-
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
Meta
Category Archives: leaves
Dandelion: Easy to Grow
All winter and spring I try and try to get plants to grow. I pamper cranky houseplants, sprinkle seeds into pots and encourage them to grow into seedlings. I cheer for each crocus that pokes up through the snow, celebrate each brave hint of green, the first … Continue reading
Posted in adaptations, edible, flowers, leaves, plant parts, seeds, spring
Tagged dandelion greens, dandelions
6 Comments
Garlic Mustard: The Time is Ripe
Time to get rid of it. Garlic mustard. Sounds tasty, doesn’t it? It’s a pretty little wildflower with lovely white blossoms. The leaves have an attractively scalloped edge, and a savory garlic taste, a fantastic addition to salads, quiche, and … Continue reading
Posted in edible, environment, leaves, plant parts, seeds, spring, Uncategorized
Tagged garlic mustard, non-native plants. invasive plants
4 Comments
All Roads Lead to Dandelions
No matter where you go these days, it seems there’s a dandelion at your feet–or under your feet. The beginning of May is when dandelions run riot. This is a cobbled pathway in Central Park, New York City. The dandelions don’t … Continue reading
Posted in adaptations, edible, flowers, leaves, plant parts, spring
Tagged dandelion roots
2 Comments
Violet: A Spark of the Divine
The cathedral of St. John the Divine. This is the chapter house, a smaller building next to the immense cathedral, one of the largest in the world. It’s a magnificent building, like a medieval fortress. But nature manages to sneak … Continue reading
Ramps: Spring Vegetable
Ramps. A strange name for a plant. It’s a pretty spring wildflower, with flat green leaves. I’ve seen them sprouting in earliest spring, popping out of the dried leaves on the forest floor along with trout lilies, anemones, and hepatica. Wild leeks … Continue reading
Cinnamon Fern: Summer Plumes
Cinnamon Fern. Osmundastrum cinnamomeum. (At least that’s the Latin name as of the moment, they seem to keep on changing names and reclassifying plants more often than I change my socks.) Many thanks to Frank Knight for this lovely photo–what a nice … Continue reading
Thistle: No More Waiting
Last December, I was at the Beacon train station, and I noticed a really magnificent specimen of a thistle. It was growing, still green in December, thriving among the gravel so carefully placed to keep weeds down (see Thistle: Waiting for the … Continue reading
Posted in adaptations, leaves, plant parts, spring, Uncategorized, winter
Tagged thistles
Leave a comment
Yew: Life and Death at the Mall
Sears department store is better known for tractors and washing machines than for floral arrangements. The landscaping around the Sears in Colonie Center Mall, Colonie, NY, is pretty sparse. Actually, once you get up close to these plump round balls of bushes, the … Continue reading
Posted in leaves, plant parts, seeds, Uncategorized
Tagged european yew, poison plants, yew
4 Comments
Sensitive Plant: Am I Bothering You?
A Sri Lankan byway. Alongside the curb is a small roadside weed, very easy to miss. It has little lacy leaves and a small purple pom-pom of a flower. Pretty but not remarkable. But it’s one of the most incredible plants … Continue reading
Unmowed 