Science - Year 3/4A Spring 2 Plants A Feast of Flowers, Fruits and Seeds Session 1 Teaching PowerPoint © Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users. We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.

What’s so special about flowers?

A single flower can be more than 3 metres tall or as tiny as a grain of rice

During the 1600s, growing rare tulips was a fashionable hobby During the 1600s, growing rare tulips was a fashionable hobby. Rich people in Holland competed against one another to have the rarest, most beautiful varieties. Incredible prices were paid. For a short time, tulips were more valuable than gold. People even swapped houses for tulip bulbs!

Others make delicious food. Some flowers are deadly poisonous. Many can make beautiful perfumes. Some can make life saving medicines.

There are thought to be as many as 400,000 different types of flower in the world. They are amazing!

What do you know about flowers? Make a list of what you know.

Many flowers are edible – that means they are good to eat. Roses Lavender Many flowers are edible – that means they are good to eat. Here are some edible flowers you may know: Pansies Tulips Nasturtiums Marigolds Gorse Dandelions Clover

Edible flowers are beautiful, delicious and good for you.

You can make them into an amazing salad. We shall invent our own delicious flower salad today!

Remember not all flowers are edible It is just the same with flowers. Some are delicious and good for you. But others are very harmful if eaten. You already know that some berries are tasty to eat but others are poisonous!

So keep safe: Never eat flowers you see or find around you, unless they are offered to you as food by your teacher or another trusted adult.

We will also need to discover more about flowers and that means taking a really close look at them.

Scientists are always trying to discover more about the world and one of the main ways they can do this is through close observation.

Someone who studies plants is called a botanist. Botanists keep careful notes and drawings of their observations. They look for similarities and differences which can lead to new discoveries.

Botanists during the 1700s and 1800s made detailed paintings and drawings of plants to show the structure and shape of flowers, leaves and stems. The purpose was scientific study, but they also made beautiful works of art. They were published in books to help people identify (name) different plants and flowers and learn about them. This type of painting is called botanical illustration.

One famous botanical illustrator in the 1900s was a vicar called William Keble Martin. He spent over 60 years painting the wild flowers of Britain and published them in a large, beautiful book. People today still use his book to help them identify flowers that they find.

If you were making a botanical illustration you would usually show one bloom very close up rather than the whole plant. Botanical illustration Photograph Botanical illustrations show the detail of the structure of the flower.

When you make a botanical illustration, the most important thing is to take a very close look at your flower. Use a magnifying lens to help you really tune in to the detail. Look especially at the mysterious parts you see in the centre. Here there are 6 fluffy orange curves and 1 sticky green structure. All of them stand out on stalks from the very centre of the flower. Begin by drawing the basic outline in pencil. Make it larger than life. Draw the petals and even more important the parts you see at the centre.

Begin by painting the centre of your flower Begin by painting the centre of your flower. Mix colours in your pallet to match the colours that you see. This flower has a pale green colour deep in its centre.

Next paint your petals by building up layers of paint Next paint your petals by building up layers of paint. Begin with the palest shade you can see. Mix the colour in your pallet. Here the middle of each petal was washed in pale pink (made with red and lots of water). The edges of the petals have been left white. 1. Next a deeper purple pink was added to the centre line of the petals. 2. 3. Then a rich pink was laid over the heart of each petal.

Next add any other details like the speckles using a fine brush Next add any other details like the speckles using a fine brush. You could then add some leaves and stems. Finally, remember to add some scientific notes (annotations) to your botanical illustration. Use pencil to name and describe your flower. You could say how many petals it has and describe the shape, colour and size. Most importantly, try to describe the structures you can see in the centre. These are the most crucial part of the flower! Use a ruler to draw lines to the features you are describing.

It’s time to become a botanical artist!