Seeds Archives

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Garden Planning and April Recap -In Progress

This is such a gorgeous colorful time of year in the garden. I thought I would do a little update on my Garden Planning nature journal page and share how my April 2016 recap page is coming along.

At least this is the plan as of today…I know when the actual planting time comes I will probably adjust a bit but this gives my husband an idea of what irrigation I will need for him to set in up in each box. The one box is labeled as the “herb box” which it used to be in the past but now it is just a regular box…it will probably always be known as the herb box.

I’ve left some blank space for recording experiences as we finish up the month. I find that keeping the page going during the month is the best way to assure that it will actually get done. I used some watercolor pencils, gel pens, and a ruler to create my page.

Are you working on your garden seeds challenge? Take a few minutes and get it started! Are you going to create a monthly recap page? Here is the link to the Once a Month Nature Journal Project idea post.

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Posted on April 11, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Garden Seeds Project – Photo, Journal, Plan

We received our seed order from Renee’s Garden and it inspired us to get out into the garden and start our spring clean up. The end of March and the beginning of April is the time we can get out and start weeding the boxes and dreaming of the summertime garden goodness that will be coming fast!

Garden Clean Up March 2016 (12) — Here’s the garden before the clean up.

With all of our children living away from home, the garden chores all fall on my husband and I. I have a hard time bending over for very long so I decided to work a half hour every afternoon and with three days of doing that and one rather long afternoon with my husband, we finished the initial clean up.

Garden Clean Up March 2016 (1) — Here is the after image.

Now we can make a list of things we still need to do to get the boxes ready including a good composting. The drip system needs a bit of revamping as well but we have a month or so before we will need to have the irrigation ready.

In the meantime, I will be planting several veggies in containers up on our deck where I can nurture them through the early spring. I will also be planting veggies in the garden boxes but I have enjoyed watching and eating the veggies on our back deck in the past few years and don’t want to miss that experience this year.

As part of the Garden Seeds Challenge, I started on a Garden Planning page in my nature journal. I sketched a few of the seeds we will be planting this year and included some of my garden growing thoughts too!

We looked up our hardiness zone to remind ourselves of when we can plant each of the vegetables we have on our list: Plant Zone Hardiness Calendar.

We can usually count on having a good garden if we get our seeds in the ground by May 1st. I don’t ever plant anything fancy so here is our list for 2016.

Vegetables

Lettuce: Baby Leaf Lettuce,
Green Beans – French Mascotte (container bush beans), Classic Slenderette (bush beans), Blue Lake pole beans.
Tomatoes – Litt’l Bites Cherry (container), Pandorino (Italian grape tomato)
Squash – Astia (container zucchini), Raven zucchini
Baby Bell peppers

Flowers

Sunflowers- Bird and Bee Pollinator Mix, Sundancer.
White Bishop’s Lace
Zinnias
Echinacea (Paradise mix)
Snow Sonata Cosmos
White Wonder Feverfew
Grandmother’s Pincushion scabiosa

After all of that work, it is so nice to sit with the feet up and enjoy a cool drink as you survey all your hard yardwork.

If you are a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you will find this archive challenge in the Garden Flower and Plant Ebook in your library. In the ebook you will find a custom notebook page designed for use with this particular challenge.

PLUS there is a new printable in the member’s library for sketching your garden seeds too!

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Garden Seeds

Outdoor Hour Challenge
Garden Seeds – Observations
Archive Challenge

Now that spring is really here, let’s get our gardening started! Of course, that means picking seeds and for all nature loving families we can make that into a simple and meaningful nature study. Taking time to note the differences and unique shape, size, and color of flower and vegetable seeds will make an impression on your young naturalist. Even if you just pick one kind of seed and do a thorough job with your observations there will be long lasting benefits to this type of seed study.

Garden Study – Seeds and Observations

You may also want to use this printable activity if you plan on visiting a garden nursery.

If you are a member here on the Handbook of Nature Study, you will find this archive challenge in the Garden Flower and Plant Ebook in your library. In the ebook you will find a custom notebook page designed for use with this particular challenge.

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Winter Weeds and Seeds

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Seeds

Here are a couple of weed/seed photos I took over the past few weeks. We were out on a snowy walk and I spotted this beautiful seed pod! In my mind’s eye I see the seeds all sleeping inside cozy, waiting for the right time to spring out and sprout in the springtime sunshine.

We also squeezed in a sunny hike after a big week of rain and the grasses were already starting to turn green but last season’s star thistles were still standing dry, stiff and full of seeds. The birds like these invasive plants because they provide seeds in their diet…at least there is that! I recently had a discussion with a young girl about the difference between a wildflower and a weed. It was interesting to hear how she appreciates the beauty in what many deem to be weeds, things like dandelions, mustard, and wild radish. She has studied herbs a bit and understands the value of many of our so-called weeds. (She is a girl after my own heart.)

Take advantage of your winter season to look for weeds and seeds. The landscape at this time of year has far less competing for your attention and weeds can be spotted even if you have snow or ice.

I am so looking forward to wildflower season this year! We have had a decent amount of rain and it should help make it a splendid show of color in a few weeks.

Have you looked for weeds and seeds yet?

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Seeds

One of my favorite winter nature study activities is to take a hike and look for weeds left from the summer season. They are usually brown and stiff, sticking up out of the landscape even when there is a snow pack. Create a winter weed bouquet for your nature table and use the two challenges below to go a little deeper in your seed study. Create some anticipation for the spring and summer season by talking about how plants are just waiting for the right conditions to spring forth new life again.

Weeds and Seeds Study – This challenge has a free printable notebook page for you to use as part of your seed study.

Winter Wednesday – Winter Weeds – from the Winter Wednesday ebook.

After reading through each challenge linked above, choose one or two things to keep in mind during your Outdoor Hour Challenge time. Enjoy your fifteen minutes outdoors as you look for weeds and seeds. Make sure to show interest in any item your child finds to observe or bring home to your nature table.

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Barb — 14 Comments

Fall Seed Walk – From Our World

On an absolutely beautiful autumn day, we hiked out to the river to enjoy the sunshine and fall colors. We were on the lookout for some fall seeds and we discovered a new flower!

I have no idea what this plant is but it was about four feet tall and was swaying in the breeze…waving us over to take a closer look. Aren’t these the prettiest little flowers?

Each branch ended with these delicate flowers and the stem of the plant was purplish red.

We also discovered a patch of evening primrose dispersed among the big boulders lining the river’s edge.

We also spied this massive mullein plant with its soft rosettes of leaves.

We were so distracted by the plants and flowers that we didn’t collect any seeds for our nature journal entry. I am thinking that it will take a change in the weather before I am inspired to collect seeds and sit down long enough to make a page for our fall seeds. Can you blame me?

Have you collected any seeds yet?

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Barb — 6 Comments

New Printables for Members – October 2014

New Printables in the Member’s Library!

There are new printables for you to use with your family if you are a member of the Ultimate Naturalist or Journey level memberships. You need to log into your account and then check the “Other Releases” section for brand new printables to enjoy along with the Outdoor Hour Challenges in November 2014.

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Barb — Leave a comment

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Witch Hazel Tree Study

Inside Preparation Work:

Read the section in the Handbook of Nature Study on Witch Hazel found on pages 686-689(Lesson 190).
Find out if you have Witch Hazel as a native plant in your area by viewing this map: USDA Witch Hazel
Here is a video to help you identify a Witch Hazel in autumn Youtube video: Fall Blooming Witch Hazel
Here is an image of the seeds of a Witch Hazel. This blog entry has some amazing images of the Witch Hazel.
Advanced Study: Read these online articles for more in-depth information about the Witch Hazel: Witch Hazel and Witch Hazel.

Outdoor Hour Time:

Use your outdoor time this week to look at fall trees, looking in particular for the yellow strap-like flowers and nuts of the Witch Hazel. It might be fun to also include a Fall Nature Walk Scavenger Hunt using this printable from Hearts and Trees.
Take along your nature journals to sketch the Witch Hazel flower into your nature journal.
Advanced students: Make sure to look for the Witch Hazel nuts and find the seeds if possible. If possible, collect a few of the nuts to take home to discover just how far the seeds will fly once the nut opens up.

Follow-Up Activity:

Create a nature journal entry all about the Witch Hazel. Here are some things to include (or you can use the notebook page in the ebook:

Color and texture of the bark
Leaves, if any are present, noting the color.
Flower (see page 688 in the Handbook of Nature Study for a nice diagram of the flower)
Date of your observations and the location
Draw the Witch Hazel nut. Write how you think the seeds are thrown so far from the tree.

Advanced Study: Complete the notebooking page in the ebook using a field guide or the internet resources above.

Join us for this series of challenges every week here on the Handbook of Nature Study. If you want to purchase the Autumn Nature Study Continues ebook so you can follow along with all the notebooking pages, coloring pages, and subject images, you can join the Ultimate or Journey Membership Levels. See the Join Us page for complete information. Also, you can view the Autumn Nature Study Continues content list on the announcement page.

You can also submit any Outdoor Hour Challenge blog entry from October to the next edition of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival by sending the link directly to me by 10/29/14. Harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

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Posted on February 24, 2014 by Barb — Leave a comment

Winter Weed Gallery – Our Weed Study

Winter Weed Study – Outdoor Hour Challenge

When you spend a lot of time outdoors during the winter months, you are bound to notice the various shapes and sizes of winter weeds. Maybe it the lack of other nature study subjects or the more subdued color palette of the winter landscape, but weeds are hard to miss.

These particular images were taken at Yosemite National Park during our last visit in January. The stalks are still standing tall and the fruits are still visible on many of the plants. I am pretty sure this is Common Cowparsnip.

What a lovely pattern found in the winter Cow Parsnip.

This set of images comes from our hike at Lake Tahoe last month. The winter weeds are clearly seen emerging from the snowy landscape.

This is a different plant and had far more seeds left attached to the stalks.

Rather pretty isn’t it? Focusing on winter weeds is one way to see the beauty even in the winter scene. I hope this encourages your own winter weed study…one that you can fit in while taking a short walk.

Have you looked for some winter weeds to study?

Tag: Seeds

Garden Planning and April Recap -In Progress

Garden Seeds Project – Photo, Journal, Plan

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Garden Seeds

Winter Weeds and Seeds

Have you looked for weeds and seeds yet?

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Seeds

Fall Seed Walk – From Our World

Have you collected any seeds yet?

New Printables for Members – October 2014

Outdoor Hour Challenge – Witch Hazel Tree Study

Winter Weed Gallery – Our Weed Study

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!

Have you looked for weeds and seeds yet?

Have you collected any seeds yet?

November 2014 – Fall Seeds

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!