Errand A Growing Green Thumb Solo Finished

August 13th, 2019

Herbology had never been Angellica's favoured subject. It had nothing to do with either professor, but the latest one had helped her see the class in a new light. There was more to herbology than the learning of plants, or getting messy. In fact, she was growing fond of getting her hands dirty. Rather than just see the class as just a means to a grade, she had begun to notice it as a means to her true passion: Potions. By being able to grow ingredients, well it would make for even better potions, much like growing one's own fruits and vegetables seemed to taste better food wise. As such, she had taken as many opportunities to help with the gardens on the campgrounds. It hadn't become rare to find the blonde on her knees digging in the dirt, sewing, and growing a variety of plants. At dusk, she watered the various crops. Every so often she used the opportunity to harvest a plant or herb that could come in handy when it came to brewing potions.

The sun was fading in the west, leaving the sky in streaks of pastel. Soft fluffy clouds glowing with the colors refracted in the sky. Purples, blues, pinks and golds. The entirety of the land had a golden look to it. A smile on her plump rosy lips, Angellica Rowley walked into the gardens with her tools, an apron around her thin girlish hips in the colors of ravenclaw to keep her jeans clean. Gloves, a small shovel, and a screwdriver looking tool to help de-weed from the root. She gave each row a good look, picking fruits and vegetables that had been overlooked. She greeted plants as she knelt before them to remove a weed or another, making a mention about overcrowding. "Hi beautifuls," she greeted plants, brushing leaves there and taking a moment to take the scent of a flower. Some flowers planted near food providing plants could help attract various pollinators to ensure a good amount of yield to the crops. It wasn't because gardening was dirty work that she couldn't indulge in the beauty that it also offered.

If she hadn't bothered with such a chore, she never would have learned that marigold helped naturally keep insects away. There was also spells like incendio duo and magical concoctions to help with a variety of pests, but she would learn to cast that the following year, which meant until then she would only touch the repellents that were provided which she normally did in the morning. Most repellents didn't do well when combined with water, or diluted if you will, which made morning much better once the plants had had their share of sustenance overnight. If anything, she was glad she wasn't in the muggle world when it came to caring for plants. The magical world had a lot more to offer, and though there were difficulties, it allowed for a lot easier care. "Maybe I could get one of the professors to teach me aguamenti" she thought to herself as she made her way to the watering station to get on with the next part of her task. She didn't have a whole lot of vegetables and fruits to bring back to camp, it just told her whoever was helping out also cared just as much as she did and that made her happy.

With the sun being so low, it was the perfect time to water the gardens without fear of harming the plants. It was basic plant care to know that watering a plant in broad daylight might as well have been like boiling the roots and placing the leaves under a magnifying glass. The last thing she wanted was to ruin a crop. Instead she filled a canister with water and moved to the furthest bed to carefully water the rows of vegetables seemingly needing their daily dose of water. "Thirsty aren't you," she cooed to the plants with a smile. While she might not have been the best with working with her hands, she had read quite a few books on the topic of plant care in hopes to counter practice with theory. In her readings, she had come across a theory that plants did better when they were spoken to, and she had taken it upon herself to talk to the plants. At first, it had been awkward, but of late it felt rather natural. She gave the squashes compliments on their broad leaves and closing blossoms promising to grow into juicy fruit to be enjoyed.

Returning to the water source she refilled her cannister and went on to another patch of the garden, making idle chit chat with the plants there. This time big tomato plants that offered a variety of the fruit. All were green for the moment, but with enough water and care, they would give beautiful red fleshed fruit to be enjoyed. "Well aren't you all looking lovely this evening," she greeted them as she might have the ladies her mother hosted on Sundays for High Tea. Sometimes she liked to imagine the plants like witches and wizards. Why not after all? "I've been great, hopefully you have too. I heard someone say your last tomatoes were the best they ever had," she cooed towards them as she offered the plants water, pulling off a few twigs from the plants. Overcrowding never made for good tomatoes.

Again and again she went for water and watered the various beds that were set out. Praising flowers for doing their job, complimenting plants for their yield, and encouraging those that seemed to need more time to give any sort of fruit. If the theory she had read worked, surely it would be helping as much as her watering of every last plant. It was hard work, and her arms hurt by the end of the errand, but she also did it in hopes to be a better beater. Rather small and weak, she always questioned her place on the team as a beater, but since failing to hit anything in that one game, any chance she had to make it an arm day, she did.

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