Chapter 14

Chapter 14 ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL…EXCEPT FOR THAT BIG HOLE IN THE SKY. A few days later, Harper wore her new T-shirt to an afterschool ceremony. As the newest member of the Woodsword Gardening and Landscaping Club, she wanted to show off her club pride. "Thank you all for coming," said Shelly Silver. She stood before Woodsword's new garden. Harper hoped it would be the first of many. Shelly continued, "As class president, it's my honor to preside over the grand opening of the school's first wild garden. Free of chemicals, the plants and flowers within this garden will be allowed to grow naturally —and will still give our gardening club an opportunity to work their green thumbs. It's

only the start of a plan for expanding greener practices to all of Woodsword."

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"We've chosen plants that are native to the area," added Ms. Minerva. "And the gardening and landscaping club is committing to pulling harmful weeds by hand—without resorting to chemicals…or robots." She smiled. "But Doc Culpepper did provide some wonderful ideas for improving the nutrients in our soil. So I guess it's fair to say she and I have buried the hatchet…just as we've buried some flower bulbs that will bloom next spring!" The crowd cheered as Ms. Minerva used a pair of garden shears to cut the ribbon around the garden. The teacher smiled, and Harper understood why. Even though the garden was wild, it was well maintained. Instead of using harsh chemicals to make the garden look "nice," Theo and the rest of the club had promised to use elbow grease. Pulling weeds the old- fashioned way would take the work of many hands.

That was why Harper had agreed to sign up. And it was why she gave Theo a big hug, right there in front of the garden. "Thank you for convincing Ms. Minerva to try this," she said. "I know she won't regret it." Theo blushed. "I definitely don't regret it."

"However," said Harper, and she took the gardening shears from Ms. Minerva. "I do have some ideas about how to make our equipment more efficient. I bet Doc has some digital technology that could really make these shears work wonders."