Hanging Planters Hung

The first hanging planters have been hung on the wall! Now to see if the paint lasts...

Tree Haikus

For my Forest Schools portfolio, I've been working on some tree flash cards with photos, description, folklore etc To give them a little something extra, I've also written a little haiku about each of the trees which I thought I'd share with you.

Ash

Large black buds burst open
To reveal pink coral blooms
Which make seeds like keys

Beech

Sharply pointed buds
Trunk like an elephant's leg
Bears edible nuts

Elder

Small scented flowers
Turn to rich purple berries
Hang from gnarled branches

Hawthorn

Delicate flowers
Berries and leaves bread and cheese
Knotted wood bears thorns

Rowan

Altitude lover
Leaves pinnate and serrated
Bears bright red berries

Sycamore

Flowers dangling
Five fingered leaves with red stems
Helicopters spin

Oak

From acorns they grow
Can live for a thousand years
House many species

Horse Chestnut

Big brown sticky buds
Conkers come from spiky shells
Pretty pink flowers

Field Maple

Lone English Maple
Helicopters tumble down
Soft edged green leaves grow

Birch

Peeling Silver skin
Delicate leaves tumbling
With winter catkins

Milk Bottle Planter project - improvements

 I started working a little while ago to create some colourful hanging planters to go in the community garden I'm working on from recycled milk bottles (see original post here) so I thought I'd give a little update on developments and improvements I've made. I'm currently working with a wildlife and gardening theme - so fruits, veg and animals!

I have been working with acyrilic paints - which probably aren't ideal for painting onto a plastic surface but mostly I'm just working with materials that are easily available to me! Acrylic paint does have a tendency to flake off a little and if they're to stay outside they they need to be varnished to withstand water.

Froggy planter gets the waterproof test!

Finished planters get a few layers of this spray varnish to protect them from the elements

Hedgehog and froggy planters

So far I've done a hedgehog and frog as examples and I'm working on an elephant. 

Can you tell what it is yet...?

The idea is to do this activity with different groups so I've been working on ways to make it as easy and effective as possible. Now I'm going to prime the milk bottles with white acrylic paint to help the coloured layers to adhere better and which should also make it easy to draw a simple design in felt pen before starting to paint.

I'm hoping to make animal planters with the after school gardening club I'm running but I'm saving it for a rainy day activity... Of course I'm hoping that we'll be able to have as much outside time as possible - but when the inevitable rainy session arrives I'll get a chance to try it out as a session!