Thomas Edwards, a fifth grader, was one of several BCS students who planted paperwhites to give to nursing home residents. Students were also able to take home a paperwhite, to see first-hand how they grow.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Butler Catholic School's garden club surprisingly discovered one last fall harvest.

Recently, students in third through sixth grades who are involved with the garden club, met in the school garden to clean out and prepare the beds for winter.

While working on the vegetable patch, students discovered there were still some radishes and leeks that survived recent frosts. The late harvest was divided up between students, who took the produce home to enjoy with their families.

Students also had the opportunity to plant two types of garlic bulbs in the garden in preparation for next year.

The lesson included planting a German variety as well as one from California.

Come next summer, students will be able to compare the two types to see which is heartier and can grow better in the region.

As students in the garden club plant, they are taught the “importance of sharing God's bounty with others,” according to a press release from the school.

Club students also recently decorated cups and planted paperwhite flowers to give to local nursing home residents.

The project — which has been a BCS tradition for three years — allows students to learn about planting indoor plants.Justine Brown, the Penn State Extension Master Gardener adviser for the garden club, described the paperwhite project as a lesson in the “lifecycle of spring bulbs.”“They see them root, they see them flower, and they see them die,” Brown said.It also is an opportunity to bring joy to those in the community who may not be able to spend much time outside during the winter.Brown said she saw the positive impact of the paperwhite gifts first-hand while working with nursing home residents in the past.“The residents absolutely loved the fact that the kids had made them, and they could watch them grow,” Brown said. “So many of them had had gardens.”The paperwhite project involved planting roughly 200 flowers. Students prepared extra to give to the nursing homes, to take home and to sell as a garden club fundraiser.

At right, Chloe Seybert, a fifth grader, sets instructions for caring for paperwhites next to a bulb during a Butler Catholic Garden Club project. At left, Thomas Edwards, a fifth grader, was one of several students who planted paperwhites to give to nursing home residents. Students were also able to take home a paperwhite to see first-hand how they grow.

In November, Butler Catholic students decorated and prepared planters for paperwhite flowers to give to local nursing home residents.