The Teacup Garden

A sweet story about growing things in small spaces, together.

Jonah’s Nanna had a shelf full of old teacups. They were painted with roses, and stripes, and little blue birds. “They are too pretty to put away,” she said. “And I have an idea.”

She took down five teacups and set them on the kitchen table. Jonah watched as she filled each one with soft, dark soil. “What are they for?” he asked. “A garden,” said Nanna.

Jonah poked a small hole in each cup with his finger. Nanna handed him tiny seeds. One for basil, one for parsley, one for marigold, one for sweet pea, and one for a tiny red tomato.

He dropped each seed in, covered it with soil, and gave it a sprinkle of water. “Now what?” he said. “Now we wait,” said Nanna, “and we put them in the sun.”

They placed the cups on the windowsill, in a row. Every morning, Jonah checked them. For three days, nothing happened. On the fourth day, a little green head poked up in the basil cup.

By the end of the week, all five teacups had tiny green shoots. Jonah named them one by one: Basil, Parsley, Goldie, Sweet and Ruby. He whispered good morning to each of them.

In a month, the parsley was fluffy and the marigold had an orange flower as bright as a button. Jonah and Nanna picked some basil and put it on their pasta. It tasted fresh and green.

“We made a garden,” said Jonah. Nanna nodded. “In a teacup,” she said. “Gardens come in all sizes.” The sun warmed the windowsill, and the little garden nodded in the breeze.

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