Floral Displays
Such Pretty Flowers
A Read-Along Activity
The weather had been very hot for several days, and the bears hadn't even wanted to go outside (all that fur makes them really hot you know!)
However, early one morning, James was looking through the French windows at the garden. He was peering around, seemingly trying to look up at the outside wall. He opened the doors and stood on the step and looked back at the house, up to the roof and down to the ground on both sides. Still, he didn't seem satisfied.
"What's wrong, James?" asked Scary. "Have you got ants in your pants?" (that's an expression that means you seem very restless, jumping up and down, almost as if you really do have 'ants in your pants'!)
"I'm looking for something," said James, "and I can't see any anywhere." He sounded very unhappy.
"What are you looking for?" asked Charlie, wondering if he could help.
"Well, I'm sure last year there were some really pretty, colourful flowers growing out of baskets hanging up on the walls," said James, "but I can't see any now."
"That's because they haven't been made yet," said Scary, laughing. "Maybe that's something we could do this morning in the shady part of the garden before it gets too hot for little bears. Would you like to help?"
"Yes, please," replied James.
"Well, we'll have to get all the things we need and put them in this corner," said Scary, pointing at the side of the house currently in deep shade.
"Can I help?" asked Charlie, liking to be involved in making anything.
"Of course," said Scary. "Maybe you could suggest the things we will need."
"Well, baskets first, of course," said Charlie, smiling. "And compost, a trowel, and special flowers that we've been growing in the greenhouse. We'll also need some linings for the baskets so the compost doesn't fall out." So the three bears went up to the greenhouse. Scary filled a bucket with compost, Charlie put several pots of flowers in a tray and James found the trowel. They took everything into the shade.
Scary had found two baskets which were already lined with what looked like moss. He explained to the others that the moss was a special type called sphagnum moss. It soaked up water so the compost would stay damp longer so the flowers could live longer. Charlie had found several different flowers growing in the greenhouse.
"Are they special sorts of flowers, Charlie?" asked James.
"They are a bit," said Charlie. "As they grow, they will hang over the edges of the baskets or cascade down the sides so the basket will look like one big ball of colour. I've chosen alyssum and trailing lobelia for the sides, but in the centre we'll have an upright flower, like this verbena."
They set to on the first basket. They placed it in the top of a bucket so that it didn't roll around as they tried to fill it.
Scary put lots of compost in, then James helped Charlie to plant all the plants. Then Charlie found the watering can and soaked the compost to give the flowers a long drink.
"Gosh!" said James. "That's a lot of hard work."
"I expect all the other bears would like to help with the watering," said Scary, "so you won't be doing it all yourself."
"Can we make another one?" asked James, "Only I saw a plant with a very bright flower that might make a good centre plant."
"OK," said Scary, "we've still got time before it gets too hot for all of us!"
James helped Charlie pick out some more flowers from the greenhouse. He pointed to a very orange flower at the back of the shelf, and Charlie agreed it could go in the middle of the next basket.
As James planted it in the basket, he asked Charlie if he knew what the flower was called. "It's a marigold," said Charlie, "and will be covered in deep golden flowers very soon."
When the second basket was filled, Charlie watered it, and then Charlie and Scary carried both baskets to a shady part of the garden to settle before being hung up. "We need to check that the chains are still strong enough to hold the baskets up," said Charlie, "all that compost, and flowers and water will make them very heavy." And he went round each one to make sure they were still intact and didn't have any links rusting or missing.
He declared them fit for purpose and promised James that they would be ready to hang the following day. "But how will I reach up to water them then?" asked James sadly.
"We have a special hose ending in a long stick with a sprayhead at the end you can use," said Charlie. "You just hold it up to each basket and turn it on."
It seemed that everything was now organised and James couldn't wait to see the baskets hanging on the wall. Maybe you could fill some hanging baskets for your walls, or even do the same sort of thing but in a big pot on the ground.
