The San Ildefonso Pueblo Head Start program has broken new ground for what head teacher Maria Tsoodle calls "a magical garden."

"This is the program's first garden," Tsoodle said. "I'm a gardener myself and I've been super excited about teaching the kids the basics of gardening."

Sixteen preschoolers, ages 3-5, under Tsoodle's supervision, planted a 9- by 4-foot frame herb, flower and vegetable garden on March 24.

After Tsoodle received permission from the program's Parent Committee, she said, a "magical thing" happened.

Heidi Hilton, a professional gardener from Santa Fe, walked into her classroom and asked if she could volunteer for an art or gardening project, Tsoodle said.

"It was a coincidence," Tsoodle said. "It was like having an angel walk in the door."

With a professional gardener and an enthusiastic teacher, the children learned the basics of gardening in the classroom and then stepped outside for a little hands on gardening.

"I learned a lot," said Annabella Hill, 5. "Teacher taught us how to plant seeds in dirt and how they needed water and sunlight to grow."

The kids were enthusiastic from day one.

On the first day of gardening, they worked 45 minutes in the hot sun; digging — planting and watering. They now garden 15-20 minutes a day.

Tsoodle provided them with shovels and spoons to dig into the earth, but kids, being kids, threw the tools away and dug into the soil with their hands.

"They dived into the earth," Tsoodle said. "Their knees were black, there hands dirty and unwashed smiles spread across their faces."

"I like gardening, and getting dirty," Ethan Montoya, 5, said. "When a lot of the kids went off to play, I stayed with Teacher and worked in the garden."

Their crops include lettuce, strawberries, chives, rhubarb, sage, mint, spinach and a variety of multi-colored flowers.

Tsoodle, gazing into the garden, lyrically recited the garden's colors: purple, pink, yellow, white, maroon and green.

"It's a rainbow garden."

Students planned to give their moms flowers from the garden for Mother's Day.

Earth Day was also commemorated with the planting of an Arizona ash tree.

"I think the most important thing the students learned is they can, with hard work, take care of their own food needs," Tsoodle said. "They have been fascinated about the way little bitty, bitty seeds transform into beautiful plants."

Tsoodle said she is amazed by some of the skills the children seemed to know intuitively.

A couple of students, Keegan Torres and Amaya Gonzales, both 4, went over to a willow tree where there are ladybugs, and brought them to the garden, Tsoodle said.

"Amaya said, 'Teacher, look, we found ladybugs. They're good for the garden.' I don't know how they knew this."

The Head Start year ends Thursday. Tsoodle, 32, who lives near the pueblo, said she'll make sure the garden thrives throughout the summer.

"Our garden is a magical story and I'm honored to be a part of it," Tsoodle said. "This shows what a community can do when they work together. It's a historical moment. As far as I know, it's the first community-type garden at San Ildefonso in a long, long time."

Contact John Knoll at johnknoll77@hotmail.com.