Plant Interesting Plants and Study Them Together

Plant some interesting plants in your gardens that are different and unique.

These plants have some unique features kids will like; Snap Dragons, Obedient Plant, Balloon Flower, Four- O’clocks, Morning Glories, Trumpet Vines, Jack in the Pulpit, and the towering Sunflower.

These Plants have cool textures; Lambs Ear, Thistles, Milk Weed, Yucca, Sedum, and Elephant Ear, Hens and Chicks, Luffa Gourd and Coreopsis.

Put some of these and other interesting plants in your garden and learn about the fun ways they are different!

*Please be aware that some plants are poisonous and take caution.

Ways to learn about gardening:

Observe the plants and what they do. Check on them different times of the day. (example: Four O’Clocks only bloom around 4:00 p.m. and Morning Glories bloom in the morning and a bloom dies by evening.)

Keep a garden journal or scrapbook. This can be a very fun hands-on activity for kids.

Gardening Activity for Kids: Cut up old seed/plant catalogs or use pictures of your past gardens when making plans for your garden. Give each plant a page in the journal and write down your observations (where you grew it, size, fun characteristics, etc.), do leaf-rubs (if possible), or pound some pigment from the flowers onto the page. Take pictures of your findings (interesting textures, features, shapes, sizes).

Buy and use field guides and gardening books. Study them together.

Study plants and their behaviors.

Ask questions…Why do plants bend toward the light? How do vines know how to climb? Why do leaves change color in the Fall? What gives flowers their color! Why do some plants only bloom at certain times of the day? Is there a reason why a flower is shaped a certain way? (for attracting specific insects/animals, for catching rainwater?)

Pick one plant and learn as many things as you can about it, in as many ways as you can.