The Flower Clock, also known as the Flora Clock, is a decorative look hours, represented by a set of specific herbaceous plants. A special feature is the ability of flowers to bloom and close at specific times of the day.

The working principle of Carl Linnaeus' flower clock

Information from the first such flower arrangement from Uppsala has been known since the time of Carl Linnaeus. It was Linnaeus who used a number of plants that differ in their biorhythms. In the morning hours, the following plants bloom one by one:

• meadow salsify (Tragogon pratensis) - at 3-5 am;
• common chicory (Cichorium intybus), bittersweet (Picris hieracioides) and rosehip (Cichorium intybus) - at 4-5 am;
• brown-yellow daylily (Hemerocallis fulva), poppy (Papaver nudicaule) and garden thistle (Sonchus oleraceus) - at 5 am;
• a succession of tripartite (Videns triartita) and dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) - at 5-6 am;
• Umbrella hawksbill (Hieracium umbellatatum) and paniculata (Hyposhaeris maculata) - at 6 am;
• hairy hawksbill (Hieracium pilosella) and field thistle (Sonсhus arvensis) - at 6-7 am;
• branched corolla (Anthericum ramosum), lettuce (Lactus sativa), bristly kulbab (Leontodon hispidus) and white water lily (Nymphaea alba) - at 7 am;
• bearded mesembryanthemum (Mesembryanthemum barbatum) - at 7-8 am;
• dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) - at 8-10 am;
• field calendula (Calendula arvensis) - at 9 am.

Then, before noon, meadow salsify (Tragogon pratensis), common chicory (Cichorium intybus), garden thistle (Sonchus oleaceus), field thistle (Sonchus arvensis) and field calendula (Calendula arvensis) are closed in turn.

In the afternoon, the plants represented by Petrohagia prolifera, Creis rubra, Hierasium auricula, Arenaria rubra, Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, as well as bristly kulbab (Leontodon hispidus), branched corolla (Anthericum rama sum), Umbrella hawkweed (Hieracium umbellatum) and White water lily (Nymphaea alba) . The last one, closer to midnight, is Celenicereus grandiflorus, which closes its flowers. Presentation on the topic of time intervals in the opening and closing of flowers different types clearly explains the exact timing of such natural processes.

How a flower clock works (video)

Features of plant biorhythm

Any plants always raise their leaves and open their flowers to fully enjoy sunlight. The foliage of vegetation, like the petals of flowers, undergo rhythmic movements that can change their arrangement depending on the time of day and night. However, as numerous studies show, they themselves are changes are regulated by circadian rhythms closely related to the characteristics of climatic zones and latitudes. Every plant has a characteristic internal clock that manipulates leaf position, and these cycles vary widely.

New Hampshire researchers, under the direction of Professor Robertson McClung, have been many years numerous observations have been made of changes in leaf movement and biological rhythms of a huge number of varieties in various parts planets. After it was possible to compare the length of daylight hours for each specific plant in different climatic zones, it was possible to establish that the process of correlation between them was very significant in relation to circadian changes depending on the conditions of growth and development.

Researchers have studied the movement of foliage on more than a hundred plants at different latitudes. Thanks to such observations, data were obtained according to which there is a natural optimization of the proportions between the biological criteria of plant life and factors environment. Thus, in order to correctly create flower beds-clocks yourself, it is necessary to carefully study the botanical characteristics of the plant, and also take them into account biological rhythms.

Choosing flowers for the clock flower bed

A modern flower bed clock is a very original and practical decorative element. local area or a summer cottage. When choosing species and varieties, it is necessary to take into account many factors that can have a significant impact on the plant’s ability to open and close its flowers at strictly defined times.

In Moscow and the Moscow region it is necessary to focus on Moscow time and, accordingly, give preference to planting the following types of flowers in such a flowerbed:

• 3.00-4.00 - Meadow salsify with yellow sunflowers;
• 5.00 - highly decorative brown-yellow daylily;
• 6.00-6.30 - garden potatoes or perennial flax;
• 7.00 - Rough kulbaba with bright yellow flowers;
• 8.00 - Nettle-leaved bellflower with attractive purple flowers;
• 9.00-10.00 - beautifully flowering Calendula officinalis;
• 10.00-11.00 - Red torichnik with delicate purple inflorescences;
• 11.00-12.30 - Abutilon megapotamian or Nikandra.

The following flowers close in the afternoon:

• 12.00 - Field thistle;
• 13.00-14.30 - The plant takes root;
• 14.00-15.00 - Bittersweet nightshade;
• 15.00 - Perennial flax;
• 16.00 - Calendula officinalis;
• 17.00 - Yellow egg capsule;
• 18.00 - Long-leaved buttercup;
• 19.00 - Holocaust poppy;
• 19.00-20.00 - White water lily or Rose hip;
• 21.00-22.00 - Smolevka is drooping.

All of the plants listed above combine perfectly with each other in terms of color scheme, and are also optimally suited in terms of care requirements. An interesting fact is that any changes in growing conditions have virtually no effect on the internal biological rhythms of plants. Even in a dark basement, the buds are able to open exactly when such a process would occur in the light. However, as long-term practice of observing plants shows, prolonged exposure to artificial lighting causes disruptions and disturbances in natural biorhythms.

Varieties of flower clocks (video)

How to make a flower clock with your own hands

Selection of plants and optimal location to create real flower watches is a very difficult and painstaking task, therefore, in modern conditions landscape design V recent years All simple, highly decorative flower arrangements are more often used, made on the basis of standard mechanical watches.

At the first stage, you need to choose the right place to locate the future flower bed with a flower clock in your garden or personal plot. The main thing is that such a place should be in an open space, without shadows, with maximum number solar lighting. Compositions should not be placed in the shade of buildings or gardens.. So that the flower design performed has not only decorative functions, but is also used in its intended way functional purpose, it must be erected in a conspicuous place. The area connecting garden paths is very suitable for this purpose.

As a rule, the dial is made traditional and very comfortable round shape. Important Pre-prepare the soil on the site for planting flower seedlings. Digging is carried out with about one and a half bayonets of a shovel. If necessary, add a sufficient amount complex fertilizers and organics in the quantities recommended by the manufacturers of such compositions. Also All weeds must be removed and carefully level the surface of the soil. After the area under flower arrangement will be fully prepared, the site needs to be divided into twelve even and neat sectors.

The circumference of the completed “dial” is mandatory separated from the area of ​​the entire lawn surface. To isolate the circle, you can use small decorative stones painted in contrasting colors or even backfill with gravel. You can plant almost any flower crops, which are combined by color scheme and the height of the above-ground part. It is best to use ground cover or low-growing, beautifully flowering or decorative foliage plants for this purpose.

How to decorate a flower garden with your own hands (video)

The shadow showing the exact time is cast by a gnomon, which is a high column represented by reinforcement or a wooden stand. The gnomon must be installed with a slight slope towards the north. To determine the direction as accurately as possible, it is recommended to use a compass and carry out the entire complex of work at noon.

One should not hope for a highly decorative flower-clock, since for such flower beds, as a rule, wild-growing varieties are selected, which are characterized by very unattractive flowering. Among other things, it is imperative to remember that the time of opening and closing of a flower for the same species will directly depend on geographical latitude, climatic factors and natural light indicators.

Panezerova Anastasia and Levshakova Tatyana, 5th grade students

The "Flower Clock" flower bed project is interesting in that it can be used by amateur gardeners for use on their garden plots

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Slide captions:

Project of the flowerbed “Flower Clock” The work was carried out by: 5th grade students of the Municipal Budgetary Educational Institution “Vazhinsky Educational Center” Anastasia Panezerova and Tatyana Levshakova Supervisor: Buyankina N.N., biology teacher

Goal: Develop a flower bed project “Flower Clock”

Objectives: Study the literature on this topic Make a list of plants that bloom in different times days Based on the received list of plants, create a flower bed project for a summer cottage

Flower clock These “biological clocks” were used to determine time back in the Ancient Greece and Rome

In 1755, Carl Linnaeus wrote a scientific treatise "Somnus plantarum", which translated means "The Dream of Plants".

Flower clock in the estate of the Pushkin estate in the village of Mikhailovskoye.

Daily biorhythms are most noticeable in plants with bright and large flowers.

The accuracy of such watches depends on the weather - in rainy and cloudy weather such watches will “lie”.

Our flowerbed Lily Lily Rose Calendula Night violet Honeysuckle Catchment

Conclusions Flowering plants have biorhythms. For the first time, biorhythms were scientifically proven by Carl Linnaeus. Knowledge about biorhythms can be successfully used to design flower beds in your garden plots, so the topic of the work is relevant. We can offer the design of our flower bed “Flower Clock” to the summer residents of our village of Vazhiny

Thank you for your attention!

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Introduction

There is probably not a single summer resident in our country who would not

questions: what flowers to choose, how to place them correctly on your summer cottage. We would like to bring to your attention the flower bed project “Flower Clock”

Purpose of the work:

Develop a project for a flower bed “Flower Clock”

Tasks:

1. Find out in additional literature and the Internet about the biorhythms of flowering plants
2. Make a list of plants for the Flower Clock flowerbed
3. Design a flower bed “Flower Clock”

Literature analysis

Even in ancient Greece and Rome, plants were planted in flower beds, the flowers of which opened and closed their corollas at different times of the day. This “biological clock” was used to determine time

In 1755, the famous Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus wrote a scientific treatise “Somnus plantarum”, which means “Plant Dream”.Carl Linnaeus planted a flower clock in his garden. In a round flowerbed, he arranged the plants according to the time. On this flower bed chicory and rose hips, dandelions and potatoes, marigolds and many others grew. Carl Linnaeus could tell the time by seeing which flowers were open. Even in cloudy weather, it was possible to accurately determine the time if you did not have a watch with you.

In the 20s of the 18th century, in the city of Uppsala, a flower clock was put into use. The teachings of the famous Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, a herbal magician of the highest category, helped in their creation. This outstanding magician wrote a scientific treatise “Somnus plantarum”, which translated means “The Dream of Plants”.

Carl Linnaeus devoted his entire life to the systematization of plants. I have been observing plants for many years and noticed that plants can be grouped according to a special characteristic - the time of opening and closing of flowers (or inflorescences-baskets, if we are talking about Compositae).

There were such original flower clocks in the estate of the Pushkin estate in the village of Mikhailovskoye.

The modern world liked this idea of ​​flower clocks so much and such flower clocks appeared in many cities. Until now, Swiss and Japanese flower clocks were considered the most famous in the world, and in Switzerland they had the largest ones, five meters in diameter. Now the record has been broken: the world's largest flower clock mechanism was installed and launched on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow. The diameter of the dial reaches 10 meters, and the minute hand weighs more than 30 kilograms. True, Moscow watches do not have a second hand, which the Swiss are especially proud of. “But that’s why they are Swiss,” explained the Russian experts who came to the celebration, “they are famous for their fine jewelry work, and we are famous for the scale

Daily biorhythms are most noticeable in plants with bright and large flowers.

The accuracy of such watches depends on the weather - in rainy and cloudy weather such watches will “lie”.

Having studied the literature, we selected the following plants for the “Flower Clock” flower bed: lily, calendula, columbine, honeysuckle, rose, the blooming time of which is different.

These flowering plants were placed by us in the flowerbed in the order in which their flowers bloom. (see Appendix No. 1)

Conclusions:

While working on the project, we made the following conclusions:

1. Flowering plants have biorhythms
2. Biorhythms were first scientifically proven by Carl Linnaeus
3. Knowledge about biorhythms can be successfully used to design flower beds in your garden plots, so the topic of the work is relevant
4. We can offer our flowerbed project “Flower Clock” to the summer residents of our village Vazhiny

Municipal educational institution

"Vazhinsky Educational Center"

Project

flower beds "Flower Clock"

The work was completed by 5th grade students

Levshakova Tatyana and Panezerova Anastasia

Project Manager

Buyankina Nadezhda Nikolaevna,

Biology teacher

v. Vazhiny

2017

Appendix No. 1

From history People noticed the ability of flowers to open at different times of the day a long time ago. Even in Ancient Greece and Rome, flowers were planted in flower beds. Using such a “biological clock” you can determine time. Of course, the accuracy of the “biological clock” is determined by many factors. Flower clocks show time only on a clear sunny day; in rainy or cloudy weather, flowers usually do not open at all or open at a different time. The famous Swedish naturalist of the 8th century, Carl Linnaeus, noticed the periodicity of flower blooms and developed the so-called flower clock. There was such a clock in the city of Uppsala in Sweden (at about 60° north latitude).

In 2001, a flower clock appeared on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow and was immediately included in the Guinness Book of Records because of its size: it is 10 m in diameter, and the 4.5-meter minute hand is longer than the one on the clock of the Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower, and she weighs 30 kg. But there is no second, the presence and size of which allowed the colorful Geneva design to remain on the list of record holders.

Hours: Tobacco Flavored
And here is the sequence in which they “fall asleep”: The first to “go to the side” are garden and field sow thistles, garden lettuce, chicory (at 10 o’clock), from 10 to 11 o’clock they are joined by wildflower, at 12 – marigolds and meadow sow thistle, in 13 - hawkweed umbrella and sprouted tunic. At two o'clock in the afternoon the steppe hawksbill "goes to bed", and at three o'clock in the afternoon the common hawksbill goes to bed. By this time, the poppy and chicory are already asleep (but they will open again at about six in the evening), and the dandelion, and the flowering potatoes. From 15 to 16 o'clock, the flowers of the branched corolla, tricolor violet and hairy hawkweed go into the kingdom of sleep, at 17 - white water lily and the gray hawk. Between four and five o'clock flax, the coltsfoot, goes to bed. Later, at 7-8 pm the heads of the red day, rosehip, salsify, and saran grass close, at 9 - the meadow doze, fragrant tobacco(it will also open again by nightfall), wood sorrel.

Take an early morning walk along the dewy meadow and observe the plants. Some have already blossomed, others have barely opened their flower heads, and others seem to not trust the morning - they are dozing, without opening their corollas: they will open when the sun picks up the dew drops.

3. Know how to understand flower clocks, clocks of meadows, steppes and vegetable gardens. Flower clocks will be able to notify you about the time at all latitudes of the earth. S. Krasikov.

4. Even in ancient times, people noticed that plants are able to show time. Like all living organisms, they have a “biological clock” that regulates their lives. Plants have unique mechanisms for determining time. Flowers respond to alternating daily periods. So if you are left without devices that show time, flowers will tell you what time it is.

5. The idea of ​​​​creating flower clocks existed in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

6. Carl Linnaeus - famous Swedish botanist. For the first time such a “double clock mechanism” was created by Carl Linnaeus in the 20s of the 18th century. The most interesting thing is that the time is shown not only by the arrows, but also by the flowers themselves!

7. A little later, in 1955, according to his data, the first flower clock was created, which was “put into use” in Uppsala. They showed the time from 3-5 a.m. Since then, flower clocks have been built in many parts of the world. Geneva masters sent them to both Australia and North America. They also go on in our country: in St. Petersburg, in Anapa.

8. What is the secret of this watch? To answer this question, scientists had to make an important discovery. It turns out that plants are also capable of movement. These are the so-called “sleepy movements” of plants.

9. Let’s be convinced by experience! It is enough to cover several unbloomed dandelions with a bucket or light-proof film early in the morning, and open them closer to noon. If the day is clear and sunny, the tight green buds will open literally before your eyes. In cloudy weather this will happen a little later

10. What affects the operation of a flower clock? light darkness air temperature

11. You can tell the time using a flower clock only on clear sunny days. When the sky is covered with clouds, in rainy weather or heavy fog, the flowers either do not open at all or open at a different time.

12. 3 hours 12 hours 5 hours 4 hours 6 hours 7 hours 8 hours 9 hours 10 hours 11 hours

13. At 3 o'clock the GOAT'S BEARD MEADOW opens. Closes at 18 -20 o'clock.

14. ROSE HIP opens at 4 a.m. Closes at 7-8 p.m.

15. MAC opens at 5 a.m. Closes at 2 - 3 p.m.

16. DANDELION opens at 6 a.m. Closes at 7 p.m.

17. Marigolds open at 9 a.m. Close at 4 p.m.

18. At 7 o’clock in the morning the white water lily opens. It closes at 18 o’clock.

About flower clocks The first flower clocks appeared in Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. Plants were planted in flower beds in a certain order. Time was determined by when the buds opened and closed. Thanks to the outstanding Swedish magician and herbalist Carl Linnaeus and his scientific treatise “The Dream of Plants”, a flower clock was created in the city of Uppsala. The herbalist devoted his entire life to observing plants and grouped them based on the closing and opening of inflorescences. In order to demonstrate to his students and everyone interested in the results of his work, Linnaeus created a flower clock - he planted it in a flowerbed in the Uppsala Botanical Garden flowering plants in a certain order.

About the flower clock Our contemporaries really liked the idea of ​​a flower clock. The Swiss were the first to create such flower beds in their cities. The largest flower-clock mechanism appeared, with a diameter of 5 meters. The Swiss are famous for their jewelry craftsmanship, and the watches even have a second hand. The record was broken by a flower clock created in Moscow, on Poklonnaya Hill, with a diameter of 10 meters. The weight of the minute hand is 30 kilograms. The flowerbed is planted with perilla and kochia flowers, and the numbers with begonia. Begonia flowers do not close at night, so even at midnight you can find out Moscow time. The world's largest flower clock first appeared on August 23, 2011 in Krivoy Rog. The basis of the blooming composition is the city’s coat of arms. An original engineering solution was used to create the hands. The arrows move along the monorail thanks to supports at the ends. The diameter of the flower clock in Krivoy Rog is 22 meters, the length of the minute hand reaches 12 meters. The miracle flowerbed displays 22 thousand flowers. Under the structure there is a clock mechanism equipped with an electronic control unit. Every hour you can hear a melodic ringing.

What flowers open when? The vital activity of flowers, as it turned out, is subject to certain biorhythms. This is most clearly manifested in flowers that have bright and large petals. The corollas of many flowers, obeying a strict rhythm set by the rotation of the Earth, open and close at certain times of the day. Chicory and salsify open at 1 a.m., poppy and rose hips at 5 a.m., dandelion and periwinkle at 6 a.m., bells and water lilies at 7 a.m., bindweed and marigolds at 8 a.m., marigolds at 9 a.m. Already in the afternoon, the flowers begin to close: bell - at o'clock, dandelion poppies - at o'clock, chicory - at o'clock, marigolds and marigolds - at 16 o'clock, carnations and periwinkle - at 17 o'clock, buttercups - at o'clock, rose hips - at o'clock. Only night violet, adonis and dream-grass prefer moonlight sunlight, so these flowers bloom only at night. Even in ancient times, people discovered the ability of flowers to open and close at certain times. In Ancient Greece and Rome, plants were planted in flower beds that opened and closed their corollas at different times of the day, thereby, as if indicating the time.