After You Plant Your Garden
Meet A Garden in the City
So far our maps show 220 gardens planted for this big experiment. Planting was delayed for many gardeners because of a rainy October. Keep your eyes on the map and data — there are new gardens every day! When will spring and blooming tulips arrive? It is a time filled with anticipation.
- Who's Planting? A sampling of reports.
Here are the latest maps. Which of the gardens will be the earliest to emerge in the spring when the sunlight shines warmer on the Northern Hemisphere? What clues can maps give us to help predict?
|
 |
 |
| map/sightings (Eurasia) |
For
Your Journal: This Week's Map Questions |
An
Organized Approach to Building a Garden
In
Rockford, Illinois, the Spectrum school has a new garden to learn about
climate in their schoolyard. Using i-screws and strong cord students worked
together to create a planting grid on top of the garden. Their tulip data
is recorded on a classroom chart representing the planting plan. The chart
records the bulb weight and circumference, and will record emerge and
bloom dates for all their tulips.
"When spring arrives we will mark the date each bulb emerges and blooms on our grid. There are also several 'experimental' squares. We can't wait!!"
- Take a closer look...
Garden
Grid
Photos:
Mary Jo McKenzie
Critter
Patrol
Many
gardeners are putting special finishing touches on their garden beds.
What's their goal? Keeping away the critters! Here are some of the things
you report doing:
- putting fences and wire screens on the tulip bed
- sprinkling red pepper on the garden
- laying cat and dog hair on the garden
- planting a border of daffodils around
- putting human hair on the garden
- planting anemones between the tulips
- bobcat spray for skunks
Is YOUR garden protected?
- Slideshow: Outsmarting the Critters: How can you protect your tulips after planting?
After you plant your "Official" Journey North Garden in the place that BEST matches your general climate, you can try a new challenge!
Here's how: Explore your schoolyard to find microclimates: areas where it's colder, warnerm wetterm drier or windier than your Official garden spot. Plant a few tulips in each spot.
Your
challenge: Cause two tulips to bloom as many days apart as possible. |
Read
All About It: The Microclimate Challenge
See this downloadable booklet to print or view as a slideshow.
After you’ve planted your official garden, choose a "Partner Garden" somewhere else in the northern hemisphere. As the seasons change, compare weather, climate, geography and other variables.
 |
- Compare: Global Gardening Partners — How do we Compare?
- Share: Gardening Stories from This Fall
- Experiment:
- Annual Microclimate Challenge: An experimental garden challenge
- Take-home Tulip Garden: Repeating the Experiment
- Map: Using Journey North maps
- Journal: Fall Journey North Tulip Garden Journal (Click and Print)
- Explore: Fall Lessons and Activities
Photo: Audrey Aubrecht
So. Allegheny Elementary "We planted 50 bulbs on the school grounds. We covered them with chicken wire and surrounded the area with a fence and netting to protect them from predators."
View their work!
The Next Tulip Garden Update Will Be Posted on December 10, 2009.
© 1997 – 2019 Journey North. All rights reserved.
