Math blooms in North Carolina.

Back in 2002, the plot of weed-choked, sandy land outside Kathy Lineberger's third-grade classroom didn't look very promising--and neither did her students' waning interest in math. But this third-grade teacher at Marvin Ward Elementary School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, had the seeds for a plan.

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Today, Lineberger's "math garden" is brimming with daffodils and tulips, as students armed with rulers and notebooks measure stems, calculate budgets, and plot perimeters around the flower beds. Test scores are up, and the growing garden is an inspiration to the school.

Lineberger and her students used basic math to plan the garden, including how to calculate the number of cups of water needed to grow the plants. "I'd ask them, 'How many cups in a gallon?' 'How many gallons for this plot of land?'" says Lineberger.

Several grants, including one from NCTM and Time/Toyota, have enabled Lineberger to expand the garden's borders: the school now boasts a peace pavilion and cherry dogwood trees, and students are eager to further beautify their living classroom.

"When I write in my math journal [inside], it's just an idea," says student Elisabeth Marshall. "But out in the garden there are real flowers and I can see what I'm doing. It's a great opportunity to garden and do math at the same time!"