John W. Decas Elementary students quite literally got the chance to get their hands dirty Tuesday night, at the Wareham Free Library’s monthly Read Around Wareham talk.

The Read Around Wareham program features a local organization or individual to teach the children about something new. The night’s guest speakers were Wareham Garden Club President Cheri Ikasalo and Second Vice President Peter LaBouliere. They spoke to the children about what the Garden Club does, and taught them a bit about the tools of the trade.

“We plant things … all around town,” LaBouliere said. “If you go downtown, like in the center of Wareham … there is a whole area where have a lot of flowers and plants. We also have oak barrels in different locations around Main Street that also have a lot of flowers in them.”

LaBouliere said the club also plants and maintains flowers and other vegetation at various busy intersections around Wareham.

The children also got plant their own daffodil bulbs in large buckets. Ikasalo and LaBouliere helped the kids dig small holes in which to drop the bulbs. The bulbs will be transferred to the Library’s backyard garden, and are expected to sprout in April.

Ikasalo said after the event that she was impressed with how much the kids already knew about gardening.

“I think they had a good start already, because they had adult guidance,” Ikasalo said. “They knew most of the flowers that we had for them.”

Ikasalo said she thinks gardening is good for kids, because “it gets them away from video games.”

“It gets them some fresh air, and sunshine, and some exercise,” Ikasalo said. “It’s calming, relaxing.”