Don't dewberries have a lot of close pickers along the stems?
Native Plants found in the Wild part 2
I'm still trying to learn the difference between blackberries and dewberries; doesn't one of them ripen faster than the other? I'm pretty sure I have both here and think the dewberries flowered first and they are smaller plants than the blackberry.
We had some poke this spring, young leaves that I boiled and cooked with pig-fat which is how all of the recipes I could find online said to prepare it. Eating it reminded me of when I was a child and my mom would serve spinach, which was WAY overcooked. It made me wonder if it is really necessary to boil the poke three times, changing the water to remove toxins or if that is just how they cooked everything back then.....?? of course it tasted pretty good cooked in bacon lard, onions and tomatoes!
Here is some wild dog rose, rosa canina blooming.
I put these two fleabane plants together where they would not get mowed. They seem to be doing well.
Dame's rocket is a pretty nasty pest in these parts. I pull it up whenever I see it. Shockingly, a lot of wildflower seed mixes contain it, though.
In the woodland garden right now, I've got squirrel corn, Jack in the pulpit, doll's eyes, Labrador violet, early meadow rue, eastern globeflower, great Solomon's seal, and wild ginger blooming. Earlier in the season hepatica & bloodroot did their thing. In the local forests (those that aren't completely degraded by garlic mustard & other pests), the white & red trilliums are also abloom.
Ran across this yellow flower with a brownish center today. I have no idea what it is yet! The flowers droop facing the ground and then there is this lantern also growing on the plant. Very interesting.
that last pic has a glare....sorry.
Here's the flower's face.
It's a ground cherry in the genus physalis. Don't ask me which species...I get confused about that. Anyway the cultivated tomatillo is related to the ground cherries growing wild.
I bought ground cherry seeds from Baker Creek seeds. I have planted them twice and still don't have any germinated. GRRR
Well, I didn't plant these.......but was considering moving them closer to my garden area? They will probably be deer food otherwise. I will happily try and collect some of the seeds. Maybe wild seeds will be more successful for you CajuninKy.
I would so much appreciate that. You are tops!
I haven't located the ID for this pretty thing....located in the sandy soils of east Texas.
More of the sandy soil wildflowers I saw on the way back from a RU.
Linda, it is Basil Beebalm, Monarda clinopodioides, I took that picture at Papy Elkins Park, but they mowed them all down and they are going to drill for gas there, so the place is basically gone. that was one lucky find indeed.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/152050/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/151316/
http://wildflower.org/gallery/result.php?id_image=8843
Josephine.
Thanks, Josephine! I thought I had seen that one before, then couldn't find it in my books. So cute...I'd be so happy if I could have a piece of land that was half sandy soil and half Hill Country soil...that would be the best of both worlds. But it probably won't grow here. I do have some of those Red Gaillardias from the second pic, they managed to survive in my yard for years, with soil amended with some sand. BTW, don't they protect parks against that kind of destruction?
This message was edited May 15, 2009 11:57 AM
I guess the city sold the rights to the gas company, lots of drilling going on around here, so they mowed it all down.
This is how it used to look
The field of Blackeyed Susan and Monarda.
And a field of Prairie Pinks.
Progress???? Not so much, I'm thinking.
The fields look desolate now. I guess we need the gas energy, but it comes at a high price.
This why it is so important for us to save and preserve as many as these plants as possible, this place is a small piece of wild land in the middle of the city, and it is a shame to destroy it.
They say that after the drilling is over and things have a chance to grow again a lot of it will be come back, I hope so.
Josephine.
Wow, I'm so far behind you guys in terms of weather - I'm still looking at wildflowers (and brambles here are barely blooming, let alone having any fruit!).
Wild sarsaparilla is beginning to bloom, and here it is in it's natural habitat with some fern.
Here are one of their flowers about to bloom. You have pull back the leaves in order to see the flowers because they are underneath (or squat down!).
I was able to get this ID'd in the ID forum: Polygala paucifolia. Such a tiny thing, but so cute!
Those are adorable indeed.
Is that wild sarsaparilla used in making the famous cowboy drink?
That is very neet!
*I think the roots were boiled and made into a "rootbeer" drink.
Wild sarsaparilla has been considered a very useful herb and is very sustainable as a food source.
Worth the wait up there in Vermont...I have heard it is so amazingly beautiful up there in the summer and fall!
Maximillian Sunflower, along the road in Texas. Used to be a lot more along that road, but the drought (now fading) and more frequent mowing are making them decrease.
Very pretty Linda, ours with the water are about 7 feet tall.
I really like the Maximillian sunflower! I saw some growing down my county road here too.
The Goldenrod(s) are another fall flower that's pretty.
Solidago growing along with croton capitatus, and not sure what the daisy is.
Wow, those are big beautiful goldenrod! Mine are smaller. I learned one thing about Maximillian Sunflower...if given good soil and enough watering in your yard, it kind of just gets way too big. So I had to move a big bunch of it to a place it wouldn't have it so good....was THAT a project! Not an easy species to move. You have to get every bit of it, kept finding more parts I'd missed. The butterflies and other insects just love those fall bloomers. Can't believe it's going to be hot today!
Some of the tall goldenrod plants get to 10ft tall. These are growing in "the pasture", an area that I have so far convinced my dh not to mow. lol he did mow a path through the area this summer, so that I can walk around. He tries. I think he was tired of hearing me wine about him cutting down the wildflowers. Whatever works I say. (so I bit my tongue when I discovered he had cut down the blanketflowers that were getting ready to bloom while making my nice path)
These are probably some sort of asters that are also starting to take off.
It's muggy here, high of 75. Everything is saturated and ponding water is making the mosquitos very happy.
Those flowers are all so beautiful, I love them all.
High of 75?? HAHAHAHA!! It has been around 40 here. OK, that's just depressing (yes, it seems early to me, which is quite unfortunate since I haven't taken the pump out of the pond yet...that's going to be REAL cold).
Pretty flowers...enjoy them for those of us whose season is over. sniff sniff