Details

Sunny-Side UP Gardens Kaleidoscope Flower Garden.

Attracts butterflies!

Includes everything to grow your flower garden!

Directions

Growing instructions for your Kaleidoscope flower garden:

Your kit comes complete with an egg carton growing container, seeds, starter soil and a growing journal to record your garden as it grows!

Step 1: cut off the top of the egg carton, at the "hinge" and place underneath the bottom section as a tray to absorb any extra water as your plants grow.

Step 2: place soil pellets in a bowl (some pellets have netting - please remove netting & discard). Add about 1 cup of warm water. The pellets will turn into soil. Distribute evenly between the 12 growing compartments.

Step 3: divide each packet of seed between 2 growing compartments and plant. Cover the seeds lightly with soil. Water daily, being careful not to over water.

Step 4: use your pencil to write the plant names on your wooden ID stakes to identify your seeds.

Step 5: watch as your plants grow and record the progress on your growing journal sheet.

Step 6: when your seedlings are 3-4 inches tall (or 3 weeks old), transplant to a sunny location in the garden or large container.

If the weather is not warm enough (70 degrees F/21 degrees C) to move outside, then simply transplant to a larger pot and place in a sunny window until the weather warms. To transplant, moisten the soil and gently handle the delicate plants, taking care not to damage the stems or roots while moving (most seedlings will release from the growing cell as one unit, held together by the roots), or you can cut or tear the individual cells and plant, being sure to tear a little off the bottom so the roots can easily expand.

Step 7: plants need elbow room! So now is a good time to thin your seedlings to just 3 or 4 plants per growing compartment. Do this by choosing the biggest, strongest and healthiest plants to keep. Clip off the remaining seedlings at the dirt level using a pair of sissors. Or, if you're careful, you can simply seperate individual seedlings when transplanting.

Step 8: it is important to feed your plants. After transplanting, use compost or fertilizer to maximize growth.

Make your own Kaleidoscope you will need:

1. Empty paper towel tube.

2. Clear plastic wrap.

3. Cardboard from a cereal box.

4. Pen or marker.

5. Scissors.

6. Aluminum foil.

7. One piece of paper.

8. Rubber band.

9. Clear tape.

10. Colored transparent beads, small sequins and shiny confetti.

*11. Dried flower petals from your Kaleidoscope garden.

Here's how:

1. On a piece of scrap paper, trace around one of the open ends of the paper towel tube. Draw an equal sided triangle in the circle. Measure the length of one of the sides of the triangle and write it down.

2. Cut three rectangular pieces of cardboard from the cereal box, almost as long as the tube and all the same size, using your measurement to determine the width. Then, tape aluminum foil, shiny side exposed, to only one side of each piece of cardboard. Tape the three "mirrors" together, shiny sides facing. (It should look like a triangle from either end).

3. Slide the taped mirror triangle into the into the paper towel roll. It will he a really snug fit.

4. Turn the paper towel tube on one end. Trace a circle around it on the cardboard. Cut this circle out and poke a hole through the center of the circle and tape it over one end of the tube.

5. Stretch a square of plastic wrap on the other end of the tube. Secure it with tape on the outside. Cut a cardboard strip 1/2" wide that will make a 'cuff" around the plastic-wrapped end. Secure with a rubber band and tape in place.

6. Fill the 1/2" space you just made with your colorful "doodads" and dried flower petals. Seal that space with another piece of plastic wrap. Tape in place, around the outside of the tube, so that nothing falls out!

7. Hold the tube up to one eye and look through it. Turn it and watch your own light show!

*(Under adult supervision) to dry your flower petals, simply spread the petals across the surface of an ungreased baking sheet and place in a conventional oven on low heat, at approximately 180 degrees F. Leave the oven door cracked open to prevent the accumulation of heat and moisture, and bake the petals for three to five hours. Allow dried petals to cool on the baking sheet for 24 hours. Then gently remove and use.

Warnings

Choking hazard: small parts not for children under 3 years old without adult supervision.