Blooming Tales
5 Spring Blooms to Look for with Your Little
We’re beginning to shake off the cold days of winter and welcome the warmer, cheerier days of spring. And in these early days of this new season, we can expect to see some eager flowers blooming before the rest. You can probably already find crocus, daffodil, tulip, winter aconite (Buttercups), or candytuft on a walk through your neighborhood or local park.
Flowers are a beautiful and fragrant example of the life cycle that we can share with our Littles. Plants can create their own food by taking in sunlight, water, and minerals in the soil and, using a process called photosynthesis, they grow strong.
Each flower is unique, but they have the same basic make up.
Seeds
Every part of the flower works together to create offspring, or new flowers. New flowers grow from seeds, which are created from pollination. This is when pollen from a flower is carried to another flower of the same species (kind of flower). The pollen falls onto the flower’s stigma (part of the pistil) which then creates a seed.
Pollination
Pollen hops from flower to flower by pollinators. One of the best pollinators is the bee, who’s favorite food is found on flowers! While stopping to eat, the bee will pick up pollen on its legs and body. When the bee visits a new flower for another snack, it drops the pollen there to begin the pollination process. Bees aren’t the only pollinators; birds, bats, butterflies, and other insects can also do the job. The plants who rely on pollinators are known as cross-pollinators. However, some plants are self-pollinators, which means the flower can fertilize itself without help.
Types of Flowers
Another category of flowers are annuals and perennials. Annuals grow for only one season but usually bloom for a longer time. They tend to be very colorful, so people use them to brighten up their garden and attract those pollinators. Examples of annual flowers are sunflowers, zinnias, and marigolds. Perennials regrow every year and are usually planted in the autumn and are ready to bloom in the spring. Examples of perennial flowers are daylilies, peonies, and hydrangeas.
When you’re on your next stroll through the neighborhood, have your littles keep an eye out for flowers and use our list to identify different blooms and cultivate appreciation for the vital role plants play in our world.