Materials:

• In-ground garden space, raised beds or container gardens
• Variety of plants that bloom at different times of the day

Instructions

1. Find a garden site with at least six hours of sunlight. Your Flower Clock Garden can be planted directly in the ground, in a raised bed or in one large or a collection of medium sized containers.
2. Select plants that bloom at different times of the day and will thrive in the amount of sunlight you have available.  Examples include:
   • 2 a.m.: convolvulus
   • 3 a.m.: goatsbeard
   • 4 a.m.: spiderwort, flax
   • 5 a.m.: chicory
   • 6 a.m.: morning glory, daylily
   • 7 a.m.: African marigold
   • 8 a.m.: fringed pinks
   • 9 a.m.: marigold, tulip, and gazania
   • 10 a.m.: California poppy
   • 11 a.m.: sweet pea
   • 12 noon: goatsbeard, wild daisy
   • 4 p.m.: four-o'clock
   • 5 p.m.: evening primrose
   • 6 p.m.: moonflower
   • 7 p.m.: sweet white nicotiana
   • 8 p.m.: night-scented stock
   • 9 p.m.: sweet rocket
3. Decide on planting arrangement. By planting flowers that open at different times in a circle so that the blooming progresses throughout the day, you can create a living time piece.  Planting for each hour of the day may be a bit ambitious, so you can always pick just a few time points and then also add a sundial. Sundials are fun accessories that use shadows to estimate the time. You can purchase a sundial or build your own.
4. Install your garden and enjoy. Use your garden as a way to demonstrate how historically people relied on patterns of nature in a practical way --- giving kids a glimpse into the world before technological advances.