Flower word search

A bouquet of garden favorites and wildflowers: rose, tulip, daisy and sunflower, showier blooms such as the hydrangea, peony and orchid, and roadside flowers like the dandelion, buttercup and clover. A few words describe the flower itself and what we do with it: petal, stem, bud, bloom, pollen, nectar, vase and bouquet.

Flower names are full of stories. Dandelion comes from the French dent de lion, "lion's tooth," after its jagged leaves. The poinsettia is named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first American minister to Mexico, who brought the plant to the United States. Tulips are linked with the Netherlands, but they first grew wild in Central Asia. And young sunflowers turn their heads to follow the sun across the sky during the day.

Gardeners, flower lovers and spring classroom units all get something here. With younger children, compare the names with real flowers or pictures; older students can look up which of them grow in their own region.

Play tip: eight flower names end in -IA: BEGONIA, ZINNIA, DAHLIA, GARDENIA, MAGNOLIA, CAMELLIA, PETUNIA and POINSETTIA. An I next to an A in the grid is worth a second look.