Featured Activity
Paperwhites (Narcissus tazetta) are a great introduction to bulbs because they are easy to observe and don't require chilling to grow and flower. You can use them for a simple science fair project to make them grow shorter (and less likely to fall over) while still flowering abundantly.
Bulb Picture
These watercolors demonstrate the spectrum of colors bulbs can create. Read More
Bulb Quote
The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.
-- Gertrude S. WisterMore Quotes
Welcome to the Bulb Project
Activities: Creative plans for educators.
Growing Bulbs: How-to information.
Resources: Additional information to help you plan and execute your bulb activities.
Retail partners: Information for bulb project collaborators.
Share ideas: Read how others have used these activities, and contribute your own ideas.
This site features creative projects to help educators share the joys of growing flower bulbs with children and youth, and use bulbs to help teach science, art, history and other subjects.
The activities can be used in many settings, including the classroom, after-school programs, home schooling, 4-H, community projects and other formal in informal educational settings.
We also include resources to help you forge partnerships with local retailers and garden centers who can share their expertise and serve as a source of flower bulbs for you project. (There are also resources to help retail partners publicize their collaborations.)
We also invite you to share your experiences with these activities and contribute new ideas for how to use bulbs in various educational settings through the site's blog, and read how others have used the activities. Click on the Interact link for each activity and resource to read more.
Tuber Talk
11/16/2008
Bulb-forcing video - From the good folks at Fine Gardening magazine. (Don’t miss the accompanying article.) If you are going to do the Grow ...
11/16/2008
Follow these steps for a successful community beautification project that features bulb planting. Use the comments to share ideas about how you have ...
11/16/2008
This fun activity offers a chance to observe bulb flowers closely in pairs, and then write about the experience creatively and descriptively. Use the ...
11/10/2008
An old friend, Lisa Krall, a soil scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service sent me this ...
11/09/2008
In a comment on the blog, Edith, a Master Gardener and bulb expert in Minnesota has this advice: “Extreme cold climates, where the frost can ...