Garden Flowers: Geraniums are the Perfect Beginner’s Flower Study

Up until now, I have not appreciated the geranium. I usually don’t pick geraniums for my garden but after reading that hummingbirds were attracted to red flowers I decided to give them a try. I picked the reddest variety I could find at Home Depot, brought it home, and potted it right under my hummingbird feeder.

When we were deciding on a garden flower to study this month as part of the suggestions in the Outdoor Hour Challenge May Newsletter, I skimmed the list of garden flowers in the Handbook of Nature Study. One flower we have not observed closely and added to our nature journal is the geranium. I turned over to the pages to read about this common flower and I was dazzled by all that we could learn by taking a few minutes to follow the suggested lesson activities. (Lesson 163 in the Handbook of Nature Study)

1. We observed the leaves, touching them and enjoying the fuzzy texture. Mr. B said that they were thick and stiff and I would agree with that. What a great shape the leaves are and I decided right away that was going to be the focus of my nature journal entry.

2. We looked at the petals as suggested in the lesson, noticing that all the five petals are not the same shape and size. Anna Botsford Comstock says that this flower is the perfect beginners flower since you can observe and name all the parts easily.

“The geranium’s blossom is so simple that it is of special value as a subject for a beginning lesson in teaching the parts of a flower; and its leaves and stems may likewise be used for the first lessons in plant structure.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 585

3. We read about the nectar tube and took a closer look at it after reading how the structure works.

“No other flower shows a prettier plan for guiding insects to the hidden sweets, and in none is there a more obvious and easily seen well of nectar. It extends almost the whole length of the flower stalk…”
Handbook of Nature Study page 586

This lesson was only a few minutes long on a sunny morning out on our back deck but what a lot of information we now have about this common garden plant. I love learning more about my own backyard.

We used the geranium notebook pages from NotebookingPages.com’s Wildflowers, Weeds, and Garden Flowers set….use my discount code (discount5) and get them for $7.95. If you own a Treasury Membership, you already have access to eight different designs for each of the wildflowers, weeds, and flowers included in this set (over 45 plants). Each person can pick a different design for their nature journal entry. I used the coloring page and the lined page with boxes for sketching and a photo. I was thinking that the coloring page is something you could make yourself using the Fill In The Circle idea from the May Newsletter.

Here are a few more photos of flowers on the back deck.

Can you tell I am going for lots of color this year?

Lantana for the bees and butterflies.

Petunias (Lesson 162 in the Handbook of Nature Study)

Pansies (Lesson 152 in the Handbook of Nature Study)

Gerbera daisies

You can grow a lot of different flowers in pots even if you only have a small space. I encourage you to give it a try and then complete some of the garden flower challenges listed on the right sidebar of my blog (OHC #12 through #19) Keep your study simple by choosing just a few of the ideas in each lesson, building on what you already know.

I hope you are taking advantage of the warmer, drier May weather to get out into your own backyard. I look forward to seeing your nature study adventures as you submit them to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival. Don’t forget to include some of the nature journal ideas from the May Newsletter: Fill In The Circles, add some poetry, and use the Know Your Own Backyard notebook page.

You can submit your blog entries for May HERE.