Enabling Environments: Let's explore ... Flowers

Flowers come in many shapes, sizes and colours, both wild and cultivated, from daisies to delphiniums. Even if space and time don't allow for the development of a flower garden in a setting, the potential can be drawn on and enjoyed throughout the year.

Children and staff can bring in flowers from their own gardens, cuttings can be taken and plants can be bought inexpensively over time. However it is done, we can offer opportunities for children to look, feel, smell, compare and use flowers to develop a lasting interest and pleasure in the wonders of nature.

HANDS-ON LEARNING

You can provide opportunities for children to:

• look at flowers and see how each flower is formed, at the shape of the petals and at flowers on trees and bushes as well as in borders
• watch throughout the year as the buds form and burst into flower
• talk about the shape of flowers, their delicate forms and shading
• compare the size of the blooms - the ones with one flower to a stem, for example, the primrose with clusters, and those with several blooms up the stem, such as the bluebell
• feel the petals gently and talk about the textures - feathery, velvety or prickly
• smell the delicate scents, or, as with cat mint, the not-so-delicate scent.

ACTIVITY IDEAS

Flowers for cutting

• If you have flowers in your nursery garden, demonstrate how to cut them carefully, with as long a stem as possible, and not to take too many from the same plant.
• Provide small trugs and baskets for collecting flowers and scissors.
• Discuss the importance of handling the flowers gently.
• Name the flowers and discuss similarities and differences.
• For ideas on how to develop your garden and grow your own flowers for cutting, see box below.

Cut flowers for drying

Buy plants suitable for drying or see if you have any in your garden. Suitable types include: lavender - especially deep purple varieties; Aster; Verbena; Nigella (Love-in-a-mist) for attractive seed-heads; Physalis (Chinese lanterns); Honesty; Statice; and roses for buds and petals.

Flower arranging

• Encourage the children to help to arrange flowers they have picked themselves. If possible, have a designated area near to a child-sized sink, where cut flowers can be taken. Keep a selection of safe vases and other containers for children to choose from.
• Provide scissors for trimming stems to fit different containers. Include small vases and containers for tiny posies, which children love. Stems can be trimmed to fit.
• Have areas around the setting where cut flowers can be displayed, for example on or near the snack area, in the entrance etc.
• A special 'flower table', placed where children will notice it as they move around, can be changed regularly to display flowers in creative ways.
• Try floating flower heads in a clear bowl of water, a beautiful rose in a single-stem vase, different flowers of one colour in different shades, a vase of herbs, a delicate display of wild flowers, a selection of native grasses in flower. The possibilities are endless, and children can offer their own ideas.

Adding flowers to continuous provision

• Flowers, leaves, buds, twigs and grasses can be added to the materials in the creative workshop to be included in collages.
• Display a vase of flowers alongside a print of a famous work of art in the paint area, the obvious ones being Van Gogh's Sunflowers and Monet's Irises.
• Include examples of modern prints, such as Meadow Dane and Meadow Suite by Shirley Novak.
• Simply displaying a vibrant vase of gazanias, a delicate selection of sweet peas or a water lily in a cup can prompt children to experiment with their own representations of colour and form. The aim here is not to get children to produce a painting of a vase of flowers, but to offer beautiful, natural objects to tickle their senses and see what happens.
• Add a basket of flowers to the sand area for creating patterns, and flower heads to the water area for making floating patterns.

Drying flowers

Collect fresh flowers, herb leaves and flowers and flower buds and lay them on a tray or foil dishes. Leave them in a warm sunny place indoors. When dry, mix them all together and place in a shallow bowl or basket. Display on a table, with a vase of fresh flowers for comparison and an invitation to 'Touch and smell our Potpourri'.

Whole stems of suitable plants and herbs can be tied in bunches and hung in a warm place to dry. They can then be carefully arranged in containers as everlasting flowers during the winter months.

Interactive displays and focus tables

• Provide opportunities for children to investigate flowers by taking them apart and looking closely with magnifiers.
• Introduce plant vocabulary such as bud, petal, stem, leaf flower.
• Include 'finding out' books and a clipboard for children to represent their ideas. Focus at different times on wild flowers/herbs/grasses/roses/a particular colour.
• Collect rose petals and present them in a basket, along with plastic bottles and jugs of water. Let the children fill the bottles, and then push petals in and shake to make perfume. Have a selection of small plastic bottles and funnels for decanting and labels for children to decorate.

Visits and visitors

• Take children out in small groups to see flowers growing in different environments such as wood, park, pond and meadow. Help children be aware of the changes in the growing year by visiting the habitats at different times of the year. Take a pocket book of wild flowers for identification and a flower note book, and photograph the habitats.
• Invite interested parents to open their gardens for visits. Take photographs for a book on 'Gardens we have visited'. Compare each garden in summer, spring, autumn and winter. Ask parents to collect seeds, take cuttings or split plants with their children to contribute to the nursery's cutting garden.
• Make links with local nurseries and garden centres. Visit regularly to see what is available. It may be possible to get special offers on plants and seeds, and even the odd donation.
• Contact the local parks and gardens department to see if it's possible to have some of the discarded plants when flower beds are changed. Invite a member of the gardening team to the setting to give a hanging basket or container demonstration.
• Visit a florists and observe bunches of flowers being wrapped. Invite the florist to the setting to demonstrate flower arranging.
• Find out if there are any enthusiastic gardeners among parents and carers, and in the local community,and see if they would be happy to share their expertise on a regular basis.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

PSED Showing an interest through observation and participation
PSED Responding to experiences, showing a range of feelings
PSED Showing care and concern for living things and the environment
PSED Working together as a group
PSED Continuing to be interested, motivated and excited to learn
PD Developing children's control, as well as co-ordination
EAD Responding in a variety of ways to what children see, hear, smell, touch
and feel
C&L Enjoying songs and rhymes linked to flowers and living things
PD Listening and responding to experiences using their whole bodies, with
facial expressions, gestures and expressive sounds
C&L Using descriptive language to describe what the children see, touch and
hear
PD Developing the children's dexterity and hand-eye co-ordination through
investigations
M Exploring patterns and shapes in the natural environment
M Beginning to use mathematical language to describe shape, size and
position
M Developing counting skills as the children count petals, flowers in a
vase, buds on a stem
UW Using appropriate senses to explore plants and living things
UW Looking closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change
Showing curiosity and asking questions about why things happen

ADULT ROLE

• Follow the health and safety policy at all times and carry out appropriate risk assessments.
• Ask open-ended questions and introduce new descriptive vocabulary.
• Wonder out loud and put into words what is being observed and experienced.
• Make the learning visible by documenting experiences throughout the year, taking photographs with the children, jotting down their responses.
• Revisit experiences on a regular basis using the documentation and share with parents and carers.
• Through continuous provision, make available gardening resources and protective clothing.

RESOURCE BOX

• fiction and non-fiction books about flowers and gardening
• images of flowers and gardens
• poems, songs and rhymes
• trugs and baskets for collecting flowers
• a selection of vases, bowls and unusual containers for displaying cut flowers
• scissors, magnifiers, foil trays and trays for investigations
• trays for miniature gardens in various shapes and sizes
• empty plastic bubble bath/shampoo bottles with stoppers, different shapes and sizes for petal perfume
• larger jars and plastic bottles and funnels for mixing perfume
• natural materials such as pebbles, gravel, rocks, bark, for miniature gardens
• protective clothing, child-sized tools, watering cans and other resources will be included in the outside continuous provision

BOOK BOX

This Bowl of Earth written by Jan Mark and illustrated by Gay Shephard (Walker Books)

Doing the Garden by Sarah Garland (Frances Lincoln)

Starting Gardening (First Skills) written by Sue Johnson and Cheryl Evans and illustrated by Teri Gower and Howard Allman (Usborne)

Billy's Sunflower by Nicola Moon (Scholastic Little Hippo)

Ben Plants a Butterfly Garden by Kate Petty (Macmillan Children's Books)

A Handguide to the Butterflies and Moths of Britain by John Wilkinson and Michael Tweedie (Bounty Books)

Wild Flowers of Britain by Roger Phillips (Trans-Atlantic Publications)

Eddie's Garden & How to Make Things Grow by Sarah Garland (Frances Lincoln)

Tilda's Seeds by Melanie Eclaire (Ragged Bears)

Seeds by Patricia Whitehouse (Heinemann)

DEVELOP A NURSERY GARDEN

Most early years settings are able to provide opportunities for growing plants and flowers, although space will dictate how this can be achieved. An ongoing plan for the care and development of the garden areas is essential, as is the involvement of interested adults.

Try to grow flowers for cutting. Involve the children in developing and caring for your garden and explain that these flowers are being grown especially for cutting so that they can be enjoyed indoors.

Annuals are a good starting point for summer cutting, with the added bonus of being easy to sow. If space allows, sowing or planting rows of flowers specifically for cutting, just like rows of vegetables, ensures the pleasure of cut flowers throughout the summer. If this isn't possible, cutting flowers can be planted in various containers. Cosmos is a good choice, with prolific daisy-like flowers. Its fern-like foliage is an additional attraction in a vase, and with its long stems it can create large displays. In mixed shades of pinks, purples and white, Cosmos produces flowers from May right through to the first frosts. Delicate cornflowers can be sown straight into the soil.

Other flowers to try include Rudbeckias in various shades of red, yellow and orange, Nigella (Love-in-a-mist) in delicate blue shades, Gypsophila, which is also easy to grow and flowers quickly, and, of course, Sweet Peas, which are fragrant and need picking regularly so that they continue to flower throughout the summer. Add marigolds, nasturtiums, candytuft and sunflowers, which all germinate rapidly and bring interest and colour to displays.

Roses should also be included for their beauty and scent. Children will soon learn to be aware of the thorns, although there are now several thorn-free varieties available. Collecting rose petals to make perfume is a much-loved summer activity.

Bulbs and corms

Plant bulbs for spring cutting such as varieties of daffodils, tulips, snowdrops, bluebells and fritillaries. Summer and autumn bulbs and corms include dahlias, which are fantastic for cutting with many variations and colours, and gladioli, equally good and will last for ages if cut when the first floret is just opening. There are dwarf varieties which work well in small spaces and containers.

If a few are planted every fortnight between early April and late May, they will flower in succession through the summer and autumn months. Most summer-flowering bulbs are frost tender, so will need lifting and storing for the winter, but bulbs are an excellent investment, giving years of productivity.

Container gardens

Plant up novelty planters, for example, a kettle, boot, hat, wheelbarrow. Use tyres to create planters of different heights, make miniature gardens in washing-up bowls and trays. Fill with sand and provide a selection of natural materials to create Zen gardens. Tuck some alpine plants and small-world creatures into corners in the garden to be discovered.

Make a rock garden in a window box or ceramic sink, a water garden in a plastic fish bowl or tank using washed sand, small stones and aquatic plants. Be creative and have fun.

Plant a butterfly paradise

Recent surveys carried out by Butterfly Conservation have revealed that even our most common species of butterfly have declined dramatically.

Our past two wet summers have had a major impact. This is because butterflies can't fly in heavy rain, which means there are fewer chances of mating and laying eggs. Also, eggs and caterpillars are prone to fungal diseases in damp conditions. All this means a reduction in numbers.

We can do our bit by planting nectar and larval food plants. This would encourage many more species of butterfly to visit the garden. Try growing lady's smock, garlic, mustard, poppies, bird's foot trefoil, native fine-leaved grasses, wild sorrel, honesty and buckthorn for breeding butterflies. Nectar flowers could include buddleia, catmint, sedum, michaelmas daisy, echinacea and scabious.

Leaving an area of grass in the garden uncut makes a simple habitat for other wildlife, including bees, another endangered species. Bees also love poached egg plant, which is easy to grow and, when established, will self-seed. Or take up an area of turf and sow a native grass mix to create a small meadow.

Provide a safe drinking bowl for the butterflies. Stir a tiny amount of honey into a little warm water in a saucer. Put a bright flower in the saucer. Wait and watch. (See 'Creating a wildlife area', 5 June 2008.)

A scented area for sitting

Create a special corner with a seat or a rug and cushions on the ground. An arbour, trellis or rose arch can be planted with honeysuckle and sweet peas and pots of herbs arranged for fingers to gently rub to release the fragrant oils. Vary the plants through the seasons so that there is always something to enjoy from Wallflowers in spring to rosemary in autumn.