Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CLII · Topic 23: Spring garden flowers
152. The tulip
Goal: Your child studies a tulip's colors and parts, cuts a bulb open to see next year's plant, and learns when and how to plant tulips.
You'll need
- Nature notebook, pencil and colored pencils
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- A tulip in bloom and, if possible, a spare tulip bulb
- A small knife for the adult
- Watercolors
What's in the book
A Teacher's Story about tulips and the lesson: Leading thought, Methods and eight questions, with a reading list.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Tulips bloom in April and May in gardens, parks and pots. Comstock suggests starting with the red kinds and then comparing other colors, and using seed catalogs to see how many varieties there are. Tulip bulbs are not food and can irritate skin. Wash hands when you come in.
The leading thought
The tulips blossom early, because they have food stored in the bulbs the year before, ready to use early in the spring. There are many varieties; each is worth studying carefully, and we should all know how to grow these beautiful flowers.
Colors
What is the color of your tulip? Is it all the same color? Is the bottom of the flower different in color? What is the pretty shape of these different colors at the heart of the flower?
Comstock says water-color drawings should be a large part of studying the tulip. Paint while you look.
Three and three
Look at a tulip just opening. What causes it to appear so triangular? Can you see that the three sepals are placed outside the petals?
Do the flowers remain open during dark and stormy days? Why?
Inside the bulb
Study a bulb of a tulip. There are outer and inner layers and a heart. What part of the plant do the outer layers make? What part does the center make?
An adult cuts a spare bulb in half from top to bottom. Look for the tiny folded flower and leaves at the center.
Planting and history
When should tulip bulbs be planted?
Do you know about the history of tulips?
In the 1600s, tulip bulbs in Holland became so prized that some sold for huge prices before the market crashed. Tulip bulbs are planted in the fall.
Nature notebook
Paint a tulip from the side and a cut-open bulb. Label the bulb's layers and the baby plant inside.
Afterwards
Visit a garden or park with many tulip varieties and list the colors and shapes you see.
Answers to the book's problems
The outer layers of the bulb are thick scale-leaves full of stored food; the center is the bud of next year's stem, leaves and flower. The roots grow from the flat base.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.