Grade 8 students from Winkler Elementary School are partnering with the Horticulture Society to learn gardening over the summer.

Young gardeners met over the lunch hour with Lenora Nicol from the Winkler Horticulture Society. The girls are part of a summer program that teaches students how to plant a garden and care for a variety of plants, flowers, and vegetables.

Three of the girls in attendance are joining for their first year. When asked what they were most excited to see grow, many were simply excited to see anything bloom under the care of their hands.

The president of the Horticulture Society suggested the program three years ago to Nicol who loves working with kids and used to be a school and piano teacher.

"I guess I’ve always loved gardening since I was a little girl," said Nicol.

Gardening runs in Nicol’s family. Her great-grandfather immigrated from Russia before 1900 and used to experiment with grafting plants that were native to Manitoba, so it is only natural that Nicol's has a green thumb.

Teaching younger generations about how to properly care for the environment is another factor that Nicol hopes to instill in the girls coming through the program. She and her husband use no chemicals or sprays on their plants, only what is organic. Marigolds, for example, are a natural repellent to insects. Snapdragons attract bees which in turn pollinate the surrounding plants and vegetables.

Nicol also runs an adult garden club and always tells them a phrase she read in a book that says, "if you want to have more vegetables, plant more flowers."