Busy Bee Activities with Floral

August 3, 2021

Please note that this is an older article. Any products or services pictured or described may have changed or may no longer be available. Thank you for visiting!

Keeping the kids busy during the hot days of summer can be a challenge. Join our floral expert, Susi D., as she shares some of her favorite activities for kids of all ages. All you need is some Nugget Markets flowers, kitchen staples and a few things from the local craft store. From an art project to a science experiment, let’s get started!

Flower Drying: Preserve some of your favorite petals using one of these methods. Once the flowers are flat and dry, you can do a variety of activities with them like decorating a clear cell phone case—just slip your dried flowers behind it for pretty viewing. 

The Traditional Way

Supplies you’ll need: 

• Paper towels
• Paper
• 1–2 heavy books

Method:  

1. Fold an 8.5x11-inch piece of paper in half hamburger-style and make sure it fits in your book.
2. Lay a piece of paper towel on one side of the piece of paper.
3. Lay your flowers as flat as possible and arrange flower parts on the paper towel.  
4. Put another piece of paper towel on top of the flowers.
5. Fold over the regular piece of paper on top.
6. Slip the folded paper containing the flattened flowers inside the book. You can lay more weight on top with additional books.
7. Allow to dry for several days. 

The Microwave Shortcut

Supplies you’ll need: 

• Paper towels
• Paper
• Microwave
• Microwaveable heavy flat plate or ceramic tile

Method: 

1. Repeat steps 1–5 above.
2. Slip the folded paper filled with flowers into your microwave and place a flat microwave safe object on top.
3. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Check flowers frequently—they should be crisp but not sticky. It can take up to 90 seconds.

Art with Dried Flowers: Make a Bookmark! Mark your place while reading with the beautiful flowers you just pressed. 

Supplies you’ll need: 

• Wax Paper
• Iron 
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Washi Tape (optional)

Method: 

1. The easiest way to make a bookmark is by using wax paper and an iron.
2. Lay a piece of scrap paper under your work, and place a sheet of wax paper on top.
3. Using your tweezers, arrange flowers on the wax paper. 
4. Put another layer of wax paper on top of the flowers, then lay another sheet of scrap paper on top.
5. Using a hot iron, press the scrap paper with the wax paper in the middle. It will melt the wax paper together. Be careful not to melt the wax paper onto the scrap paper. 
6. Using your scissors, you can then cut out desired shapes to make a bookmark or ornament.

Summer Science Class with Flowers: These activities take a few days to see results, but they are a fun way to show off the science of plant and flower anatomy! 

Multiplying Plants: This is an easy way to make houseplants multiply using stem cuttings! Some ideal plants for propagating are succulents, many herbs, pathos, ivy and inch plants. 

Supplies you’ll need: 

• Vessel for water (preferable clear so you can see the roots’ growth progress)
• Water
• Plant cutting

Method: 

1. Cut a piece of plant below a stem node.
2. Place the stem in water making sure the stem node is submerged under water and there are no leaves in the water.
3. Every few days, replace old water with fresh water and watch the roots grow!
4. Once roots grow you can leave in water or pot in soil.

Flower Dying: Watch your flowers change color as they drink up dyed water!

Supplies you’ll need: 

• White flowers with stems (or celery leaving some of the leaves on)
• Food coloring (we recommend blue!)
• Warm water
• Vessel for flowers

Method: 

1. Fill the clean vase or vessel with warm water with 1–2 inches of warm water.
2. Add a few drops of food coloring.
3. Make a fresh diagonal cut to the bottom of the flower stem. Don’t cut the stem so short that it won’t reach the water in the vase. 
4. Place fresh cut stems in the colored water and wait. 
5. After a few hours you should see the flowers gain color—after a day, more and more!

Are you ready for some science? Why does this work? Plants take up water through cells in their stems called xylem. Capillary action occurs when the forces that bind the liquid (cohesion and surface tension) attract the bound liquid to another surface (adhesion), and are greater than the force of gravity. Transpiration occurs as the plant takes up water and it evaporates on the leaves and petal surfaces.

Options to experiment with: 

• Play with different color dyes to see what colors work best.
• Cut stems of different lengths and time the color changes, noting the time it takes for color changes.
• Use a blow dryer to warm the surface of the flowers—does this change the outcome?  
• Use different kinds of white flowers to see how quickly the water moves up the stem.
• Use colored flowers to see what colors you can create.
• Carefully split the stem of the flower, then place one side in one color and the other in a separate color. See what happens!

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