Preserving Spring

When I used twigs to show pre-schoolers about how the tree buds and seeds looked during the spring…it occurred to me that it would be good to have those items to show for more than just the early spring. I decided to enclose some of them in clear contact paper. Maybe the plastic would seal off enough air to keep the plant material from deteriorating…and it would not require the heat of a laminator. The red maple samaras were my first experiment. The seed part of the wings bulge a bit, causing a little bubble. As I looked more closely after I’d finished encasing them front and back with the contact paper, I realize there are still remnants of the flower (red) where the seed is connected to the small stem.

My next attempt was with sycamore leaves that had unfurled from the branch I put in water after I cut it when it has enlarged buds.  I got several sizes of leaves from the buds that split open and have leaves unfurling now (see my previous post about from a few days ago).  The smallest ones are the size of a finger nail. The clear contact paper on both sides makes it possible to view both sides of the little leaves and to notice that one is still curled – not quite unfurled from how it was packaged in the bud.

I had some sycamore leaves from last summer that I had pressed in a book. I used the contact paper with them too. They are very dry and fragile at this point but the contact paper may stabilize them. The leaves are the size of my hand or larger. One of the them had lots of holes in it….so would be good to reinforce that trees are food and home for other creatures.

Next time I am a volunteer naturalist talking about trees….I’ll see if they survive!