Spring Bulb Challenge

Are you looking for a way to share spring weather and a little gentle exercise with someone far away? Hoping to encourage a friend or relative (or yourself) to get out and move around more? A flower-spotting challenge is a fun way to appreciate the warming weather and look for beauty in our surroundings. You don’t have to live in the country, or near a botanical garden. Even city plots usually sprout a crocus of two as the days lengthen.?

How to play:

1. Ask a friend or group of friends to participate in The Challenge.
2. Agree on the distance from your respective homes you are willing to go in your quest for seasonal beauty - it doesn’t have to be far. It doesn’t even have to be the same distance for both/all of you (unless you are very competitive).
3. Agree how often you’ll go out in search of blooms.
4. Arrange to call each other or zoom or meet up and share what you’ve found each week. Emailing works too. As the days lengthen, you’ll find more and more plants coming up and have more to share each time you talk.

How to win:

1. Enjoy comparing notes about what you’ve seen in your neighborhood.
2. Talk to a friend or loved one(s) about something joyful.

You don’t have to be a botanist to play this game. Depending on the tech-savviness of the people you challenge, you can:

• Take pictures of what you spot with a cell phone and to share your finds
• Get yourself a small wildflower identification book (most include common garden flowers like snowdrops and daffodils). Your public library will have great suggestions and may even deliver.?
• Of course, there are apps for this too: PlantNet is a good one and is free.

We can all use a little push to get back outside and greet the sunshine. Sharing it with others –near or far– is a great way to stay connected.