We were out working in the garden this morning and the topic of pollination came up. We were talking about the different ways that plants pollinate and as if to illustrate one way, this spider obliged us with his example.
We were really examining these black-eyed susans and their pretty pollen spots and we realized that this very yellow spider was sitting right there in front of us. Isn’t he pretty?
I ran inside and gathered a few things to use in exploring the garden and its pollens. I brought out a few Q-tips and a hand lens for gathering some pollen from the flowers and looked at it up close. We also found that many of the flowers and veggies that we observed had ants crawling in around the inside of the flower. Pollination.
Pollen on a day lily
We took a few minutes more to look at various ways that plants hold their pollen and watched a few bees at work and then we came inside.
Pollen on a petunia
It was a short nature study but the best kind……stemming from curiosity about something we had close at hand.
What a beautiful picture of the black-eyed susan and spider! Have you been able to identify it? No fashion designer could come up with a finer accessory than that! Thank you for your wonderful blog – I love stopping by to see what you are discovering now. I’m only beginning to see all that is around us through nature study – and to think that I have passed by so much for so many years without ever noticing!
When my son smelled a day lily the other day, his face was covered in pollen. Which led to a new discovery for us! Thanks for the tip on the QTip! I will add them to our nature study bags.
Wow these are some really great pictures!
We have a lot of flowers on our property, it turns out. We moved in last summer so this is the first time we got to see the Spring show.
All of them are perennials planted by the previous owner. I’ll be planting some too, soon, if the weather cooperates.
Beautiful photos! My little ones love working out in the garden to. It always brings up interesting topics.
We have a light green spider living on our black-eyed susans! I go and check on him every once in awhile and he’s been there for weeks.
I like the idea of getting out some Qtips and a hand lens!