This sign says it all: this week’s lesson covered tidbits of Botany.  About which I know? Nothing.  Truly, honestly, brown thumb…I know oh-so-very little.  I took Botany in college, and I aced it. Interesting, considering the only memory I absorbed was that I left my wallet behind by mistake one morning and someone stole my ID.  Remember when Identity Theft meant that some bitchy undergrad was getting drunk at Papa Lou’s Chug using your Driver’s License? Those were the days.  Oh well…if it weren’t for that thieving brunette who sat behind me in class, I may not have remembered ever taking Botany 101.

But, it’s summer, and things are blooming, so let’s not let a little thing like ignorance stop us.  We went to gardens which have critical items like maps and signs.  Hey! I can read! The above picture was staged, or let’s say “styled” by Avery.  This girl has creative juices in her bones. We visited both the gardens of the IMA and White River Gardens (all within the city limits of Indianapolis), which are beautifully mapped and marked, and quite educational.

We talked about native species and invasive species, not just the human kind.  The white sign pictures are the latest modern art installation at 100 Acres (a part of the Indianapolis Museum of Art).  As with all the outdoor, interactive installations at 100 Acres, this one does not disappoint. The IMA has 8 formal gardens, both live and audio tours, along with a 100 acre art and nature park. This education can be bought for the low, low price of zero dollars.  Entrance is free, and if you’re willing to walk, so is parking.

We discussed the addition of water features to gardens. What are their names? What are the different types? Why do you think people love adding fountains and ponds into gardens? I’ve always loved this little creek which bubbles downhill into a Koi pond. But the girls have their own favorite, which I think is just based on size:

I can’t blame them. No trip is complete until they dash down the Allee, the Lilly Mansion to their backs while they run full speed to the fountain. I think it’s funny how they’ve never given the huge, white castle-like structure a second glance.  They’re always so entranced by the beautiful grounds, that the mansion doesn’t even warrant a question. Who needs a mansion when there is so much outdoors to love?

The girls vote as their second favorite water feature the spitting frogs at White River Gardens (which also houses the Butterfly Garden, one of my Indy loves). I suppose this garden has another name, but I won’t dare to look it up.  It will always be the Spitting Frogs to me.

I let them pick and choose which plants interested them, and they learned at their speed.  Not all tall, purple plants are lavender.  Not all plants in the shade are hostas. We used the signs to learn that plants have both scientific and user-friendly names. We talked about plants which just grow and plants which are planted. We talked about fruit bats in Africa pooping out seeds and thereby planting fruit trees with their butts. Say the words “poop” and “butts”, and suddenly, you’ve got their attention.  Works.every.time.

Again, thank God for maps and signs. Otherwise, these lesssons would have included a whole lotta what you see above: “THIS is a…leaf.  And over HERE, is another…leaf.”

And of course the benefit of all outdoor lessons are that they involve lots and lots of running. And Mommy strapping the camera to her hip and trying like mad to keep up.

As we walked through this space and back towards the car, I found myself caught in a moment from long ago.  I brought Avery and Sara here on the last day of summer the first year we kept Avery with us over summer break.  Kelly was barely out of infancy, so she stayed home that day, because I intended to introduce the “big” kids to the IMA.  Our first botany lesson could be summarized as, “it’s fun to eat fancy cupcakes on the grass”. I will always remember Avery’s first reaction to the art:

Avery: Aunt Orly, next time I’m bringing paints with me so I my art can hang on the walls too.

Me: Oh no honey, we’re not allowed to bring paint inside the museum.  Imagine the mess it would make.

Avery: Well…then…how did all those paintings get painted?

Me: OH! I see your dilemma…they were painted someplace else and then brought here.

Avery: OH! Let’s go THERE next time so we can paint.

As you can see, despite the best of what science has to offer, these little leaf-lovers grew up on me.

The cupcake picnic occurred only steps from this branch.  Looking at them on Friday morning, I was speechless at how much they’ve grown. And how no matter what level of sunscreen I put on them, they turn this color every summer, reflecting that children need good food, water, rest, and sun in order to grow properly.

I thought I was kind of phoning this lesson in…no pre-planning and no messes.  Grab a map and walk by some plants…big whoop.  But finally, as if Jesus was taking kindness on my lack of belief that I’m teaching them anything, I overheard Kelly saying these words to the girls:

Kelly: Hey guys! We should talk to the plants! Mommy said plants give off oxygen, which our lungs breath in.  And plants love our carbon dioxide, which our lungs breath out.  Let’s go SING to the plants!

And sing they did.  Full arias to roses and hydrangeas and Hostas alike, reinforcing to me that I teach them not so they’ll rattle off plant names or take a deep interest in the respiratory system…not at all.  Learning is a super string: the more you learn, the more you can see the connectivity between things, which means once you reach a critical mass, learning suddenly becomes a much easier, downhill ride. As well, once they can see the overlap between art, science, nature, literature…and on and on…they’ll have a much deeper appreciation for the world around them, which, if you love a good super string line of thought, is actually running through them.

Or maybe some days we just want to eat cupcakes on the grass.  Either way, we’re having a lovely summer.  I do hope you are having the same kind of summery season, my friends.  I hope so much for your journey as well. Godspeed.