The Pennsylvania State Flower

One the Path:

Step one:
Color in the Mountain Laurel handout to learn about the state flower.

Step two:
Flowers like Mountain Laurel are important for pollinators, just like pollinators are important for flowers. The flowers provide them with food, and the pollinators spread the flowers seeds and pollen to other flowers. Pollinators usually include things like bees, bats, and butterflies. Color in the Pennsylvania wildflowers handout to learn about what treats these frequent fliers prefer.

Step three:
Cut out your beautiful wildflowers and arrange them in a bouquet on a separate sheet of paper.

Step four:
Look at the bloom calendar at Bartram’s Garden or your local public garden. With a friend, pick four or five plants from the bloom calendar to put in your guides.

Step five:
Work together to list the identifying features of the plants chosen–things like flowers, flower colors, spikes, texture, petal or leaf shape. Then share with the class what plants you chose and their identifying features.

Step six:
Follow along with the Bookmaking Made Easy handout. Draw or find pictures of your plants on each page after the cover and write the name and a few identifying traits. Be sure to write your name on the cover!

Step seven:
Take a walk around Bartram’s Garden and use your guide to identify flowers. Share your guide with others and pay attention to the flowers you didn’t see on the bloom calendar