Grow Your Name with Flowers

Have you ever visited a botanical garden and wondered how the gardeners created elaborate designs—and even words—out of flowers? Turns out, it's easy! This is a super-fun activity for the whole family, because you can plant a garden bed with the names of all of your family members, including the furry ones.

What You Need:

• A flat of flowers or pack of seeds. Choose a variety that stays short, such as vincas, dwarf marigolds, or dwarf zinnias for sunny spaces, or impatiens or begonias for shadier spots
• Garden bed or large container filled with potting mix
• Garden trowel
• Hose or watering can

How to Grow Your Name:

1.Using a trowel, draw your name on the surface of the soil in big, block letters, leaving space between the letters. (For long names, you might want to use a nickname or initials, especially in a container.)

2.Dig out the soil for each letter just deep to fit the root balls of the plants. If you're using seeds, look at the directions on the packet to see how deep to plant them.

3.Place the flowers into the letter trenches, making sure the top of the root ball is level with the soil.

4.Space the flowers/seeds about 2 to 3 inches apart—they'll fill in quickly to form the letters.

5.Once the flowers are placed, fill in the trench with soil to cover the roots and pat firmly. For seeds, lightly cover them with soil and pat gently.

6.Water well to settle the soil and eliminate air pockets.

7.Give your flowers water and plant food throughout the season to keep them blooming.

8.When the flowers have filled in the letters, take a picture of the blooming names—and the gardeners who grew them!