Have you tried forcing twigs to blossom? It is the perfect easy late winter nature study project for any family.
This is an activity that we enjoy every year. In February, we cut and bring in forsythia twigs to force the buds to bloom indoors. This year we added some additional twigs and buds to our collection and they are starting to unfold. The project is so easy and it is not too late to try your hand at some twigs from your yard.
This birch leaf is from our Twig Study earlier this winter. It has little spring green leaves opening…love the texture and the shape.
We also collected twigs from one of our hiking trails and even though they all looked a little different at the beginning, we realized now that they are opening that they are all from buckeye trees.
It is such a simple project with some fascinating results. We cut the twig, placed it in a jar of water, and then set it in the window sill. After that, you just need to be patient.
We have had such amazing results that we are going to cut some more twigs today. I think the plum tree would be a great candidate for this project. I will post our results when we see some blossoms. 🙂
So did you start a tabletop garden of your own? We have been watching our carrot first grow roots and now it is putting lots of energy into making leaves. This is another simple and fun project that your family can try at any time.
- You can find instructions and a notebook page on my daughter’s blog: Hearts and Trees Tabletop Garden.
- Instructions for forcing forsythia
- Twig Study in More Nature Study Ebook #2
Thanks for this idea this morning! We have a Forsythia bush and I need some Spring in the house!
Glad I could inspire you…it is a fun activity and it feels so springy.
The buckeye twigs are beautiful!
I bought an onion about 2 weeks ago that was starting to send up leaves. They are getting bigger and bigger! I’d love to see it bloom. I’ll be checking out your daughter’s blog!
Oooh, I loved this post! Our twigs are also sprouting at the mo. I have taken a couple of pics and have been meaning to do an ‘follow up’ nature study post on that. I love the Forsythia! I really want to find some and force it in celebration of spring! Problem is – I have NO idea how to identify it in stick form! lol
Blessings
Shirley Ann
these are FANTASTIC photos Barb!
In the past we’ve forced everything we could think of. And a few weeks ago we decided to do something a little
different by placing a sweet potato in some water. and it’s growing roots!
unfortunately everything seems to be blooming outside here in va already.
I’m usually one who is READAY and very eager for spring, but we’ve hardly had a winter.
[…] Psych and did spelling and composition. After lunch we went by Hudson gardens to grab some twigs to force sprout and take pictures. I have never noticed such an abundance of noisy flickers as I have this year, […]