Tulip Test Gardens
Update: March 31, 2011	Please report:
March came and now it's time to say goodbye to the month of lots of weather surprises. In some gardens bare ground turned into red blossoms this month. What happened in your garden? Set aside the time to really look at your flowers with a lesson that takes its clues from Georgia O'Keeffe. Don't forget to Ask the Expert this week. Today's Report Includes: Maps, Questions, and Highlights Focus: Art and the Unexpected Beauty of Spring Explore: Outsmart the Critters Ask the Expert Resources	Image of the Week
	Flower Power INSPIRATION
Maps, Questions, and Highlights
Surprise in the Test Garden "What a great surprise! We came back to school after Spring Break and found beautiful red tulips blooming. Hurray!" reported gardeners this week from Evansville, Indiana. In Willow Lake, South Dakota they are beginning to see signs of spring. "After a long winter with a huge amount of snow, spring is finally arriving. The snow is melting. Under the snow we discovered our tulips are emerging. We can't wait until they bloom!" March weather has been everything from soup to nuts! We will look more closely this week at what changes have occurred in the Test Garden this month. Where were nighttime temperatures still below freezing? Explore last week's extreme minimum temperature map for clues about whose gardens are still "on hold" yet this year. March 20-26 Minimum temperatures See this week's Garden Highlights and Pictures Sent by Gardeners map/sightings (North America) map/sightings (Eurasia) This Week's Map Questions Handout
Focus: Art and the Unexpected Beauty of Spring
"Nobody sees a flower, really--it is so small--we haven't time, and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time." Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986)
Plan now to do something special to celebrate the Test Garden in BLOOM. Make an artistic journey from the garden to the classroom using clues from Georgia O'Keeffe's art! Gather your blooming tulips, or tulip pictures, paper, and chalk. Use this technique to focus and capture the beauty of a tulip flower, or any other wonder of spring. Art Lesson: Focusing with O'Keeffe	As in nature, each flower is unique.
Explore: Outsmart the Critters
Whether you have pesky rabbits, hungry deer, or digging squirrels, Test Gardens can be nature's snack bar. Tasty tulip plants and bulbs provide early and crunchy green salad makings unless you outsmart the critters. Slideshow: Outsmarting the Critters
Ask the Expert
Special thanks to Dr. Bud Markhart for sharing his time and expertise to answer your questions! You still have a week left to prepare and submit your questions to Dr. Markhart. Study this poster for inspiration. Submit your questions until April 8 Ask the Expert Still Open! March 25 - April 8, 2011.	Tulip Test Garden Expert Dr. Bud Markhart
Related Journey North Lessons and Links
Explore: Is This a Normal Spring? Explore: Map the Green Wave of Spring Art: O'Keeffee and the Unexpected Beaury of Spring Study: Isotherms: Bands of Temperature Color Mapping Spring Data: Lessons and Resources Questioning: Making Sense of Journey North Maps Helpful Weather Links: Climate Weather and Seasons Tulip Garden Journals (click-and-print)	Read about these gardeners and more in today's Garden Highlights
More Journey North Lessons and Teaching Ideas!
The Next Tulip Garden Update Will Be Posted on April 7, 2011. Facebook Pinterest Twitter © 1997 – 2019 Journey North. All rights reserved.