Are the daffodils blooming yet at your school? My across-the-street neighbors get about 6 more hours of direct sunlight on their front yards in February and March than I do, so I always have a preview of what nature happening will be coming next to my yard. Their daffodils have fat buds now in the middle of February, and the earliest crocuses are already blooming. Some years they wear caps of snow as we get winter and spring weather in turns. Every year spring flowering bulbs struggle to sprout and bloom right in the spot near our steps where my daughter always bounces her ball. The sprouts get smashed down but come back every year.
It can be hard to find a spot in a school yard where children do not step, walk, run, dance, or jump. At one school the best place for planting lies within the playground fence where years of wood chip mulch application have produced a deep organic soil. The flowers may get picked or stepped on, but first they are noticed because the children planted them where they play everyday instead of in a border outside of their territory. A gentle reminder to “go around” serves to protect the blooms while not destroying the children’s freedom to play. The teachers don’t worry too much about the children stepping on the bulb sprouts—they have survived many years of children.
Peggy