in this issue The Land Art of Andy Goldsworthy

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1 WINTER in this issue Poinsettias p. 2 Land Art of Andy Goldsworthy p.3 Create Your Own Nature Art p. 4 Make a Leaf Mobile p. 5 Gifts & Events p. 6 Mistletoe p. 7 Professor Pansy p. 8 Haiku Poem p. 9 Riddles & Jokes p. 10 Recipe p. 11 Harvest Fest p. 12 The Land Art of Andy Goldsworthy

2 Why do we have poinsettias at Christmas? Originally coming from Mexico and Central America, poinsettias became associated with Christmas in 16th Century Mexico. An old Mexican legend tells of a young girl called Pepita who had no present to give the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve services. As Pepita walked sadly to the chapel, her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up. Pepita, he said, I m sure that even the smallest gift, given by someone who loves him will make Jesus happy. Pepita didn t know what she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a small bouquet. When she put the bouquet at the bottom of the nativity scene, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red flowers and everyone who saw them were sure they had seen a miracle. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night. In the U.S. we call the plant poinsettia because they were brought here by the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico in His name was Joel Poinsett. He grew the plants in his greenhouses in South Carolina. 2 Did You Know : These are really red leaves. The flowers are small and yellow, in the center of the plant.

3 The Land Art of Andy Goldsworthy Andy Goldsworthy is a sculptor. He creates outdoor art using items he finds in nature. Some people call it Land Art. He uses brightly colored flowers, icicles, leaves, mud, pine cones, snow, stone, twigs, and thorns. He uses his bare hands, teeth, and found tools to prepare and arrange the natural materials. Some of the creations he builds last, but most survive as photos and videos. His work has inspired many people to create in nature. snow leaves stones stones drift wood leaves

4 Create your own nature art Try making your own nature art using things you find in your neighborhood. You could also make a loom using sticks and string. We found a bunch of ideas on this website The Artful Parent. 4

5 Make a leaf mobile Come in to Sky Nursery to the junior gardener shed and check out a fun and easy winter project to make at home. We have a sheet of leaf shapes for you to color and make a mobile using sticks you can find around the neighborhood. You can also collect leaves, cones and seed pods to make your mobile. You will need: 3 sticks, small, medium and large lengths dry, colorful leaves, (or cut out paper leaves) clear contact paper (optional) hole punch scissors string 1. Cover the front and back of leaves with contact paper. 2. Press down and out to get all the air bubbles out. 3. Cut around edges of leaves. 4. Use a hole punch or pin to make a small hole at the top of each leaf. 5. Use string to tie leaves onto the sticks. 6. Tie sticks to each other. 5

6 GIFTS EVENTS DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY Paperwhite Bulb Choose a paperwhite narcissus bulb that you can grow in your home this winter and enjoy the fragrant blooms. We have information sheets that explain how to force bulbs to grow inside. Hot Chocolate Stop by the coffee stand for a free 8oz hot chocolate or steamed milk. We have non-dairy options too. Primrose These beautiful flowers can bloom happily outside even when it is really cold. They come in all sorts of different colors, so come into the greenhouse pick out your favorite 4 plant to brighten up a chilly winter garden before the first spring blooms. Make a pine cone bird feeder December 9, 12pm - 1pm We are making a pine cone bird feeder. using peanut butter and bird seed. Join us in the greenhouse for this event. We are still planning our events for Check our website, or sign up at Sky Nursery or on our website to receive the junior gardener . Our next planned event will be in January: Rock Painting check our website for date and time If you are in K - 6th grade, come in and ask for a Junior Gardener Club card to receive your free gift each month! Remember you need to obtain a new card every January. Check our website or sign up for Junior Gardener s to learn about events. 6

7 Mistletoe During the holidays you might see a few plants tied together and hung above your head. Watch out! You may get kissed! You are standing under mistletoe. Mistletoe has a long history of symbolism and mystery attached to it. There are many legends about this parasitic plant. (Parasitic means it receives nourishment and lives off of another plant, called a host plant). One legend tells of the god of peace, Balder, being slain with an arrow made of mistletoe. The other gods and goddesses asked for his life to be spared. When Balder came back to life, mistletoe was given to his mother, the goddess of love who said anyone who passed under the plant would receive a kiss to show that mistletoe was a symbol of love, not hate. Although a symbol of love, it does contain toxins and can be poisonous, so never eat the leaves or berries. That is a good reason for hanging it high in doorways! 7

8 8 Ask Professor Pansy Sahara - age 8 asks Why do plants make nectar? Plants use the energy from sunlight to make sugar. Plants, like people use sugar for energy, They also turn the sugar into sweet droplets of fluid that we call nectar. Nectar is food for hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other insects. They come to flowers to collect and eat the nectar. Flowers also make pollen when they bloom. As insects and birds go from flower to flower to obtain the nectar, they move pollen from one flower to the next. This is called pollination. Flowers need this to happen to make seeds which can grow into a new plant. So nectar is a way to attract the insects to come pollinate. In some places in the world, there are no insects to pollinate the flowers, so people use small paint brushes to move pollen from flower to flower. Iris - age 10 asks What is the difference between an annual and perennial plant? An annual plant grows, makes seeds and dies in one year. Even though you have to plant annuals every year, people like them because many, like geraniums, zinnias, violas and pansies (my favorite) bloom for a long time, with bright beautiful flowers. We call some plants annuals because it is too cold for them to come back every year where we live. They originally came from warmer places in the world. A perennial plant lives for two or more years. Some perennials look like they die in the winter, but only the part above ground dies. They are still alive under the ground and come back in the spring. They are called deciduous perennials. Daisies, peonies, and day lilies are deciduous perennials. Some perennials are evergreen, (they keep their leaves all year, like evergreen trees).

9 Send us your haiku poems Attention Poets and Nature-Lovers! We Want to Hear from You! Do you like to write and to think about words? Do you like to explore nature and see what you can find? Write a haiku poem and send it in to us. We will put several in our newsletter, and post them on our website. Put your poem in the box on the Junior Gardeners desk here at the nursery, or send an to jgclub@skynursery.com. How to Write a Haiku Poem A haiku is a special kind of poem started in Japan. In the English language haiku poems have three lines 1st Line has 5 syllables 2nd Line has 7 syllables 3rd Line has 5 syllables A syllable is one distinct sound in a word. The word dog has one syllable. The word carrot has two syllables. Video has three syllables. Syllables can be tricky to understand at first, so ask for help. Haikus can rhyme, but they do not have to. Here are some examples of haiku poems In early morning My Dad goes out for seafood From the ocean rocks Cherry blossoms bloom Rumbly showers from the sky Peace out, winter gloom! Salt water splashing Sea creatures play hide-and-seek In the deep blue sea. Tree branch sways slowly As a child sings a sweet song Gracefully it goes. Busy bees searching In a stunning flower field Also butterflies! The winds that blow ask Each leaf on the tree, which one Will be next to go 9

10 Riddles & Jokes 1 What comes down but never goes up? 2 How many months of the year have 28 days? 3 Why are teddy bears never hungry? 4 What did one potato chip say to the other? 5 What is the center of gravity? 5. The letter V. 4. Shall we go for a dip? 3. Because they are always stuffed. 2. All of them. 1. Rain. 10 Make sure to check our website and the newsletter to find out what is coming up!

11 Perfectly Puffy Chocolate Chip Cookies Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 10 minutes Total Time 20 minutes Ingredients ¾ c. sugar ¾ c. brown sugar ½ c. butter (at room temperature) ½ c. butter flavored Crisco stick 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 (3.4 oz.) package vanilla instant pudding mix ½ tsp. salt 1 tbls. baking soda 3-3½ c. flour 12 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips, or half a 12 oz bag of semi-sweet miniature chocolate chips Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugars, butter and Crisco until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla extract. Add pudding mix; stir until incorporated. 3. In a small bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the flour with the baking soda and salt. Slowly blend into the egg mixture. 4. Add additional ¼ - ½ cups of flour, if needed. The dough should be somewhat like the consistency of pie crust dough...not sticky. I use a total of 3-3½ cups flour, depending on the humidity level of the day. 5. Fold in chocolate chips. 6. Drop spoonfuls of dough on cookie sheet. (To achieve a more round, cleaner look, roll the balls of cookie dough in your hand instead of just dropping on the cookie sheet.) Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are JUST starting to turn golden, rotating baking sheets halfway through. The cookies may not look done, but that is the trick to keeping them puffy and soft. Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet on top of wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets and cool completely on the cooling racks. 7. Recipe Note: Make sure your baking soda has not expired. Test this by combining a little white vinegar and water. If it does not bubble, use a new baking soda, or you will have flat cookies. Source:

12 Thankfulness tree This is what we wrote on the leaves of our thankful tree at Harvest Fest family food parents water community faith new home trips kindness trees shelter rain fall ice cream books the universe cars work bees pets school love support health entertainment 12