We’re going on a plant hunt…..

Today we went back out into the school grounds to continue our research into what plants grow where.  Among four groups we shared out four distinct areas; the field, the garden, the area under the trees and the adventure playground. 

Soon, one of the groups was busily sketching the plethora of plants that they found.  From lettuce plants…..

to cabbages…..

 

and from roses…..

to nasturtiums…..

we recorded them all.

Or as many of them as we could in the time available.

The group on the field duly got down close to the ground and dug their fingers in between the ubiquitous blades of grass in search of anything else that might be lurking there.  Clover plants (flowers sadly now finished)…..

and what’s that clinging greenly to the edge of the walkway?

Talking of which, the group which had been allocated the adventure playground was wandering about in a somewhat bewildered manner.  Until, that is, someone spotted something teeny-tiny small, poking up in the gap between the tiles.

And here…..

and here…..

and even here!

But what of the group at play work under the trees.  Well of course they spotted trees; trees like these…..

and trees like these…..

and ones like these.

But they too struggled somewhat when asked to spot things other than trees growing in the area.  There’s not much to see underneath the trees; the sun doesn’t reach it, Sebastian explained.  Plants need the sun to grow well.  Quite.  But then a squeal of excitement as one of their number noticed something winding its tortuous way up a tree (towards the light perhaps).  Not part of the tree, but a different plant altogether.  Do you recognise it?

And what’s this tucked down by the tree’s roots?  Growing on the tree itself.  Haven’t we seen something like this growing somewhere else?

Back in the classroom, we shared what we had found out.  We compared numbers of different plants that we had found in our four different areas; noticed that certain plants seem to be able to grow in different kinds of environments equally well.

Next time you are out and about, keep your eyes open.  While you would not be at all surprised to find plants like these…..

   

in a flowerbed, maybe something like this…..

might be rather more of a surprise.  I wonder; is it perhaps a wallflower?