Chapter 4 My Herbarium
I’m Preparing My Herbarium
The herbarium is an essential tool for understanding plants. For me, it was really helpful in choosing the right plants, flowers, and trees for my gardens. I learned a lot thanks to my herbariums.
Illustration of a royal lily.- Step 11
Step 1I pick a lily flower.
- Step 22
Step 2I place my flower between two sheets of absorbent paper to dry it.
- Step 33
Step 3I flatten the leaf by placing it under a weight.
- Step 44Step 4
I attach my flower to my herbarium page using glue.
I identify the parts of the plant.
The herbarium is a fantastic reference tool for discovering plants. It helps us identify all the parts of a plant.
Royal Lily
The royal lily is a bulbous plant that grows up to 1.2 metres tall. Its flowers are white and shaped like funnels or trumpets.
Stigma This female reproductive organ is located at the tip of the plant’s pistil. It is hairy, which helps it collect pollen.
Stamen It’s the male reproductive organ of the plant. It contains the pollen grains.
Bulb It’s a food storage organ that helps the plant survive in difficult conditions. Tulips and lilies are examples of plants that have bulbs.
Pedoncule The peduncle is the stalk that supports a flower or a fruit. It connects to the main stem.
Root They allow the plant to anchor itself in the soil and serve to draw up the water and mineral salts needed for the plant’s growth.
Charming Lilies
Lilies are magnificent flowers. They come in all sorts of shapes and colours, and they also produce a gentle fragrance. Many horticulturists and gardeners fall under their spell.
There is a wide variety of lilies in nature, but many cannot withstand the Canadian climate. Winters are cold, and snowfall can be heavy. Once in the ground, the bulb is fragile and vulnerable to the cold. Without this food reserve, the lily may not grow.
So, I set out to create lily hybrids that could survive these conditions. Thanks to my experiments, I’ve helped gardening enthusiasts fill their flowerbeds with these blooms. I’m very proud of that!
