Giveaway – Seeing Flowers: Discover the Hidden Life of Flowers

  • Post published:10/25/2013
  • Post comments:2 Comments

Seeing Flowers: Discover the Hidden Life of Flowers with amazing photographs by Robert Llewellyn and charming essays by Teri Dunn Chace, is a beautiful companion to the stunning Seeing Trees: Discover the Extraordinary Secrets of Everyday Trees  which also features Robert Llewellyn's unique photographic process.  The book, and a gorgeous 16 x 24 gallery quality print to celebrate the release of this book by Timber Press is being given away to some flower lover.  All you have to do is click…

Chicory – Roadside Plant in Country and City

I remember chicory as a common flower of vacant lots and streetside  hellstrips of my urban childhood. It seems odd to me that I see it so rarely now that I live in the country where my town  has lots of dirt roads, and where even the paved roads are edged by sandy soil and woodlands or fields. I've always loved the  blue flowers of chicory, and I did know that the roots were sometimes dried and ground and…

Impatiens, Jewelweed, Touch-Me-Not and What I Have Learned

  • Post published:10/21/2013
  • Post comments:6 Comments

Jewelweed is one of the plants I named as a child. I was fascinated by how easy it was to rip out, although it never grew anywhere that required weeding. Nowadays, I do have places that require I pull it out, but I am happy to find it growing along my roadside. I learned that the juice of its succulent stems can relieve skin irritation from bug bites, nettle stings, and even poison ivy if it is rubbed…

Wildflower or Weed – An Roadside Bouquet

  • Post published:09/10/2013
  • Post comments:3 Comments

Definitely a weed! And invasive. But very pretty. Definitely a wildflower, in spite of the name. I think it is a white aster. My ID skills are nil. I think. For more Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.  

Goldenrod or Ragweed?

  • Post published:09/09/2013
  • Post comments:8 Comments

In August goldenrod fills the fields surrounding our house. It is more than time to get the fields mowed, but for the moment I am enjoying the sunniness of the various types of goldenrod. Therefore, I was taken aback by someone who told me I did not  have fields of goldenrod, but with a glare, told me I had fields of ragweed. I am more than willing to doubt myself, so I did not protest. However, it seemed…

Queen Anne’s Lace – Fit for Any Royalty

  • Post published:07/19/2013
  • Post comments:0 Comments

Queen Anne's Lace, Daucus carota was one of the first flowers I could name. I did not know it was also  called wild carrot, but that name is understandable if you pull up some of the root and inhale that carrot-y fragrance. Who was Queen Anne? Probably, she was  Queen Anne (1665-1714) who ruled Great Britain for 12 years. The tiny red flower in the center of the umbel is considered to be a drop of blood when Queen Anne…

Honey Fesitval at Warm Colors Apiary – September 15

  • Post published:09/13/2012
  • Post comments:0 Comments

Warm Colors Apiary will once again hold its annual "Honey Festival". Warm Colors has been hosting the Honey Festival for more than twelve years. The festival is a celebration of the Honeybee and our native pollinators. It is an opportunity to recognize the many contributions beekeepers, and their bees, make to agriculture and the health of our environment. Bonita and Dan Conlon open their eighty-acre apiary to the public to enjoy its beauty and explore its wildlife habitat.…

September Gold

  • Post published:09/07/2012
  • Post comments:3 Comments

September gold fills my garden at this time of the year. I have whole fields of goldenrod. It's a good thing that goldenrod is not responsible for allergies. "One of the most colorful plants we see blooming in roadside ditches and gardens in late summer is goldenrod (Solidago sp.). Hay fever symptoms seem to be worse when it is in bloom so it often accused of causing hay fever. One look at goldenrod and a little logical thinking…

Planting the Wild Garden by Kathryn Galbraith

  • Post published:09/05/2012
  • Post comments:0 Comments

My friend Kathryn O. Galbraith was recently presented with a Growing Good Kids 2012 award from the American Horticultural Society for Excellence in Children's Literature. This book, beautifully illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin depicts the myriad of ways that we all, people, birds, and animals as well as the wind and the rain plant the beautiful and fruitful gardens that grow along the roadsides, riversides and meadows. I wrote about Kathryn and her book when it first came…

Weeds or Wildflowers?

  • Post published:06/13/2012
  • Post comments:4 Comments

Weeds or wildflowers? What do you think? For more wordlessness this Wednesday click here.