Tuesday: Horticulture Class

[pysankya]

Characters: Ukraine and Anyone from Fortitude
Format: Any
This log is: open
Location: Horticulture Class in the School gardens
Summary: Studying plants and growing cycles in the school gardens. Feel free to chat to Ukraine or talk between yourselves.
Warnings: None yet.

Ukraine had been surprised when he'd been assigned the role of teacher at the school. But he had been pleasantly surprised to be told that Horticulture would be his area of teaching. While he hadn't taught anyone in years he knew that plants and growing crops were a speciality of his and he was incredibly good at doing so. After finding what seemed to be the grounds keepers tool shed, he'd grabbed himself a few tools and some different plants and set them up for people to look at and ask questions.

He still wasn't sure what it was exactly he was going to be teaching them. But he was leaving that open to student suggestion for what they wanted to learn about plants and what activities they would like to do.

Comments

[traces]

Dahlia didn't know much about horticulture, but as a prim and proper young lady she was expected to have an interest in flowers, so she showed up several minutes early for class. Maybe she would even learn something interesting, although she doubted it. She'd had little enough interest in her school back home.

She stood near the edge of the gardens, fidgeting a bit awkwardly, as though she weren't used to being around so many people.

[pysankya]

After a moment Ukraine will take notice and make his way over to her with a warm, soft smile. Despite his towering height and broad shoulders he speaks rather softly with a thick Ukrainian accent.

"Hello, are you here for the Horticulture class?"

[traces]

Dahlia looks up at him, seeming a bit nervous at being towered over. "Ah... y-yes, sir. My name is Dahlia... It's a pleasure to meet your noble acquaintance."

[pysankya]

"Do not heff to be so formal, I em Ukraine but as teacher Mr. Braginski works fine." He'll smile and gesture to a series of potted plants he had up near where more people were mingling. "Would you like to see the plants, Miss Dahlia?"

[traces]

Ukraine? What parents would be stupid enough to name their son that? But she just smiles and nods. "Y-yes, sir. I'm very interested in them. I really like plants..."

She looks over to the potted plants. Honestly they all look pretty much the same. And boring.

[pysankya]

Ukraine knows they're pretty boring plants because they're not in season for blooming but he had to make do with what he could find.

"If you like plants... I was thinking class could do project like making a school flower garden of its emblem or somet'ing. Is hard because not all flowers bloom at same time, so heff to pick plants that work well together."

[traces]

"What a beautiful idea! I would love to help, Mr. Braginski, sir." Ugh, that would mean kneeling in the dirt and getting her hands dirty, wouldn't it? "You seem like a very kind man, to have such wonderful insight into how to use flowers like that."

[pysankya]

Ukraine will blush slightly at the compliment feeling a little sheepish at being praised for a simple idea. "I like plants, I heff been a farmer for very long time so I know how plants are. Mebbe not all plants but I know most kinds of flowers and vegetable plants and how they grow. Hopefully rest of class will like the idea."

[traces]

"I'm sure they will! It's a splendid idea." And then she looks as though she's just realized something. "Ah, but I shouldn't take your time away from the other students, sir..."

[pysankya]

"Oh, is no problem, students can talk to each other for a bit. I em glad you think is good idea!" Really, Ukraine had been worried that a few of the other students might have thought it strange to suggest they make a flower garden of sorts instead of growing their own vegetable patches.

[safebox]

[Marcell is unfortunately kind of staring at all the plants like they're aliens.

The problem with having lived in a heavily industrialized city, in a part of town that can only really be described as "nasty", was that there were either no plants or whatever plants there were looked...less than lively.]

[savedbyasong]

[Gardens were something Shion did know, though these plants were a lot less ornamental than the ones that grew in the park where he used to work. He saw the young boy who was staring at the plants like they were going to eat him and smiled at him kindly.]

Hello!

[safebox]

[fhajfhk why is someone talking to hiiiim]

H-hi.

[savedbyasong]

[He smiles again] Is everything alright, you look frightened.

[safebox]

I-I'm fine.

[savedbyasong]

[He smiles again] Have you ever learnt Horticulture before?

[safebox]

...No. I didn't learn this in school.

[Not that he's...been to school in a long while.]

[savedbyasong]

Don't worry neither did I [He learnt something similar, but trying to remember what exactly it was gave him a headache.] I am sure that they assume everyone is a beginner.

[safebox]

There's a lot of plants I haven't seen before either too...

[savedbyasong]

Shion nodded I am sure the teacher will tell us all about them. What do you think we will need to do? [Learning to plant them Shion thought, though these plants were already planted.]

[safebox]

We'll probably have to take care of them...

[savedbyasong]

Oh that wont be too hard... [At least he thought so, but he wasn't really sure.]

[pysankya]

[Ukraine will make his way over and watch him for a moment] Do you heff questions about the plants?

[safebox]

Wh-what sort of plants are they?

[pysankya]

Ah well, those are flowering plants for garden, and these are shrubs that are often used for hedges and holding loose soil together in certain areas. And, the last few ones are plants that grow food. They are still in their young stage so no foods on them yet.

Heff you any questions about the specific plants? I em heppy to answer anything you would like to know.

[safebox]

Urm, what kind of food are we growing here?

[pysankya]

Well I was thinking of growing plants like corn, carrots, potatoes, watermelon and pumpkins or squash.

[I'm SO sorry, I lost this tag in my inbox, SORRY.]

[drawsdeath]

Becca immediately gravitated towards crops rather than flowers. She poked around at them, peering at them and wondering if anything would be ripe enough to steal and eat in class. She didn't know anything about plants, just that there were plenty growing in her garden at home. Plenty of weeds. If she'd lived in a nicer neighbourhood, there might have been complaints about the state of her family's yard.

[pysankya]

"If you are thinking of eating that I would not. Is not the kind of berries that are safe for eating," Ukraine cautioned her and picked his way over to where she was investigating several variations of Pokeweed, all of which berries were toxic despite looking like blueberries.

[drawsdeath]

"But..." Becca looked confused. "Blueberries aren't poisonous," she insisted, though she certainly wasn't about to nibble one and find out, if the teacher was saying they were.

[pysankya]

"Those are not blueberries. They are a berry of the Pokeweed plant. If you eat them it will send you to hospital. Plants try to mimic others to get other animals to spread their seeds... sadly it does not mean that plant cares if is toxic for carrying animal or not," he explained calmly and pointed out several other plants that has berries of bright red or rich blues that were certainly highly toxic to humans.

[drawsdeath]

This was all new knowledge to Becca, and a little bit fascinating. "How can you tell which ones are safe, then?" she asked, opening up her notebook to try to sketch the pokeweed plant. As soon as her pencil touched the page, though, a splitting headache reminded her that her most treasured skill had been ripped from her. She yelped in pain and dropped the pencil, whimpering in pained frustration.

[pysankya]

"Are you okie?" It was an honest question once Ukraine noticed the girl's yelp. He waited a moment for her reaction, unsure as to help her or not. It was very confusing as to what exactly had just happened.

[pencilpremonition]

"I can't draw... This place took my memory of how... And I keep forgetting and giving myself a headache," she explained, close to tears with frustration as much as the pain. Her ability to draw was her most prized skill, and the loss of it was a terrible blow.