Plant the Promise of Spring!

and everything that's new, has bravely surfaced
teaching us to breathe
what was frozen through, is newly purposed
turning all things green, so it is with You
and how You make me new, with every season's change
and so it will be, as You are recreating me
summer, autumn, winter, spring

(Every Season by Nicole Nordeman)

What flowers would you like to see peeking out of the earth after a long winter? Daffodils? Tulips? Hyacinths? Crocuses? The time is coming when you can plant these bulbs in preparation for Spring 2012! What a fun activity you can do with your kids...

Now: Buy several dozen bulbs from a local nursery where they can tell you the best ones to grow in your area. Have your children come with you and choose the colors. Explain to them that they will have to practice patience as they wait for these flowers to bloom. When the weather turns warm again, these plants will start to grow. What a fun thing to look forward to as winter's cold sets in!

Autumn: Dress up in warm clothes and get some garden gloves. Use a shovel to turn over the dirt where you want the bulbs to go. Give your children small trowels so that they can participate in this part! Teach them how to dig and turn the earth over again to loosen the soil to make it good for the plants to grow in. Take a look at each bulb and discuss the differences. Explain how the plant will shoot up from the bulb, push through the dirt and come out on top, looking for sun! Plant these bulbs according to the package's directions, making sure that the pointy side is up! Bulbs are planted at least 2x as deep as the plant is tall. Have the kids fill the hole with dirt and then spread a layer of mulch over the area.

Help your children make some markers with giant popsicle sticks to label where the bulbs will come up and which flowers to expect!