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Speeding Springtime
Is your child impatient for spring to arrive? Though you can't make spring get here any faster, you can fool Mother Nature by bringing some spring-flowering branches indoors to bloom.
On a nice winter day, take your child on a walk to collect such branches as forsythia, dogwood, apple, honeysuckle, flowering quince or pussy willow. Encourage your child to look for branches with lots of buds. Using a pair of garden clippers, cut the branches in lengths of about 1-2 feet.
At home, crush the cut ends of the branches by pounding them gently with a hammer. Have your child arrange the branches in a vase of warm water. (Crushing the ends helps the branches to "drink" the water.)
Put the vase in a spot that gets lots of sunlight, and change the water every two or three days.
If the trick you and your child have played is successful, the branches should bloom within a couple of weeks.