A few months back, I was watering and rearranging some plants, when I accidentally knocked off a few begonia flowers. The flowers were beautiful, and I couldn’t stand to sweep them off the deck. Instead, I brought them into the kitchen to put them in a small vase. That’s when I noticed it. The flowers …
Tag Archives: naturalist
What is buzz pollination?
Some bees use perfect pitch to release pollen from flowers, a technique called buzz pollination. (Gosh, I wish I could sing a perfect note on cue!) Buzz pollination is like a secret password to gain entry into a clubhouse, because tone-savvy bees can unlock and release the pollen from some flowers when they know the password. Buzz …
Sunflowers: An American Treasure
It’s August! As you walk around your neighborhood, watch out for sunflowers in gardens, or you might spy them in bouquets at the local farmer’s market. Stop and take a minute to appreciate the sunflowers you see, because they’re an American treasure. Most of us know what a sunflower looks like, and you can probably …
How to Make a Flower Chain
Ice cream is the best! You know what else is the best? Lazing around on a nice summer day and doing whatever you want to do. Loafing, lazing and putzing can bring great joy to the inner child in all of us. Don’t forget to laze. A proper putzing is done without a smart phone …
Let’s Have a Seed Hunt
Have you ever stopped to think how many seeds you run across every day? Seeds are everywhere in our daily lives. Seeds show up in every meal we cook. There are seeds to observe during each walk in our neighborhood. Seeds sometimes look very different from one another. The different sizes of seeds can be …
It’s a Red Maple Flower!
There are things in life that you can count on happening like clockwork. Even more accurate than a groundhog’s shadow, you know that spring has arrived when you see the flowers of maple trees scattered on the ground. Did you know maple trees have flowers? They do! To find red maple flowers during your springtime …
Why, When and How to Prune Annabelle Hydrangea
If you’re looking for a flower that you can see from a block away because it’s bigger than your head, then ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas are the shrub for you. This type of hydrangea grows well in shade or part shade (4 hour or less of direct sun); mine never gets direct sunlight in its nook on …
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Dyeing Eggs with Natural Plant-based Dyes
Ever since I dyed wool yarn with purple carrots from my garden last fall, I thought it’d be fun to dye other things with plants. Think of anything that stained your clothes in the past; it might be a good candidate to dye eggs. I held a vote on my Facebook page – Tamawi, and …
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Pokémon Collectors Make for Successful Scientists
Do you have the meticulous resolve it takes to become a Pokémon Master? If so, then you might have the traits and skills of a scientist! Propensity to Collect As any avid Pokémon player will tell you, part of the appeal of these games is trying to collect every single one of the 800+ creatures. …
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