of love and care to bloom, so Bao took this as meaning that the plants needed everything that baos do. Food, water, and joy. Weekly he would apply new fertilizer and daily he would stop by and water the budding blooms. But he felt like something was missing, the joy that baos need to be happy. How else can a plant grow without joy? He decided to take matters into his own hands and perform an interpretive dance telling the plants what to do. The best part about this? It was fun for Bao too! 

Bao started by dancing like the seeds were in the dark little pouch they belonged to first. He hopped to one side and showed the plants what it was like for them to be plucked from the pouch and put into the ground. He did a little jig to symbolize the joy the seeds felt when they were all planted in the same plot. Then, he got down to business. He knelt low to the ground and did a drinking motion, followed by a tummy rubbing motion, and stood up slightly. He repeated this until he was fully sprouted, or what he thought they could understand as being sprouted, and by this he flailed his hands around in the air and spun in a circle. This ended up making Bao dizzy, and he did end up having to sit down after the dance. 

He repeated this process, hoping it would work. Daily he would come by and water the flowers, and sometimes sing little songs about the world around them. Once a week he would administer fertilizer to the ground, and then the following day he would perform his interpretive dance, in hopes to teach the flowers how to grow. They, afterall, did not have a booklet to show them how to do it. That’s why it was up to Bao and his dances to teach them. 

The first couple of weeks were tiresome and felt like they had little yield, but in the third week, a little bud sprouted, and this made Bao very happy. This was a new, exciting venture, one that Bao was both happy and proud to do on his own. He just needed to think of a way to share the fruits of his labor with his friends. It’s okay to learn on your own, but it’s equally important to share what you learn with those you care about, Bao thought. 

Part III: 

When the plants were fully grown and ready to be cultivated, Bao was ready to share them with his friends. He had purposefully picked out a seed packet best to share: a vegetable variety pack. He plucked potatoes and carrots from the ground, and harvested tomatoes, spinach, and peas from their bundles. He was overjoyed to see the size and color of the different vegetables, which he was sure would make a fabulous vegetable soup. He thought to invite Baogonia and Bearlock Holmes for sure to taste test his hard work. 

Once the veggies were harvested, Bao began the other hard part about gardening: cleaning and preparing your plants to be used. He washed the vegetables in a vinegar bath, and chopped them up into small pieces, making sure to stop and nibble on a piece of carrot here and there. Nothing was better than a fresh carrot, Bao thought. And so, he began preparing the soup by boiling water. 

A simmer grew into a boil, and he added the vegetables, letting them sit and get soft. He thought about the time spent growing these vegetables, and doing his little dances to teach them how to grow. This was a meal to be proud to eat, Bao thought. After adding spices and seasonings, he felt like the soup was ready. He had sent letters to Baogonia and Sherlock to be at his home soon, and he decided to use this time to prepare the table. The sooner the table was ready, the sooner they could dig in. 

Once the table was prepared, the house smelled strongly of fresh soup, which Bao thought was the best way to greet guests. Right on cue, a knock on the door rang throughout the living room. Bao scurried to the door and greeted his guests. As it happens, both of his guests arrived at the same time. Perfect, he thought, we wouldn’t have to wait a second longer to dig in. It was a good day for Bao, and he was happy to share this good day with his good friends. 

Baogonia was ecstatic to see Bao’s work, albeit chopped up into bite-sized pieces. “Wow, Bao! This tastes lovely! The vegetables are so fresh and ripe, you really did a good job growing these.” 

Bao beamed from ear to ear, happy to be complimented on his work. Gardening, Bao thought, is a very good thing to do.