Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Wildflower Wednesday!

I missed last month's Wildflower Wednesday, hosted by Gail, and wow, what changes have taken place since January!  Spring is here, and I have been working to cut back last year's growth on plants, and taking the stems to piles I have across the street, just in case there are insects in them.  I need to get more of the leaves raked, but want to leave a few.  I also have a nice sized pile of leaves across the street for my grandchildren to jump on.

Speaking of grandchildren, the boys, 5 and 9 have not been prone to pick and eat the plants, but our granddaughter, who will be 3 in June, and is here four days a week, has been picking things, and so far, I have been quick enough not to let her swallow the thing or two she has gotten to her mouth.  I am needing to do more research to find out which plants are poisonous.  I have hoed out all of the larkspur that has come up so far in the vegetable, except for one plant.  That, she did almost get into her mouth the other day.  Here is a link I have found so far: https://www.plants.usda.gov/java/noxiousDriver


Can you see the purple in all of the brown?


I found out that some pasque flowers are native to our area, and some are not.  I am not sure, which are which, but am thinking it is the lighter ones to the left of the prairie phlox in the cage to protect the foliage from rabbits.  The close up of the deep purple clump is out of order, at the end of the post.


I didn't see this little bloomer until I looked at the photos!  It may be rue anemone.


I am excited for a new season, and to see more and more plants coming up, blooming, and seeing the pollinators on them!



There are blooms in this photo.  I'll show them closer in the next one.


I'm not sure what the little seedling is in the middle of the pasqueflower blooms.


Here is the close up of the prettiest clump of pasqueflowers.


Prairie Smoke Geums are one of my favorites.


I look forward to seeing what wildflowers others post about, and what all we will have for next month's Wildflower Wednesday. 

Added after first posting:  Last night, when I took Ruby to her mom, I asked her if she remembers picking raspberries from the garden and eating them last summer.  She said she did, and they were, "So good, so yummy!"  I asked if she remembers picking kale and eating it, and she said she did.  She also remembered watching the bees and butterflies.  I told her some of the plants are good to eat, but some are not, and she needs to only eat things I say it is OK to eat.  I hope that helped, and that she will follow those directions, since she does not always follow what I say, especially when it is time to put shoes on or change clothes.  ;-)

13 comments:

  1. Hi Sue, You have so much coming up! I love the Geum and Pasque flowers. There's something so special about seeing a flash of color and discovering new growth. Happy Gardening!

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    1. Yes, Sally, it is an exciting time of year! It is fun seeing what our friends from the south have coming up and blooming, too. Soon, we will be having lots of blooms as well!

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  2. Hi Sue!

    It's good to see the prairie smoke geum and the pasqueflowers side by side. For some reason, I have a tendency to get those 2 mixed up sometimes.

    Ruby is with you 4 days a week! Wow. Yet you still manage to get so much writing and gardening done. I am very impressed. We have Connor and Grayson for 5 days a week (and sometimes a bit on weekends). Since our yard is not fenced and we live on a lake, we have taken to watching them over at their house recently.... Even with 2 of us, it's definitely cutting into my gardening and blogging time, although I do love being an integral part of their lives as they grow and change. Connor's favorite activity recently is grabbing handfuls of leaves and pulling them off the shrubs. Groan. Hopefully this phase will pass rapidly!

    Inspired by this post, I am going to try to get photos and a Wildflower Wednesday post out, too, but it will almost assuredly be Thursday before I get to it! LOL! Enjoy your spring!

    Cynthia

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    1. LOL, Cynthia, my house is a mess much of the time. I actually spend too much time on Facebook, and am trying to wean myself off it some. I seem to be pretty much limiting my blog posts to Wildflower Wednesday, but maybe I'll get more in later in the season.

      When I worked as a paraeducator, I had my summers off, so having Ruby four days a week means I "work" more hours a year than I used to. It is an adjustment not having my summers off, but we have lots of fun. How old are your grandsons now?

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  3. Hello Sue!
    I just discovered your post on Wildflower Wednesday and I am enjoying your site.
    I too had trouble when my boys were small with them eating plants, bugs, dirt, anything they could find. They were fed well but that did not matter, they still had to pop things in their mouths. I studied every plant in my yard to find out what was poisonous. If it only made them throw-up and the plant had deep roots, it stayed. If it was deadly, it went. I had poison control's phone number written in black magic marker on the wall over the phone (landline, I am telling my age). Friends would laugh when they saw it, I did not laugh. I had the number memorized.
    Your grandchildren are blessed to have you sharing your garden with them.
    Jeannie
    GetMeToTheCountry.Blogspot.com

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    1. Hi Jeannie, nice to meet you! I have actually called poison control twice. Ruby was in her sandbox, and grabbed a weed that was growing under the fence between ours and the neighbor's yard, and popped the berries into her mouth. I'm thinking it was ground cherry. The gal was very nice and told me she should be fine with the amount she may have swallowed. She said what to watch for just in case, but there was no need for her to be seen by a doctor. I'm not remembering what it was the first time.

      Do you remember what plants you ended up pulling out? We still use our land line, by the way. We live in the house my husband grew up in, and it has the same phone number it always did. Ruby will be here soon, but I plan on getting your blog visited today or tomorrow.

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    2. I learned something like hydrangea is poisonous but you have to eat quite a bit to hurt you. Mine (at my old house) had DEEP ROOTS and was impossible to dig up so I left it. I figured if they would fight me eating greens at dinner, they would not eat enough of it to hurt them. If they vomited, lesson learned. I did have something in the nightshade family, maybe belladona??? I don't remember but it was drop dead poisonous. It did not even go in the compost pile but straight to the trash can.

      I also had been given castor beans but had never planted them so they were trashed.

      Oh, and we had a holly bush that I loved and wanted to use as winter decorations. Nope. It was trashed.

      My Mom still has her landline and the original 50 year old rotary phone that works. Young children today do not know how to use it! They try to punch the dial...then we laugh.

      I suppose since I am back on your site I should look around a little bit more...instead of cooking dinner right now...shame on me.

      Jeannie
      GetMeToTheCountry.Blogspot.com

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  4. I was going to start by saying I enjoyed the Pasque Flowers in your wallpaper background. And then I noticed that they were the focus of the post. They're wonderful. Prairie Smoke is one of my favorites, too. I don't have enough sun for them in my own garden, but it's so fun to come across them at the Arboretum or in the wild.

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  5. Wonderful to see new Spring flowers!
    Have a great day!

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  6. Shoot, I never did find myself some pasque flowers! I just love when I see them on your blog.

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  7. Love seeing your beautiful plants break through the leaves this spring. I don't have to worry about poisonous plants anymore. Our grands are wayyyy past that age.

    Hope spring is a beautiful one for you.

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  8. So nice to see color popping up in the garden this time of year, isn't it? Love those Prairie Smoke Geum! I really need to try planting some again, but I will be sure to mark them carefully so I don't dig them out, thinking they are weeds, as I did last time:(

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  9. The Pasque Flowers are beautiful, I'm going to see if I can get some from Prairie Nursery. Your garden is looking pretty similar to mine!

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