Flower clock: methods of use and tips for designers to implement (80 photo ideas)

A neglected and unkempt garden is unlikely to cause positive emotions, so gardeners are happy to devote a lot of time to decorating the site. Moreover, recently there has been a tendency to come to the country not to garden or harvest, but to relax or retire with nature.

A novelty of landscape design is the decoration of a garden plot with a floral composition in the form of a clock. In addition, it is not only an amazing decor, but also a practical element that will tell others the time at any time. Photos of flower clocks eloquently confirm this.

Summary of the article:

Many big cities can boast of flower clocks. For them, basically, a fairly prominent place is allocated near the central square. The decorative mission is undoubtedly assigned to the composition of fresh flowers. The design of the watch itself is a real clockwork, only more impressive in size.

For the first time, clocks made of flowers appeared in the Roman Empire, when they had not yet thought about the invention of a mechanical time counting device. To determine it, scientists used the biorhythms of plants and flowers depending on the time of day. But this was not quite enough, since this option was in effect from the beginning of spring until the end of autumn.

Subsequently, the flower clock was refined by the genius in the field of biology and botany Karl Liney. Its design looked like a circle divided into identical sectors, where plants were planted that revealed inflorescences in a certain hour period of time.

Thus, the flowers bloomed according to the order of sectors, counting down hour after hour. The invention first appeared in Sweden.

Distinctive features of biorhythms of flowers

At the first rays of the sun, dandelion inflorescences open. In the afternoon, the water lily closes the petals and hides under the cover of water. At dusk, a night violet is shown.

So, biorhythms appear during the day, i.e. flowers open and close inflorescences at a certain time of the day. Everyone lives according to their own routine.

In fact, the whole secret is that flowers contain pigments that can transform from one to another during the day, thanks to their ability to absorb daylight. In the dark, the reaction occurs exactly the opposite. As a result, the plant knows what time of day it is at the moment.

But the most interesting thing is that if you move a flower to a dark place, its vital biorhythms will not change. It will also open in the daytime and close in the evening. However, regularly disrupting natural light, this will play a role, and biorhythms may be disrupted.

A clock made of flowers with your own hands

It is quite possible to decorate a garden plot with a flower clock made with your own hands. But not as easy as it seems at first glance. The process itself is very informative and exciting. You can also attract children to this activity. It will be useful for them to learn about solar astronomy and interesting facts of botany in practice.

Be sure to take into account: the biorhythms of flower plants depend on the climate of the local region and the degree of natural illumination of the area. Otherwise, it may be necessary to adjust the available information about colors.

In order for the flower clock on the site to function normally, favorable sunny weather is necessary. In the rain, you should not count on the reliability of the time reading.

The need for flowers and the sun

To create a real clockwork mechanism from flowers, several varieties of them will be required. The main thing is that they should open and close the inflorescences at strictly defined times corresponding to reality.

The main parameters for creating a flower clock project include:

choosing the location of the clock mechanism. Space and excellent illumination by sunlight are important here. Avoid getting shadows from structures and vegetation.
the place should be clearly visible from all sides, since it is not only the decor of the site, but also a device showing the time.
the round-shaped dial is comfortable and familiar. It is enough to arrange a round flower bed and divide it into 12 parts (number of hours). Before this, it is necessary to perform soil preparation.
the dial should stand out against the background of the lawn. To do this, it is enough to cover it around the perimeter with bright colored stones or gravel of different colors.
in cloudy weather, you should not trust the accuracy of the readings of the flower clock, the biorhythms of plants can go astray.
the choice of seedlings is a responsible matter. It is necessary to collect information about the intended flowers for planting in advance. Know the opening and closing time of their inflorescences in the region of residence in order to correctly mark them in the appropriate sectors.

Color selection

The most suitable species are flowers with pronounced biorhythms. You should first observe the selected plants, make a table of their biorhythms and analyze it. This will help you avoid mistakes.

You can create a simple design showing the time of breakfast, lunch and dinner.

In the morning (from 7 to 10 o'clock), violet, calendula or mother-and-stepmother flowers open. In the afternoon, at lunchtime (from 13 to 15), the inflorescences of poppies and bluebells close. During the late dinner period (from 20 to 21), night characters open the petals – vechernitsa and fragrant tobacco.

There are many options, you can even choose flowers with biorhythms similar to yours. A flower clock in the country is beautiful in appearance and will tell you the time for eating.

Using the shadow arrow

The easiest way is to create a simple design in technical execution. Externally, this option is no less attractive, and maybe even more original. Here flowers fulfill an exclusively decorative mission.

The function of the time reading will be assigned to the shadow cast by the gnomon, i.e. a column of a certain height (a reinforcing rod or a wooden peg is used). First, the marking of the circle is done on the area illuminated by sunlight. The gnomon is installed in the central part, with a minimum inclination to the north.

A compass will help determine a more accurate orientation, while it is better to build the device at noon, when the shadow of the gnomon will show the upper limit of the dial (12 o'clock).

We mark this point at the intersection of the circle and the shadow. After that, sectors of equal size are marked up in the amount of 12 pieces. Each sector is equal to one hour.

So that the sectors do not merge with each other, it is necessary to make their differentiation with colored gravel or curbs. Prepared flowers should be placed inside the sectors, preferably of low-growing species.

This is a wonderful decoration option and at the same time not difficult to perform. In addition, any flower plants that do not require any binding to their biorhythms will be suitable for finishing. It is even easier to make a round lawn, arrange numbers of flowers on it and install a gnomon. For curbs, you can use various types of plants similar to the young or ochitki.