We go through a lot of celery. That’s nearly 2 bunches a week. It goes in salads, soups, stews… the occasional ants on a log…and sometimes, just to munch. I mean, it’s like negative calories. The amount of jaw muscle work and digestive hoo haas going on far over-reach the measly 7 calories per stalk. […]
Wildflower Walkabout ~ Venus’ Looking Glass
Say hello to Triodanis perfoliata, Clasping Bellwort, or Venus’ Looking Glass. A wild member of the Campanula family which contains the more cultivated Bellflower. A mere 18″ tall, the Looking Glass is an extremely showy native with single stems tilting in the breeze adorned with clasping, shell-shaped leaves and a violet 5-petaled flower emerging from the center […]
Garden Project 2015 ~ Ebb & Flow
I’m taking a step back from the fervent gardening of the past. As with most living things, gardens need to grow, change, and evolve. And while I’ve had immeasurable enjoyment experimenting with the hay bales, the potato cages and hanging beds, and all the different varieties of vegetables here at Turtle Creek, I’ve decided it’s time […]
Wildflower Walk-about ~ Ranunculus acris
Say hello to Ranunculus Acris, or Meadow Buttercup. Typically, if an odd leaf sprout shows up on the grounds here at the cottage, I’ll mark it and allow it to mature. Sometimes you get a horrible, horrible thing (reference the Creeping Charlie), but more times than not I get rewarded with something pretty. I did just […]
The Weekly Wildflower ~ American Beauty Berry
Say hello to Callicarpa… otherwise known as American Beauty Berry or French Mulberry. She’s a deciduous woody shrub in the Dead Nettle, or (Lamiaceae) family. Blooming in Early summer with rather non-descriptive flowers, the Beauty Berry show begins with – what else – the berries. Beginning in Late September, the berries begin to swell and […]
The Weekly Wildflower ~ MistFlower
Several years ago, I found a single blue tufted flower growing in the fold on the property – just at the point where the dry creek sneaks under the road before continuing on it’s way through the neighborhood. I took it and poked it into the front tiered planting bed to see if it would reseed. […]
The Weekly Wildflower ~ The “Non” Flowers
The obligatory disclaimer: I make no assertions nor assumptions that any of the fungi shown here are edible. I’m not a mycologist. The general rule of thumb when observing any wild flora and fungi is: “When in doubt – consider it poisonous.” While most people wouldn’t consider Mushrooms and Toadstools flowers, in fact they really are. […]
“Be vewy, vewy, quiet… i’m hunting wabbits.”
There’s been a bit of a vanishing act happening in the garden as of late. Where there was once a beautiful Balloon Flower in this pot… … there’s now this. Where I once had a beaming stand of native Asters along the walkway backdropping the lavender and thyme… The center stand is no longer there… […]
Weekly Wildflower – Euonymous Americana
Say hello to Euonymous americana, or American Strawberry Bush / Burstin Hearts / Wahoo. Although, Jane swears it’s called a Cat’s Paw. A member of the bittersweet family, the strawberry bush likes to inhabit wetter areas on the edge of wooded groves – or as in my case, the drainage runoff area just off the neighborhood road […]
Weekly Wildflower ~ Wild Lady’s Earrings
Taking my usual “post-downpour” drive down Clay Creek Falls Road to see the waterfall in supreme mountain action, I came across these dotting the roadside amongst the beds of woodland ferns Say hello to Impatiens Capensis – Wild Lady’s Earrings… or Jewelweed… or Wild Touch Me Nots… she’s not picky. A wild variety of the Impatiens […]