Easter treat garden for the great-grandkids

Kathleen Anderson

I have always enjoyed holidays. The preparation before-hand, the event itself and even the sigh of relief after it is over.

But now that I have the ‘almost’ five and the “almost’ two-year-old great-grandchildren living next door, holidays are even more fun.

The parents of the great-grands are very smart. Because we live in the country, in a wooded area, the Easter Bunny leaves a map showing the little ones where to look for eggs.

I never would have thought of this trick. Even when I lived in town and had a fenced backyard it never failed that a rotten Easter Egg or two would show up days or weeks after the event.

Prairie, my almost five-year-old great-granddaughter, is a clever child and will follow the map with no problem. Willow, my almost two-year-old great-grandson, will follow Prairie. So, the great 2023 Easter Egg Hunt will, no doubt, go on without a hitch.

This year, however, I stumbled across an idea someone posted on Facebook that I immediately fell in love with, and this is the perfect year to try it out.

In the late afternoon before Easter, I will have the little ones scatter some jelly beans around a certain part of the yard. The next morning, before they arrive, the jelly beans will have grown into chocolate Easter Eggs, carrots, lollipops, plastic chickens hatching jelly beans, and anything else I can find at Ralph’s Thriftway, where the Easter goodies are the bomb.

These items will be attached to sticks popping out of the ground where the jelly beans were dropped. An Easter Bunny Garden!

In all honesty, I am an idea person. I can have a 100 ideas a day and forget 98 of them by the time I go to bed. My family never fails to point out to me that I don’t always think things all the way beforehand, which I admit is sometimes true.

But not all of my family members have the vision or imagination that I do, and when I set my mind to something, it happens.

And I am the first to admit there could be some possible problematic issues with my Easter Bunny Garden Plan.

Issue number 1:

We have twelve free-range chickens that prefer the area of the yard I want to do this in. As they eat everything else, I am sure they would enjoy the jelly beans, also.

Issue number 2:

These chickens have a set bedtime, and they are the ones who set it. If you attempt to shut them up in the coop before their bedtime, they will scatter to the wind. Even Bella Rose, my amazing border collie, cannot herd them all in. So, it will be almost dark before I can have the kids “plant” the jelly beans.

Issue number 3:

I can’t see in the dark… so it is possible I might miss a few. But not every seed that is planted grows. If this turns out to be the case, I will explain that to Prairie, and Willow won’t care. He will happily eat any non-growers.

Issue number 4:

We have birds, squirrels, owls, raccoons, deer, bunnies and the occasional coyote that visit our property whenever they please, and I am not up to date on all their feeding habits. But if I miss some, perhaps one or more of these guests will clean up after me.

Now the fun begins. I will attach all the goodies I have gathered to the shish kabob sticks, and before the kids arrive Easter morning, place them around the general vicinity of the jelly bean planting.

The chickens will remain in their coop until after the hunt is over.

Then I will just casually sit in the yard with a book and (a whistle to ward off any unwanted guests) and watch their faces when they discover their garden.

A perfect plan, carefully thought-out.…unless it rains…in which case the Easter Bunny Garden will become indoor Easter Bunny Garden Pots.

Hope your Easter is as much fun as ours.

Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week from her home in Olympia.  Contact her at  kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comment below.