Springtime

Last week I gushed about Calgary’s glorious spring and how lush the vegetation looks.

But with flowers, shrubs, and trees that we love and admire, come those plants that we don’t admire. They can become the bane of one’s existence and mar our gardens.  I’m talking about WEEDS!

In Weeds Find a Way by Cindy Jenson-Elliott, we learn about what makes a plant a weed.  She describes various adaptions that plants/weeds acquire that allow them to thrive as a species.  Whether it’s the way they disperse their many seeds, overwinter, live in less-than-ideal conditions, and resist being removed, all have mechanisms in place that give them advantages when it comes to survival.

Background information about over 20 different weeds is included at the back of the book which accompanies an explanation by the author of what makes a weed a weed. Illustrations are big and splashy with a zoomed-in perspective to get us up-close to weeds.

Overall, this is a good book for elementary classrooms when talking about plants, growth, adaptation, seasons, or current events (at least here in Calgary).  Pair this with Sidewalk Flowers which I blogged about back in April. Children often have a much different perception about what’s a pretty flower and what’s a weed like the little girl in Sidewalk Flowers.  Very different indeed.