Planting For Crafting I
Flower Tinting:
Clear glass vase
Water
Food coloring
White carnation or daisy
This is a good example to show kids how plants
drink water. Fill a clear glass vase halfway with
water and add food coloring to tint the water with
any color you like. Add the white flower and watch
the flower change color over the next few hours.
You can split the stem in half and insert half in
one vase, and half in another vase side by side.
Put different colors in each vase and watch what
happens.
Bean Stalk House:
6-8 five foot bamboo poles
Strong string
Pole Bean seeds
First, make a teepee-like frame out of six to
eight five-foot-long bamboo or wood stakes.
Draw a circle about four feet in diameter in
the dirt. Evenly space the stakes around the
circle and push the bottoms into the ground.
Tie the stakes together at top. Lash 7 two-to
three foot cross stakes to the stakes near the
ground, leaving a door. Tie 3-4 strings between
each of the stakes from the top to each of the
cross stakes.
Next purchase pole beans (Kentucky Wonder work
well) and plant three seeds below each string
and stake. As the seedlings grow, gently help
them to get over to the nearest string.
Eventually the beans will learn to grow on the
stings by themselves. In about 6-8wks the entire
house will be covered with green stems, flowers
and eventually beans.
By the way, the reason you left one side open is
to allow your child to go into the house. I used
to sit in mine for hours and eat fresh beans. One
year my grandmother also used peas and morning
glories too, just for variety. Oh yes, there were
some bugs-but I loved to watch bugs and so does
Alex. HAPPY GARDENING - Submitted by Merri
Wimberly
Lavender Bags:
Dried lavender
two 6-inch pieces of material
pinking shears
pins
needle and thread/sewing machine
colored ribbon
Pick a bunch of lavender and hang to dry, upside-
down in a cool, dark place until absolutely dry.
Break off the brittle flowers to use for making
the bags or potpourri.
Cut two pieces of material 6-inches square with
pinking shears. Pin together with right sides
together and sew along three sides. Clip the two
bottom corners. Turn bag right side out and fill
with lavender. Leaving a long end of thread, sew
running stitches around the bag from the top.
Pull the two ends of thread tight to close the
bag, tie a knot. Tie some colored ribbons around
the bag to decorate.
Lavender Buds:
7-13 lavender stems
heavy cotton string
On a dry day cut an odd number of long stems of
lavender. Arrange them in a cone shape. Bind
together with cotton thread - wrapping around
the flower heads finishing below the flower
heads. Knot. Bend the stems upwards over the
flowers. Tie one end of a long length of cotton
tightly around the stems. Weave the cotton in
and out of the stems, pulling tight as you go.
When you reach the end, tie a knot in the cotton
and tuck out of sight. Tuck these in your drawers
or under your pillow.
Planting For Crafting II
Drying Flowers:
Flowers
Pick flowers on a hot, dry day, after the dew
has dried. Choose perfect flowers not yet in
full bloom. Tie half a dozen stems together
and hang them upside down in a dark, dry,
airy place (shed or cellar). Check the
bunches from time to time, to make sure stems
have not fallen out, as they shrink during
drying. Leave the flowers for serveral weeks,
until they are papery dry.
Hydrangeas and heathers need special treatment.
Pick late in summer, when the flowers are
beginning to dry out on the plant. Put them,
upright, in a jar with about 1-inch of water in
a warm place. By the time the water is gone the
flowers should be dry.
Spore Prints:
Flat mushrooms with dark undersides
paper
Mushrooms do not have seeds so how do they grow?
This simple procedure will show kids how spores
drop from mushrooms, float through the air before
landing and growing into new mushrooms.
Remove the stalks and place the mushrooms flat
side down on paper. Leave them for a day or two.
Carefully life the musrooms. Each one has
produced a pattern of dark power on the paper.
Potpourri:
Dried flowers or herbs
nutmeg, crushed cloves and/or cinnamon
ground orrisroot
Jar with tight seal
Rose oil (optional)
Pick flowers and herbs you want to use in mid-
morning after dew is dry. Flowers and herbs
should be absolutely dry. Choose flowers which
have not yet fully opened. Do not pick damaged
or bruised plants.
Rose petals are the most popular but try
carnations, jasmine, violets, French marigolds or
honeysuckle.
Pull off the petals and spread in a single layer
on sheets of paper. Put them in a warm, dry, dark
place. After a week or two the petals should feel
crisp. Hang the herbs upside-down in bunches in a
warm, dry, dark place. When they have dried strip
the leaves.
Mix together a half-teaspoon each of nutmeg,
crushed cloves and cinnamon with three teaspoons
of ground orrisroot. Put alternating layers of
rose petals and dried herbs in a jar with a
tight-fitting lid, sprinkle the spicey mixture
between each layer. Add rose oil if you choose.
Close jar tightly and store it for two weeks
before using. Tip some of the potpourri into a
bowl so that its sweet scent fills the room.
