WANTED: cheerful plants/bulbs for a class of 2-3yr olds (Vancouver)

Hi,

My friend has started a playgroup for 2-3yr olds and wants me to teach them a bit about plants & the natural world. One idea was to have the kids plant some late-winter or early spring bulbs in outdoor pots/soil to give them a neat surprise come Feb-May (?). Reliable seeds would probably work too (altho I've had terrible with seeds). I'm also hoping to find some hardier evergreen plants, preferably fall or early-winter bloomers, that we could layer over the bulbs so the kids have something to watch over the next few months. The plants needn't be anything fancy (altho we'd be happy to get those too, hehe); familiar 'happy' flowers (daffodils, tulips, crocus', sunflowers, etc) would be just as exciting to our little first-time gardeners as ornate cultivars.

Seeing as how many of you eager forum-cruisers probably have seeds, seedlings, unwanted plants, and bulbs leftover from the summer, I was hoping I could solicit a few donations from kind souls out there. I'd be happy to send you photos of the kids toiling over their pots & standing proudly next their successful 'gardens'. If that's not enough of a trade, I'd be happy to give you some seeds &/or young seedlings of foxgloves, yellow & orange poppies (what we wrongly call 'California poppies'), geraniums geraniums geraniums, or anything else I can scrounge up from the garden en mass.

I live on the west side of Vancouver (near Kits) and am happy to pick up donations within Vanc-proper (incl east Van), and the nearby edges of Richmond & the north shore. Given the exorbitant price of gas these days, I'd rather not bus & can't afford to drive any further afield than that, esp for a handful of free seeds ;)

We'd all be very grateful for anything you could offer.
Thank you very very much!

 

I've got Galanthus to share (snow drops). They've reproduced themselves to the point where I've got too many, and I've been planning to remove some from the garden.

I live in East Van near Franklin School and work on the north shore.