Garden Flowers with the OHC - Our Iris Study

The Iris Study from the Spring Splendor series of Outdoor Hour Challenges made us look deeper into a garden flower we see every spring. According to the Handbook of Nature Study, the garden iris is "quite valuable for this lesson." We will be on the lookout for wild iris but for now we took a closer look at the garden iris.

Did you know that the word "iris" is Greek for rainbow?

 
We have been noticing the variety of colors and sizes of irises in our neighborhood this month. They started blooming earlier in May and now most are past prime but I tried to remember to take a few photos for our official study this week.


Hello in there! This is what the bees see as they fly in for some pollen....rubbing up against it with their backs. We marveled at the design and beauty of it all.

"The bee alights on the lip of the sepal, presses forward scraping her back against the down-hanging stigma, then scrapes along the open anther which lies along the roof of the tunnel. The tunnel leads to the nectar-wells at the very base of the sepal."
Handbook of Nature Study

This one is our favorite color combination...in my dad's front yard. He promised he would share a bulb with me for next year's garden. If you have a friend who will share bulbs, here is a video on How to Divide Iris Bulbs.


That looks easy enough to do and I know just where I will plant these beauties.



Another close up image for you to really see the parts and delicate details. These were actually right alongside our walking trail...not sure who would have planted them but they were very pretty to see with the sunset behind them.


Okay. Does this look like a Georgia O'Keeffe painting to you?

"In some varieties of iris there is a coating resembling plush on the style which forms the floor of the tunnel. Through a lens this plush is exquisite-the nap of white filaments standing up tipped with brilliant yellow. Various theories as to the use of this plush have been advanced , a plausible one being that it is to keep the ants out, but the ants could easily pass along either side of it."
Handbook of Nature Study

We were not able to observe any insects in our irises but you can be sure we are going to keep our eyes out next year when they are blooming. In the meantime, I am going to try to draw an iris in my nature journal using watercolor pencils.

Mr. B used the link in the original challenge to look up the Pollinator Partnership. We came up with this list of flowers to add to our garden to encourage bees to visit. I know that the Native Plant Society has a plant sale periodically in our area and I bet we could try there for some natives to add to the garden.

• Blue elderberry
• Showy milkweed (we have tried this in the past and not been successful)
• California goldenrod
• Western blue flag

We already have quite a few of the plants suggested on the Pollinator Partnership list and hundreds of bees to observe. There is always room for more.


Just a few reminders to participants of the Outdoor Hour Challenge. There will be no challenge posted this week...the next one will be on June 8, 2012 with the start of the Summer Sizzle series of challenges.

Don't forget to send in your May blog entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival by Wednesday, May 30, 2012.

The latest edition of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletter will publish on Friday, June 1, 2012. You must be subscribed to the blog in order to receive the download link. It is a beautiful and informative edition that I know you are going to want to have in your collection. You can subscribe on the sidebar of my blog. 






Jami's Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Our Beloved Dogwood Tree - Blooming Right on Schedule for Our Nature Study

Our Dogwood Study with the Handbook of Nature Study
(It is not too late to join us if you still have a dogwood blooming in your neighborhood.)

Funny how we all have had our favorite spring Outdoor Hour Challenges. For me? This dogwood study has been about two years in the making. I have always wanted to have a dogwood tree in our front yard but it wasn't until we did our massive front yard remodel that I was able to find a dedicated spot for the dogwood tree. We choose one with white blossoms...my favorite.

You can see our front yard transformation here in this post: Removing the Lawn.


We waited last year for it to flower but we only had leaves. This year....ta da! A dozen or so creamy white blossoms to enjoy and now study.


We read in the Handbook of Nature Study about how the flowers have been waiting inside the bracts all winter long, protected and sheltered until conditions were right. I have spent the last month or so going out almost daily to check the branches for any signs of opening. What a gift once we saw the bracts changing!

See the notched bract? This is another thing discussed in the Handbook of Nature Study that I would have never noticed if it wasn't pointed out to me. 


I had to convince Mr. B that the true flowers are the ones at the center and not the big white bracts. We counted the flowers and found there were 25+, some open and some closed.

Notebook Page for More Nature Study Book #3

The Handbook of Nature Study said that this was a perfect lesson to use a hand lens for so we brought ours out and took a deeper look. Amazing! If you haven't yet done your dogwood study, I highly recommend this activity. You might note it in your ebook to do for next year as well if your dogwoods are no longer blooming.


How fun is this? Don't the leaves look like a bird? I was busy standing on top of my retaining wall to take photos of the dogwood and looking down on the leaves....it truly looked like a bird!


Now for a few fun images from our evening study. Here is a colorful view of our front yard right now....hubby brought me home a new garden flag for the front stairs. I love it! We did have a swallowtail in the yard a few days ago so it won't be long now until butterfly time! The Kona dog is taking a rest from helping us weed and water.


I don't think I shared my new addition to the rock garden. We took a new hike up into the mountains and into an area where you can collect rocks, a true rockhounds paradise. We brought home this big piece of serpentine which is the California State Rock. Isn't an amazing shade of green? Our rock garden has become its own little micro-habitat with insects and critters living around and under the rocks. In the evenings there is a very loud cricket chorus in our yard. It is a comforting sound and I stand on the deck and listen in the dark and imagine where they all are as they sing.


What a wonderful study! It all started back when we decided to remodel the front yard a few years ago and we put on paper our list of plants and trees we hoped to include. The dogwood came two years ago and this past week we added a California redbud. I am looking forward to seeing it grow and mature...maybe next year it will bloom for us.

I invite you to take a closer look at your dogwood using the Handbook of Nature Study!




Jami's Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Robin Nature Study - Where Have They Gone?

We have studied Robins in the past.

This week's Outdoor Hour Challenge was to do a robin nature study...but where were the robins? Just a few weeks ago we counted six for our Project FeederWatch count. We saw forty-two during the Great Backyard Bird Count this year in February. This week....zero. We have been vigilant about looking but they are gone from our neighborhood now. So what to do?

We were out looking for any birds this morning and we were surprised to see that our neighbor's trees were full of Cedar Waxwings! We have learned that they visit us on their way south and then again northwards. The interesting thing, according to our family's records, we usually see the big flock come through during the GBCC in February. We did not see them this year at all until now. What does that mean? Not sure but it will be interesting to see what happens next year.

Would you like to see our Cedar Waxwings?




They filled three trees and were munching on the "nuts" from the pistache tree that have lasted all winter...just waiting for them to come and polish them off before the next growing season. What a wonderful provider they have!



Yes, we had very gray skies this morning but it wasn't very cold. They sat resting and eating for quite some time and I was able to get up close to take a few colorful photos of them as they sat in the tree. Don't you just love their yellow-tipped tails? I could really hear them making their very unique buzzing sound. Do you want to hear? Here is a link to AllAboutBirds and you can click over and hear what I heard...click the "high pitched hissy whistle" and that is exactly it.



Then in a blink of an eye, they were off again. I was amazed at just how fast they flew away in a flock. What a great experience we had this morning! I am forever grateful for the Outdoor Hour Challenges. I know that if I had not started this adventure with all of you that I would have missed out on so many deeply memorable times with my family.

It spurs me on to get outside and this month I have enjoyed joining in with Debi at Go Explore Nature and her #GetOutside project...a photo scavenger hunt. This simple project has already brought such joy to our family. It has encouraged us to think about how we can incorporate outdoor time each day in the month of April. I hope you will consider jumping in with us and take a few minutes to read more about the way it works on her blog. You can see all my entries in my Flickr Set: April GetOutside Project.



Another great week of nature study with my teenage sons.


Don't forget to share your April Outdoor Hour Challenge blog entries with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.You can submit entries directly to me if needed: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

More Nature Study Book 3 -Spring Buds, Catkins, and Blossoms

 
More Nature Study Book #3
Spring Tree Study - Buds, Catkins, and Blossoms

This challenge is aimed at getting you outdoors and looking at trees early in the spring. What should you be looking for? Try looking for buds, catkins, or blossoms. The challenge is not specifically about willow trees but the willow is covered in-depth in the Handbook of Nature Study and contains information you can apply to other trees. Since everyone has varying conditions, adapt this study to your local trees and their current stage of growth.

In the winter we looked at twigs. If you have a twig you have been watching, make sure to wrap up your study this week with a journal entry and final drawing.

Inside Preparation Work:

• Read pages 651-654 of the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson 179 on the Willow) and pages 648-650 (Lesson 178 on the Horse Chestnut). Read for information about the twigs, buds, and pussies. 
• View this page on catkins and note what to look for during your outdoor time. Explain that the "tassels" of the oak and "pussies" of the pussy willow are really flowers. Catkins appear before the leaves. There can be male and female catkins. Ebook users: Use the illustrations in the ebook to learn about the different ways buds can look and be arranged on the twig.
• Interest arousing YouTube videos: Horse-Chestnut Bud and Birch Buds. Fascinating.

Outdoor Hour Time:

• Go outside and look at the buds, catkins, or blossoms on trees in your yard or neighborhood. Ebook Users: See chart in the ebook for blooming times for common trees. 
•  Gather some twigs with buds, catkins, and/or blossoms to bring inside for observation. Place each twig in a jar with water and label with the tree name if possible. Note: Catkins and blossoms contain pollen. 
• Advanced Study: Watercolor a spring blossom if you have one to observe in person.

Follow-Up Activity:

• Use your senses to observe your buds, catkins, and/or blossoms. (touch, sight, smell). Make a record in your nature journal including a sketch. Make sure to record the length of your bud and as many details as possible including color. Ebook Users: Optional coloring pages: Horse Chestnut and Pussy Willow. 
• Watch your buds over time and see what happens. Record how long it takes for the buds to open. Place a piece of white paper under the jars with catkins and observe what happens over the next few days. Record your observations in your nature journal or on a notebook page. 
• Examine your bud to determine what type it is using a hand lens.

Advanced study:

• Extend your study to include information about the tree your bud came from using a field guide or the internet.
•  If you haven’t dissected a bud yet, use a bud you collected as part of this challenge. Each bud is different so take your time to remove the scales and layers as you go. View this image to see how you can record your work in your nature journal.
• Sketch your catkin and research how the catkin functions as part of tree reproduction. Use this link to learn more about classifying buds: Buds. This one is an excellent visual guide: okPlantid. 
• You may be interested in previous spring tree studies: Year-Long Tree and Spring Tree.

Elizabeth shared this link with me and it is a perfect citizen science project to go along with this challenge. Project Budburst. Free printable journal pages you could use with this challenge too!

You can read about our Spring Buds, Catkins, and Blossoms study:
Buds and Catkins - Our Spring Nature Study



Don't forget to share your Spring Splendor Walk blog entries with the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival.You can submit entries directly to me if needed: harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com







View this video on YouTube which shows birds feeding on willows.


You may also be interested in looking for a few additional books to supplement your spring bud study. Here are a few that I recommend.