Spring is celebrating its arrival with a fantastic show of buds, blossoms, and flowers. Rainbow colours are scattered across gardens and bushlands as plants proudly declare the beginning of a new season.
Chocolate Lily 
Fringe Lily 
Bushpea
As a flower observer, spring offers the opportunity to see again with new eyes and to search for and observe plants we may have missed seasons before. Perhaps, instead of walking by and glancing at a plant you’re familiar with, stop to zoom in at the flower and leaf shapes, then zoom out to notice the plant’s shape as a whole unit.
Zoom In
Bottlebrush
Zoom Out
What kind of shapes do you notice in flowers? Plant shapes are tubular, cylindrical, cupped, globular, and spidery. Find circles, pentagons, bells, fans, and hexagons. Count the petals then use your imagination to draw the connecting lines around the petals to see what shape suits the flower best. Download this Plant Shape page to get you started.
Once you have noticed the shapes in plants, what do they remind you of? Balls, cups, fans, or spiders? Take this page with you and see how many shapes you can find as a Flower Observer.
Or play Flower Shape Bingo! Or perhaps, you’d like to draw a grid of flower shapes yourself? Scroll below for the worksheet you need.
Once we see the shape in the flower, we’ll be able to draw them with confidence. John Muir Laws will show us how we can use a circle to draw the face of a composite flower in this video.
Our Nature Club Flower activity sheet offers prompts to observe flowers with print and go lists to complete. The lists are categorized into three levels. As the hands-on activities and challenges are accomplished, badges are earned for the Nature Club Badge Booklet. It’s an incentive to becoming a fully-fledged Nature Club Member.
Our Nature Study Guide lessons do cross over with the Nature Club activities. They can be used together to enhance the study of themes and topics within the nature guides.
Zoom in on the flower 
Zoom in on the leaf 
Zoom out on the plant
Grevillea
If you’re unable to enjoy spring outdoors, perhaps search for common flowers online that you know grow in your area. Or page through Plant Identification Guides for plants you love and take note of the plant’s shape. Maybe you have images saved on a device of seasons past you could scroll through?
If you know of a friend who is in lockdown or ill, I’m sure it’ll brighten their day if you shared spring with them by sending images of your adventures and encounters.
If possible, visit a botanical garden, engage all your senses, and take a picnic. Decide if you’d like to simply observe plants, collect data, or nature journal. Download the activity list from Nature Club and take the necessary equipment for the activities with you. Don’t forget to take a storybook along!
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