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Objectives
Standards addressed: click here Materials: Container for planting, plants, bagged soil mix, basin for moistening soil Central Concepts:
Discussion: What's So Great About Plants?
1. Ask students to share how they feel when they are outdoors in a park or natural area surrounded by plants, trees, and flowers. Have them list the benefits and value of plants that they perceive, and categorize them as objective (physical, tangible) benefits and subjective (intangible) benefits as in the list at right. (To prompt the discussion, share some “factoids” collected from Human Issues in Horticulture Research: What Have Plants Done for You Lately? 2. Introduce the ideas behind National Garden Month and the "Give a Garden – Add Beauty to Life" campaign as described in this month's background information. Project:
Give a Garden Simplified Option: To save time, you can to choose the partner, container, and plants yourself, and focus student participation on planting and presenting the container garden. To help you choose plants that will thrive at the site, see the Resources listed below. For in-class planting activity, skip to PLANT. Extended Option: To include students in each step of the process of finding a partner, planning, and planting, follow the steps as outlined below. PARTNER (In-class Assignment) Question: Who do you think would be a good candidate to receive a garden? (Suggestions: a senior center, homeless shelter, or another grade in your school.) Task: Have the class get in touch with your proposed partner by writing a letter. Question: What should you include in your letter? (Suggestions: Tell them about National Garden Month, the Give a Garden project, and how plants are good for people; ask if they would like a container garden; if there is someone there who can water it every day and feed it once a week; ask about the area they have available for a container garden so you can plan what to grow.)
Once you have identified a partner… PLAN -- Gardeners, choose your plants! 1) Plants: To plan a container garden, students need the following information:
Question: To prompt students to consider the variables above, ask What do plants need in order to thrive? Sunshine, water, soil, space, nutrients. In a container garden, which of these needs are most likely to limit our plant choices? The dimensions of the container; how much sunshine the site gets. Moisture and soil (fertility and drainage) are easier to control. How will we get the information we need? Ask partner how much light the site gets. Task: Have students create a data sheet based on their answers to the questions above, and use it to guide their container and plant choices.
Provide students with these instructions: Step 1. Fill container with moistened soil mix. Use only bagged soil mix, not garden soil, which is too heavy for containers and contains weed seeds. Step 2. Carefully transplant your plants from their original pot to the new container. Loosen the root ball by gently squeezing the bottom of the container or by tapping it against the ground. Plant them in the new container at the same depth they were in the old one—don’t bury them too deep, or you’ll smother them! Gently firm the soil in around the plants. Step 3. Put the container in a spot where it can drain, such as in a sink or on the ground outside. Use a watering can with a sprinkler head, and water the soil very gently to settle it around the plants' roots. If this creates pockets where soil settles, add moistened potting soil to fill in the gaps. Step 4. Create plant labels and colorful care notes to go with the container to explain to your partner recipient what kind of plants they are getting, and how to take care of them. (If you created a poster in the PARTNER step, include that as well.)
Assignment: Plan a Giving Ceremony to present your Give a Garden container to your partner. In-class or Field Trip: Invite recipient come to pick up their container, or deliver it along with the care information and poster you created. Then celebrate the spirit of National Garden Month together. Follow-up: Discuss with students how it felt to give a garden, and then write about it in a garden journal. Write to NGA to tell us about your Give a Garden project, or add it to your School Garden Registry entry. Extensions: Give a garden to wildlife – turn a portion of your school garden into a habitat to welcome birds, butterflies, pollinators, and other critters. ___________________________________________________ Copyright© 2005
National Gardening Association |
Teaching
Unit:
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Task: Have
students prepare a small poster that describes or illustrates how
plants affect our quality of life. Keep
a copy for the school, and present a copy to your partner when
you give them their container garden. You can also order a 
PARTY!