Wildflowers :: Common Buttercups

This month, the focus of our nature study is wildflowers. We have noticed a few different types growing around our house. I will share our discoveries over this month with you. 

We have been using the June grid and list from the Handbook of  Nature Study blog newsletter, already checked off yellow from the wildflower colour hunt and the "look at the back of a flower" from the grid. 

Buttercups are in two patches around our garden. One is at the back, close to my new vegetable patch, and the other in our front yard. 

The flowers are a very bright yellow and easily noticeable against the green of the grass in the front, and the redish dirt surrounding the vegetable patch in the back garden. 

I read the entry from the Handbook of Nature Study book. I really enjoy reading this big book, by little sections on what we are studying at the time. 

"When the buttercup first opens, all the anthers are huddled in the centre, so that it looks like a golden nest full of golden eggs."

Celeste and I decided to put two of these flowers in our press, after we took a closer look at the flower.  We will see in a few days how they are drying. 

We also pulled off our bookshelf the Peterson Wildflowers Field Guide. Celeste noticed a photo on the cover and asked me what it was. I didn't know so I looked through the whole guide, especially in the front section and back to see if they identified the flowers shown on the front cover. I couldn't find any information. She searched too but didn't find it either. I posted a photo on Instagram asking for help, and continued my search for the mystery pink flowers. Finally, I found a match through Google, describing the flower and then looking through images. 

Once we found out that these pretty pink flowers were called Spring Beauty, we easily found the entry in the guide pages. As much as I enjoy searching, I do think it would have been useful to have in the first few pages of the guide a list with the flowers shown on the cover...

As a side note, Celeste loves to search using Google on our iPad with the voice feature. All you have to do is tap on the microphone once you are on the google search page and say what you are looking for. She searched for one of her favourite flowers, the Forget Me Not, and admired the many photos. Her Nana had given her a pack of seeds but they never grew. We do have a few growing in a completely different spot in our garden, and brought a few inside. She loves them! 

You can find out more about this month's nature study by visiting the Handbook of Nature Study blog. 

I will be linking this post to the Handbook of Nature Study Outdoor Hour Challenge Carnival at the end of the month.