As your keen garden observers watch a bud unfurl, a butterfly search for nectar, or the seasonal color changes in a schoolyard habitat, they use skills that both artists and scientists rely on. After all, both groups must carefully take in information and record details of what they see. It's only after a youngster has really seen something, that he or she can make sense of it, or choose to interpret it creatively.

Across the country, schoolyard gardens and habitats have become compelling centerpieces for integrating art and science, nurturing creativity, and providing raw materials for a host of art projects. Teachers use nature's canvas to teach lessons on basic art concepts such as color, line, form, shape, and texture, and to entice students to draw, paint, or otherwise interpret what they see. Some young gardeners try to imitate styles of well-known artists who drew inspiration from the natural world.

The outdoors is a tempting art toolbox for many educators whose students grow plants, such as dried flowers or dye plants, to use as raw materials for art projects. School gardens are also rife with imaginative student-made elements: mosaic stepping stones, hand-painted signs, decorative benches, vine-covered archways, or colorful plywood creatures. When these elements are integrated with plantings designed for eye-appeal, the entire outdoor classroom becomes a work of art.

As students find their unique voices, tap into talents, and grapple with creative challenges, they become motivated, confident learners. Read on for inspiration and advice on how colleagues have used the natural world as a springboard for visual art projects and lessons.

Classroom Stories and Advice

Page 2 Teaching Art in a Garden Oasis (Interview) - Learn how a seasoned artist, gardener, and teacher helps students' creativity flourish.

Page 3 The Art Garden - Everything grown in this thematic school garden feeds the art program.

Page 4 Lessons to Dye For - Plant dyes inspire a "sheep to shirt" and Navaho weaving project.

Page 5 Dyeing to Get Started - History, chemistry, and advice on gathering plant materials and embarking on a dyeing adventure.

Page 6 Dyeing Across the Curriculum - Educators' suggestions for digging deeper with plant dyes.

Page 7 Weaving Understanding - Science and art come to life as fourth graders extract colors from plants.

Page 8 Private Eye Seed Sleuths - Middle school students look closely, draw magnified images, and invent analogies.

Page 9 Budding Artists Capture Flowers - Fourth graders' floral observations and sketches help inquiry bloom.

Page 10 The Gourd Explored - Bird houses, maracas, and other creative projects inspired by the humble gourd.

Page 11 Native Roots - Fourth graders turn local plants into natural tipi paints.

Page 12 Resources - Links to favorite Web sites featuring art in the garden.