garden flowers Archives

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Barb — 1 Comment

Lovely Lavender Days and Lavender Nature Study

I love all things lavender! It is the predominant plant and the predominant color in my front yard. Just about everyone who visits my house comments on the lovely fragrance of lavender as they walk up the front walk.

Lavender #1 (which we always call English lavender): Fragrant light lavender with silvery-green stem that is stiff and woody. This is the lavender I harvest and make potpourri for sachets from because it smells just like perfume.The large plants have grown over part of the walkway so when you brush by them you are treated to a perfumy delight.

I have missed the prime time for harvesting this summer because of travel but I will still go out early in the morning in the next few days and cut the blossoms to dry for a big batch of fragrant potpourri to have on hand.

Lavender along the walkway (sage in the background)

Lavender #2 (which we always call Spanish lavender): Spicy lavender scent with feathery soft leaves and petals that look like wings on the top. The leaves when rubbed are just as fragrant as the actual flower. We learned to prune this lavender last fall and it came back with a growth spurt I couldn’t believe was possible. I am pruning it way back again this year.

Lavender with “wings” on top and fern-like leaves

Are you interested in learning more about lavender? My daughter and I created a Hearts and Trees Kit that features lavender nature study and a lavender sachet sewing project. The lavender nature study is in the form of an Outdoor Hour Challenge and I wrote a narrative that mimics the style of Anna Botsford Comstock in the Handbook of Nature Study. You will really enjoy this study and your children will learn a lot about lavender.

I am pleased to announce that for the next ten days you can purchase a Hearts and Trees Kit featuring lavender nature study and a lavender sachet craft and receive FREE SHIPPING.

You must use the buttons below to receive the special discount.

For the lavender focused part of this kit, your child will create a dried lavender sachet. The fabric, thread, needle yarn and dried lavender and instructions are included. ***PLEASE NOTE: If you or your child is allergic to lavender just let us know and we will not send the dried lavender!***

There is also an eight page nature journal focusing on lavender. Your child will assemble the nature journal using the cover, pages and a length of twine. A sample lavender flower is provided for you to study. The cardboard, rubber bands and link to instructions are provided so that you can make a flower press. Waxed paper and instructions are also included to make a waxed paper pouch to mount the pressed lavender into the nature journal.

There is more to the kit! Each one includes:

2 sewing projects
2 handicraft projects
1 painting project
1 drawing project
1 nature study collection of projects focusing on lavender
1 artist study collection of notebooking pages with art print

These kits were gathered with children ages 6-12 in mind. Parents may need to help their students, especially younger children, with some aspects of this kit. (Please note you will need to supply some common art supplies to complete these projects such as scissors, paintbrush and markers. A list of common supplies you will need is included with the kit.)

Hearts and Trees Lavender and Bubbles Kit

Hearts and Trees Bubbles and Lavender Kit–FREE SHIPPING

If you have any questions, email me or my daughter (heartsandtrees@yahoo.com).

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Barb — 5 Comments

Garden Update – Renee’s Garden Seeds

This year Renee’s Garden sent me my whole seed order as a gift so that I could share my results with my dear blog readers. I love the selection of seeds found at Renee’s Garden and I have grown them in my garden for many years. I usually order them directly from their website but my dad purchased his whole garden seed order at our local Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) which would even be easier!

We got our seeds in the ground last month and we are already seeing tremendous growth in the veggie and flower gardens!

Our Blue Lake pole beans have all sprouted and with the heat we are getting this week we should probably see them double in size. The seeds we planted are from Renee’s Garden Organic Seed Collection. I am so thrilled to have these in my garden that I planted two different boxes with these green bean sesds. I am anxious to see how they taste!

This is something new for our family from Renee’s: Tricolor Zucchini. The zucchini seeds are mixed in the packet and contain three different kinds of squash. The seedlings look strong and are growing like crazy. I have a whole houseful of zucchini lovers so hopefully we will get our fill of squash this summer.

A whole row of sunflowers…which need to be thinned a bit. We have three really big ones which were self-sowed from last year’s crop but there are some little seedlings that we planted from our Renee’s Garden seeds. There are Van Gogh, Chocolate Cherry, and Royal Flush.

We planted plenty of morning glories right in the middle of our back garden. I am hoping they do well here and have been watching them grow week by week. Morning glories make me super happy and I love to draw them in my nature journal…relaxing. The seeds we picked are a heritage blend that are traditionally grown to decorate fences and mailboxes.

There are also some really pretty showy flowers in the garden right now which are not from Renee’s Garden but I want to share with you.

The hydrangeas are very happy this year and this is my favorite color…so delicate.

In my container deck garden there is a beautiful calla lily blooming. This plant always surprises me when it pops back to life after the winter weather. It soon will be a whole pot full of blooms which the hummingbirds and I will enjoy.

It is very hard to believe that it is day lily blooming time but they are all budding out and a few are blossoming.

I love the peachy color of this day lily and am always happy to see it in bloom in my butterfly/hummingbird garden.

There are lots more of Renee’s Garden seeds to share and I will as the season progresses. I am always happy to share our favorite seed company with my blog readers.

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Barb — 3 Comments

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Table Top Garden

Outdoor Hour Challenge:
A fun way to learn about plant parts is to grow a table top garden with a few root vegetables. This week I challenge you to make a table top garden with your children. Keep it simple and start with one veggie and see the way it grows roots and stem and leaves. This is an easy project for any age.

Instructions on Hearts and Trees: Indoor Nature Study Idea: Table Top Garden
These instructions include a free downloadable notebooking page to go along with your table top garden.

Add your table top garden to your nature table as an on-going nature study experience.

Activity Suggestion: Create a Garden Flowers Nature Table

Free Printable Nature Table- Garden Flowers

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #3. Use this challenge to help you draw your table top garden as you make your observations. Use the notebooking page in the ebook or the free one noted in the challenge above.

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Barb — Leave a comment

Petunia Flower Study Using the Handbook of Nature Study

Pretty Petunia Nature Study in My Garden

Purple and pink petunias are a garden favorite around here. Well, any purple flower is my favorite but petunias are a great color spot even in my vegetable garden.

I decided years ago that I like to mix up my garden boxes and include pretty flowers as well as veggies.This year we planted marigolds and petunias to add that splash of color for the early spring boxes.

I am looking forward to spending some time observing my petunias over the summer season and completing a petunia nature study…especially to see how the insects navigate the flower tube.

You can find a Petunia Flower Study notebooking page in last week’s Petunia Flower Study Challenge.

Have you planted your petunias yet?

Some extra links for you:
Wild Petunia Coloring Pages
How to Deadhead Your Petunias -YouTube

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Barb — Leave a comment

Garden Flowers Focus – Using Notebooking Pages

We have studied many of the garden flowers listed in the Handbook of Nature Study over the years. Using the simple ideas in each lesson make it enjoyable and memorable. For this challenge (Focus on Garden Flowers), we picked just two flowers to study more in-depth- Salvia and Petunias (which will be the star of the next OHC this Friday).

Guess what? We have never had salvia in our garden before so a trip to Home Depot was taken and we found several varieties of salvia to choose from. We picked this purple salvia which we are hoping will apply to the salvia in the Handbook of Nature Study. From the label we learned it needs a sunny spot (6 hours of sun) and water every other day. It blooms summer to fall and will grow to a height of 10-36″.

I decided to plant my saliva in a pot so I won’t forget to water it and so I can watch it grow and blossom and hopefully watch the bees in it. It is a perennial so I will eventually add it to the flower garden.

From the lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 161), we looked closely at the flowers, looking for the corolla-tubes, stamens, and anthers as described in the narrative. The bees apparently have to push their heads agains the inner arms of the stamesn to lift them which causes the anthers to leave a streak of pllen along the bee’s fuzzy sides. The bees then have to crawl almost inside the tubes to get the nectar. I’m not sure that my variety of salvia will provide such a show but we will be watching.

I will be on the lookout for some Saliva as described in the Handbook of Nature Study so we can really get a good look. I printed the salvia notebook page from NotebookingPages.com’s Wildflowers, Weeds, and Garden Flowers set.

While we were at Home Depot, I picked up some more seeds to plant in the garden. They had some larkspur seeds and I will plant those and use along with the lesson in the Handbook of Nature Study, hopefully later this summer. There were two other seeds that caught my eye and I will be planting those today along my fence-line- Hollyhocks and Black-Eyed Susans!

Our garden is all planted and I hope to get a garden entry done sometime in the next week to share all the lovely Renee’s Garden seeds that we have tucked into their garden beds…just waiting!

I am an affiliate for NotebookingPages.com and highly recommend this set for your Wildflower, Weeds, and Garden Flowers study.

Use discount code = discount5 to save $5 on your $10+ purchase at NotebookingPages.com

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Barb — 6 Comments

Garden Flowers Close to Home – And More

This month our Outdoor Hour Challenge focus is on garden flowers and crop plants. There will be no lack of subjects to study this month right outside our front and back doors. As the spring weather warms up and we have abundant sunshine, I am eager to get out and start digging in the dirt. It was easy to check off a few of the Garden Grid Study ideas as went worked in the yard this weekend.

So I will give you a tour of some of the interesting garden flowers, crops, grasses, and bushes we have in our yard right now. Enjoy!

Heart shaped leaves…

My latest garden acquisition is this lovely, lovely lilac bush. If only you could smell the delicate fragrance of the flowers! I am hoping this is a winner in my sunny backyard. We planted it where it will have plenty of sunshine and room to grow.

We had this spot already prepared from last summer when it was part of my experimental veggie garden expansion…we weren’t all that successful so I decided that my beloved lilac would find a home here.

More heart-shaped leaves…

Here is my latest experiment….hydrangeas on the shady side of my house. I decided to leave them in pots to see if they survive and if they look like they are liking it here then I will plant them in the ground. The birdfeeder has now been moved to the other part of the garden where the squirrels might not find it for a bit.

Watched the bees in the flowers…

The backyard lavender is blooming now and the bees are busy already. You can never have too much lavender….or at least I think so.

Disneyland Rose

This is definitely the year of the rose in our area. All my roses are blooming and this one is my favorite…the Disneyland Rose. It has a spicy perfume fragrance and the blooms are peachy-pink. I cut this all the way to the ground last fall because it was an odd shape. I wasn’t sure if it would bloom well this spring but I have to say that I may just cut it all the way down every fall if this is the results. Awesome!

Look at those leaves!

This is another new arrival in the back garden. We have a super sunny hot spot up next to my backyard retreat. Nothing has been very successful here except the Jerusalem Sage. I am taking a chance with the Moonshine Yarrow and it has probably doubled in size since we planted it. I am hopeful that it will do well here.

These leaves are fuzzy and soft.

This is our Jerusalem Sage…I looked it up and it grows to be about 48″ wide. It needs very little water and it blooms long into the autumn season. I watered it three times a week last summer (the first summer) but now I am going to be only watering it twice a week and see how it goes. It looks like it is pretty well established. Where I live in Northern California, we get very little rain from June to November. Our first significant rain last fall was November 27th. Now you know why I use lots of drought tolerant plants in my yard.

So here is my surprise squash plant that is growing in the cutting flower garden box. I am not sure where it came from but I am going to let it grow since it seems so happy where it is. I did not have squash growing anywhere near this box last year so we will be surprised when it matures to see what it is exactly.

I had to include an image of my clover since we are focusing on Garden Flowers and Crop Plants this month for the Outdoor Hour Challenge. Clover is included in the Handbook of Nature Study so if you have some in your yard…take advantage of the nature study opportunity.

Our Smoke bush is so very pretty right now with its airy little blossoms that make it look like it has smoke. This has doubled in size since we planted it two years ago and I love the way it looks right now.

See the tiny little flowers? This is what makes it look like “smoke”. Later in the autumn the leaves turn a deep purple…love it!

One last image of our sage that is growing like crazy with our warmer temperatures and sunshine. This will be covered in delicate purple flowers during the summer…loads of bees visit these bushes in our front yard during the summer.

There you go… a visit to my garden, a few new things, and some close observation as part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge. My boys helped me finish preparing the garden boxes and we planted seeds this weekend too so there will be lots more to come as the seasons flow by.

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Garden Flowers Grid Study

Garden Flowers Grid Nature Study @handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com

“The only right way to begin plant study with young children is through awakening their interest in and love for flowers.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 453

Outdoor Hour Challenge:
Use the grids in the May newsletter to get started with your Garden Flowers and Crop Plants study this month. There are lots of simple ideas for observation that all ages can use to start this month’s focus on garden flowers and crop plants. If you have the newsletter, make sure to see the garden journal ideas on page 14. There is also a flower notebooking page included in the newsletter for you to use with any garden flower you study this month.

Special Activity: Using Your Senses in the Garden

Use your senses during your Grid Study this week and record your observations on this Garden Senses Notebook Page. Use you sense of touch, smell, sight, and even taste and hearing (be careful with the tasting!) to take your Outdoor Time to the next level.
Garden Senses Notebooking Page

Getting Started Suggestion:
If you already own the Getting Started ebook, complete Outdoor Hour Challenge #8. Just remember to take a magnifying lens with you during your outdoor time this week and encourage your children to look closely at some plants or flowers in your yard. Record you observations on the notebook page in the ebook.

If you already own the Garden Flower and Plants ebook, you could combine this week’s challenge with Garden Flowers Challenge #5 – Learning Leaf Parts. This challenge also encourages you to spend some quiet time in your garden using all your senses. Complete the accompanying notebook page in the ebook if you desire.

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Barb — 6 Comments

Garden Delights and a Living Habitat – Tuesday Garden Party

Dogwood blossom @naturestudyhomeschool.com

It feels like spring now that the dogwood is blooming! Our front garden is such a source of joy right now with it colors and textures. I spend far too much time gazing out the window at the beauty and sitting out on the steps just breathing it all in deeply. The birds and insects are visiting daily as they find different things to enjoy too…the bird bath, the blossoms with pollen to collect, or the seeds in the feeders.

Whether you enjoy the fragrance or the color of lavender…..you would be happy sitting in this part of the garden. The bees are buzzing again, stopping by many of the purple flowers many times before flying off again. I am anticipating the summer harvest of my lavender and creating many more sachets to give away to friends and family.

So this is the view from the top of the garden looking down from the top terrace. The yarrow is huge this year and already covered in flower buds. We weren’t sure about our pruning that was done last fall because we were worried we had trimmed it too far to the ground but now look at those mounds of yarrow! The lavender is filling in after being trimmed almost all the way back as well. I love using the internet and YouTube.com as a reference for my gardening tasks…there is a lot of practical advice out there. The butterfly bushes are going to be amazing this year and the poppies are showing their color (middle right of the photo).

Since the front yard is so low maintenance, we can focus our thoughts and energy on our vegetable garden now that the weather is warming up.

My husband and I are so very happy with our no-mow yard and enjoy having the neighbors stop by and tell us they love driving by and seeing all the different flowers. If you are interested in removing your lawn and switching over to drought tolerant plants and natives, I highly recommend a book I am reading from Timber Press: Beautiful No-Mow Yards by Evelyn J. Hadden. It claims to have fifty lawn alternatives…most of them are spectacular but yet not too complicated.

One thing I have learned about my own no-mow yard is that there is going to be a lot of color if you plan it right. No-mow yards are much more interesting and enjoyable to all the senses. You can see how our project started here: Frontyard Remodel.

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Barb — 4 Comments

Spring Garden Box Clean-Up and Planning

We had a chance to work on our garden boxes this past weekend….cleaning up the debris and tilling the soil. It is always a joy to see what is already sprouting and growing without much effort. We made some hard choices this year about which things to continue growing and which things to get rid of in each box.

Box number one is historically my box to plant and care for…I change it up every year. With the clean-up this weekend I realized that the Prairie Sunflowers are really going to fill the whole box up. I should probably thin the plants out but I will let them go one more year. They are great bird attractive plants and I have other boxes I can use for edibles.

Box number two has always been Mr. A’s box. He is a simple guy and enjoys his strawberries and dahlias. This is a no fuss kind of box. The berry plants are already growing like crazy and there are blossoms! There is one corner where all the strawberries died for some reason so we will be picking up some need seedlings next time we are at the garden nursery. He has both everbearing and June bearing plants in his box.

Box number three is Mr. B’s box. He is the herb man. This was where we made the executive decision to pull ALL the oregano from the box this year. Mr. B has lost interest in his herb garden so I am going to be using part of his box for my veggies. We left the lemon thyme and the garlic chives. There are also two small mystery plants that we will leave until we figure out what they are.

Box number four is Amanda’s box but she is off having the time of her life in Bolivia this year so I will be nurturing her box while she is gone. She has always had a cutting flower garden in her box….even after leaving home we still consider it her box. The coneflowers and daisies are looking healthy and I will be planting some zinnias and other colorful flowers to fill the box when it is time.

The rest of the yard is looking so spring-like. The climbing rose is dazzling yellow and there are so many promises in other parts of the garden as well. The roses are in bud, the butterfly bush and lavender are growing like crazy, the day lilies are all filling in….can’t wait for the show to begin. Something new this week- apple blossoms!

Plans for Garden Boxes – 2013
Box 1 – Prairie Sunflowers, shade tolerant herbs (dill, cilantro)
Box 2 – Add more strawberries and add stakes for dahlias.
Box 3 – Existing herbs, zucchini and green beans
Box 4 – Coneflowers, daisies, zinnias

Other Areas:
Under Birdfeeder – Morning glories
Large bed in back – Sunflowers

Deck Containers – I am receiving and reviewing from Renee’s Garden the Easy to Grow – Container Kitchen Vegetable Garden collection which includes tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, chard, and basil. Excited to see how this goes this year!

I would totally love to add a blueberry bed in a different area of the garden. The spot where my current blueberries live is just not right…they are not thriving. I am trying to convince my husband to help me add a row of blueberries as an experiment…we shall see.

How are your garden plans coming?

Category: garden flowers