By Jade Ortego
Killeen Daily Herald

As part of a new program emphasizing natural science at West Ward Elementary, a florist taught third-graders about flowers and sent them home with a bouquet to give to a loved one.

After explaining in which instances one gives flowers, Phil Enderle, the owner of Marvel's Flower World, gave a few students roses.

"How does that make you feel?" he said. "We give flowers to people to make them feel special and happy."

Enderle taught the students that the best way to cut a flower's stem is while it's submerged in water. He also taught them to keep cut flowers healthy by adding flower food or two tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to their water.

Enderle taught the children how to make their own bouquet. The first element is a filler flower, like the goldenrod, which has many blooms on one stem and makes the bouquet fuller. Next is a line flower, like the snapdragon, which has blooms that grow vertically up the stem. Their purpose is to make the arrangement taller.

The "feature presentation" of the bouquet is called the focal flower. Enderle uses different colored roses and spider mums. The last part of the bouquet is the greens, like leatherleaf or ferns, which make arrangements look more natural.

The students lined up and were given many different flowers, which they made into bouquets to take home.

Bobby Cummings, a 9-year-old, said he enjoyed learning about flowers. His favorite part of the presentation was when Enderle took the netting off the spider mum, making it go from looking like a tulip to a large, yellow version of its namesake.

Cummings said he planned to give the flowers to his mother.

Enderle said he'd given this presentation to about 1,500 children in the past three years, and the children always love it, especially receiving a gift to bring home.

Enderle said he was going to make bouquets for the teachers and the lunch staff, too.

Bouquet recipients

Ray Liehr, the manager of Greenleaf Florist, an Austin company that donates the flowers, said that many students say they're bringing the flowers home to a parent who recently returned from a tour in Iraq or Afghanistan, or to an elderly neighbor.

"Flowers aren't just for ladies. Any child can decide who they want to give the flowers to. We teach them that you give flowers to people you care about," Liehr said.

Renee Haecker, who celebrated his ninth birthday Tuesday, said he learned that roses have thorns to protect themselves from animals that eat plants. His favorite part was answering questions from Enderle and getting a bouquet to bring home to his mother, whom he said loves flowers.

Jan Marrs, a counselor, organized the event as part of a recent program that encourages interest in natural science. A group of about 35 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders are currently working to build an herb garden in the school's courtyard. It should be finished within the next two years.

"The teachers are loving it. They say, 'look it all this learning they're doing just by participating,'" Marrs said.

Contact Jade Ortego at jortego@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7553. Follow her on Twitter at KDHcourts.

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