Eco-Cool Kids

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Let’s get dirt-y! Let’s plant an aster. You’ll get to enjoy this flower year after year because asters are “perennial”: the plant goes to sleep in winter and then springs back up every Spring. You could call them Sleeping Beauties!

You can buy a starter plant for about $2-3 at any nursery or a store like Home Depot. Pick your favorite color! They come in white, pastel blues and pinks, lavender, deep scarlet and purple.

All you need for this project is:

• A spot in your yard, or a 12-16″ clay or ceramic pot with a drainage hole at the bottom
• An aster starter plant (See “A World of Plants” on this site)
• Dirt!

You can pant it any time during the summer or fall. It likes full sun but doesn’t mind a little shade.

• If planting in your yard, dig a hole about twice as wide as the plant and a little deeper than the rootball, put your baby plant in the hole and fill with dirt.

• If planting in a pot, fill the bottom of the pot with dirt, put your baby plant in the pot and fill around the rootball with more soil. Leave a little space on top so you can water without the soil spilling over. You can even grow potted asters indoors.

• Be sure to water your newly planted really well. When it grows up, it will need much less water.

• Last and best: Enjoy the blossoms and butterflies!

 

Want more asters? Leave a few wilted blooms in the winter and the fluffy white seeds will blow around and plant themselves!

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See Disappearing Butterflies to learn why it’s important to provide butterfly habitat in your garden or on your deck

These bags are super cool and really easy to make. Use your imagination to dress them up with stickers, tassels, pompoms, beads or anything you want.

You can use them to keep your things together, like school or art supplies, chunky bracelets, game pieces or just about anything small enough to fit inside and big enough to not fall through the holes.

I use mine for cat toys. Also I take them shopping at the grocery store so I don’t have to get more plastic bags every time.

For this project you’ll need:

• An empty mesh bag from the grocery store. It might have had oranges or potatoes in it. Have mom or dad cut off the top and empty out the goodies.

• Some string or narrow ribbon

• Beads or other decoration if you want

Step One: Cut about three feet of string or ribbon. Tie a knot in each end to keep it from fraying.

Step Two: Weave the ribbon through the top of the net bag.

Step Three: Stretch out the bag till there is an equal amount of ribbon on both sides.

Step Four: Cut the looped end of the ribbon and tie a knot in each end. Or, if you want to add beads, tie a knot about 2 inches from the end, string your beads on, and tie a knot at the end to keep them from falling off.

See The Truth About Recycling to learn why it’s important to reduce, reuse and upcycle plastic.