"Don White... owner of Anything Orchids greenhouse... a former... teacher... help second graders construct terrariums. ... For the last 10 years, White has constructed terrariums with children... he was a physical education teacher...
For the plants to grow, White uses recycled orchid mix. "We sterilize and reuse it because we know its going to be porous and the plants need space for the roots to breathe and drain," said White. "It works out great because it has fertilizer already in it." Pair the orchid mix with a little bit of top soil [?], select your plants and inside a two-liter pop bottle, the terrarium is complete. ... White, who retired... two years ago after 34 years of teaching, introduced the terrariums to the schools in hopes that it would teach the students about the types of plants that live in a rain forest. ... second grade teacher Linda Conrath... "We're studying the continents and we're talking about the rain forests. We talk about the plants, how we can help with global warming and why its important to protect the rain forests," she said. Prior to construction of the terrariums, White introduced students to nearly 40 types of his favorite plant and the heart of his greenhouse--the orchid. "Some of them smell like coconut, raspberries and chocolate," he explained as the second graders inspected the plants close-up, sniffing the fragrant scents. As a child, White recalled visiting conservatories and would search for the most fragrant flowers. He began his passion for growing the flowers 26 years ago when his first orchid bloomed. "My favorite is 'sharry baby,'... he explained. "The reason I like it so much is because its so fragrant and smells like chocolate [flavoured with vanilla]..." " URL : http://www.opprairie.com/Articles-c-2008-06-03-179664.112113_Bringing_the_rainforest_to_OP.html see photos / thumbnails at : http://www.opprairie.com/1galleryembedbody.lasso?-response=%2f1galleryembedbody.lasso&-token.galpicnum=0&-token.galnumeric=29933.112113&-token.gallerycat=&-token.autoadvoff=yes&-token.specificitem=&-nothing&-token.galpicnum=&-Skiprecords=0&-token.thumbnails=yes&-token.autoadvoff=yes&-token.specificitem= ******************* Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
