1981
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Gardens
Jeff is pushing a cart loaded with gardening tools for Jodie's garden display. He asks Jodie what they are and she explains the watering can to him, demonstrating by watering a plant and in the process accidentally giving Muffy a shower! Muffy realizes she's hard to see because she's small and Jodie says, "I like you just the way you are."
When Jodie admires a shovel on the cart, she says it would be great for her garden. "You have a garden?" Jeff asks.
"Oh, sure do!" Jodie says, and she begins so sing, "I have a garden yes I do..."
Jeff wishes he could see a real garden. He asks if it would be possible to have a garden on in the store. "Jeff, that's a great idea!" Jodie exclaims. Jeff is proud. "It was a great idea and it was MINE!"
As Jeff leaves Muffy says a little rhyme about Jeff and that he has ideas and is a help, which is why they all love him so.
In another part of the store, the Canadian Brass are playing a tune. After the tune is over, they disappear.
In his computer room, Sam is watching Jeff and Jodie setting up the display on TXL's screen. TXL explains to him about the garden display.
When Muffy shows up, Sam tells her about the time he helped Jodie in her garden, and offers to show her pictures on TXL. Muffy agrees, as long as he doesn't show her pictures of Penelope, who was on the visit too.
On screen, we see Sam mowing Jodie's lawn while she works on planting marigolds. After Sam's finished, Jodie shows him her garden. She's planting tomatoes, onions, and marigolds to trick the rabbits. When they smell the strong marigold scent, they won't be able to smell the vegetables, like her lettuce. She has a little maple sapling which grew on its own which she doesn't want to pull up. Sam says one day it will be a big tree.
Jodie is so happy with Sam's help, she picks a flower and buttons it into his lapel. Next is a picture of Penelope, which scares Muffy. Sam comforts her while TXL makes a note that Muffy doesn't like to see pictures of cats so it won't happen again.
Back in the children's department, Jodie explains to Jeff all the things plants need. Earth and light are two, and she invites Jeff to guess what else plants need. He can't guess, so she shows him the watering can.
"The watering can? Plants need a watering can?" Jeff asks. Then he realizes it's the water in the watering can that plants need. He next proudly tells Muffy he knows what plants need. "Earth, light and water."
Muffy has brought some of her own plants, and Sam says they look like they came from her leftover lunch. She has pineapple tops, bean plants, and carrot tops. Jodie asks if she can borrow Muffy's plants for their garden display and Muffy agrees.
Back in her mouse hole, Muffy asks a riddle. What is quieter than a mouse? The answer is a plant!
The Canadian Brass is back, marching through the store and jockeying for the lead position in the parade as they march.
In the computer room, Sam is reading a book about gardens and a chapter about weeds. He calls them useless, but TXL defends them, saying that some weeds like dandelions and buttercups have pretty flowers. She offers to tell him a story about Queen Anne's lace. So Sam pushes some buttons, and Deborah Fallick reads us the story of Annie.
Annie is a weed who lives in a flower garden, and every time she pushes her head up towards the sun the garden owner cuts her down again. But when he leaves and the garden is for sale, it becomes unkempt and Annie grows tall, with a delicate little white lace "skirt". When the garden is bought again, a young woman points at Annie and says how beautiful she is, and calls her Queen Anne's lace. After that, the other plants look at her with greater respect and admiration.
In the children's department Jeff is waiting for Jodie to come back so they can work more on the garden. He says it is hard work but he can't remember when he had so much fun. Muffy says he reminds her of a farmer as he stands there with a rake in his hand, so Jeff imagines what it would be like to be a farmer -- dancing brilliantly, of course, between chores.
Now Jeff goes back to work on the garden, and soon Muffy is back home showing us her special plants. A sweet potato, a tomato, a sunflower grown from birdseed, a pea, some wheat grass from kernels, a carrot top and her favorite, the top of a pineapple.
Now Sam is visiting the children's department and admiring the garden display. Jodie says it was all Jeff's idea. Jeff says he was only anxious to see a garden. Together they sing, "We have a garden, yes we do..."
Next they name all the plants and flowers in their garden display. When Sam names catnip, Muffy runs off. They sing again about their garden, and Muffy, hiding from the catnip, sings from inside the watering can.
Quizzes:
- Which two flowers look the same?
- Next we see the mime lady -- dressed as the "flower lady". She gives us clues so we can guess which flowers she is showing. The answer to the clues "two" and "lips" is tulips.
- Which flower is the tallest?
- The flower lady will point out several things which all rhyme, and we must guess their names. (nose, toes, hose, rose). TXL makes it into a song.
Nursery Rhyme:
- Mary, Mary quite contrary
Notes:
- TXL evidently forgets that Muffy doesn't like to see pictures of cats, as she shows her one again in 1982's "Eyes".
- Jeff's farmer dance is shown again in 1983's "Cousins."
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