Pawpaw Holler Home

Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
Psalms 147:8

Bloodroot  (Sanguinaria canadensis), so named because of the red/orange juicy roots, is one of the earliest wildflowers to come up in our area.

It is a very fragile spring flower that grows to a height of 10 inches and opens in the sun and closes at night.

Bloodroot blooms from March to May and can be found in rich woodlands and along streams from Canada to Florida to Texas.

After flowering, Bloodroot produces a long, pointy seedpod that opens in late summer.

The red juice from the roots was used by Native Americans as a dye for baskets, clothes, war paint and as an insect repellant.

We haven’t tried it as a bug repellant but my children do use it for war paint!

Denese

We have had rain, rain, rain and when it rains here it gets foggy.

The Smoky Mountains have really lived up to their name this weekend!

Look what the rain has done…wildflowers are emerging from their winter rest!

Alumroot (Heuchera americana) also known as Coral Bells

Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

It won’t be long ’til the mountains are abloom!

Denese

Learning About Flowers and Wildflowers

Flower Children: The Little Cousins of Field and Garden -a lovely vintage picture book depicting many different varieties of flowers as small children, with accompanying rhymes.
Free e-book from Homeschool Freebie of the Day, today only.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Teacher Resources -free pdf downloads of activities and mini-lessons for use in the classroom or field to learn about wildflowers.

• Fun Facts
• Scavenger Hunt
• Collecting and Pressing Wildflowers
• The Pollination Game
• Butterfly Gardening
• Many more…

Most of these lessons and activities apply to field trips to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas; but many can be used in or adapted to classroom and home study.

Spring Flowers Wordsearch -for beginners, free printable from Kaboose.com.

Florida Wildflowers Coloring Book -free printable (scroll down to "Environment – Plant Industry"), from Florida Department of Agriculture.

Recommended Field Guides

Audubon Field Guide to North American Wildflowers

Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide

Fall Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains

Related Posts:

Neat Links: Nature and Spring

Signs of Spring in the Holler

Happy learning,

Denese

Good morning everyone! It’s a beautiful sunny day in the holler,just a little cold, hope it’s nice where you’re at.

Warm weather spells, wildflowers coming up, budding trees, baby animals soon, planting season is starting…I’ve got spring fever!

Spring Fever Links

Wonders: A Nature Table Gathering -a wonderful idea for displaying your nature collection. Thank you Renae for passing this along.

No-Till Potato Method -it’s time to plant potatoes. This works if you can get enough straw.

Discover Life in America: Hands on Activities and Lessons for Natural Science -nature lessons and activities for exploring biodiversity in nature from The Great Smoky Mountains National Park All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory.

Exploring Nature Educational Resource -natural science content and materials for educators, students, and parents. Free and paid content.

Celebrating Wildflowers: A Catalog of Images -wildflower coloring book, 300 line drawings.

Great Smoky Mountains national Park 59th Annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage -April 22-26, 2009

Forest Wander -”Free Nature Picture Photography of waterfalls, creeks, forests, trees, flowers,wildlife, mountains and other beautiful wonders of God’s creation.”

Colors of Seasons: Spring -beautiful photos of Spring flowers.

Denese