The wood poppy brings a beautiful yellow flower to the woodland garden in the spring and early summer. It likes partial sun to shade conditions. It is not native to Cape Cod, or New England for that matter, but it is a “neighbor” native to eastern states from Ontario down to Alabama and Georgia. It […]
Archive for the ‘Flora’ Category
Stylophorum diphyllum (wood poppy)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio, Tips on May 9, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Viola sororia (woolly blue violet)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Plant bio, Recipe, Tips on May 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This native violet has taken over one area of my yard almost exclusively, and is spreading into the lawn. I don’t mind, but if you’re a gardener that needs to be in control, I can see issues developing between you and Viola sororia. Woolly blue violet rhizomes can grow quickly, and the many flowers produce […]
Aquilegia canadensis (wild columbine)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on May 2, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
If you want hummingbirds in your yard and you don’t want to deal with a fussy plant, then wild columbine is right for you. I have these plants all over the yard, in all sorts of conditions – shade, partial shade, moist soil, dry soil, and they are thriving and flowering like there is no […]
Trillium flexipes (bent trillium)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Plant bio, Recipe on May 1, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This is the first year I have trillium blooming in the woodland garden. I bought some plants from the New England Wild Flower Society and integrated them among the ferns and wild ginger. Right now, bent trillium (Trillium flexipes) is showing off its white flowers. Woodland gardens don’t come into their own without trillium present, […]
Uvularia sessilifolia (sessile bellwort)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Plant bio on April 30, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Synonym: Wild oats, Merrybells This member of the Liliaceae family does quite well in the woodland garden, as it likes areas with deep leaf mould and light to high shade. The leaves have been pushing up since early April, and the first flower showed today, on April 30. The lone flower did not even wait […]
The fragility of it all
Posted in Flora, Rants & Raves on April 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Just yesterday there was the euphoria of seeing the twinleaf bloom in my yard, for the fist time. I only had a few minutes, as I had come home later than usual and the light was fleeting fast. The pictures could be taken tomorrow, I thought. Alas, it is not to be. The twinleaf is […]
Jeffersonia diphylla (twinleaf)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio, Tips on April 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Another pleasant surprise: My twinleaf is blooming! Not only was I sceptical about that particular prospect (after all, the plant had not bloomed in two years, maybe due to soil conditions), I was also thoroughly thrown by the speed. The plants had some leaves yesterday. 24 hours later, after a warmish spring day, a long […]
Matteuccia struthiopteris (ostrich fern)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Plant bio on April 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This rather tall (3 to 5 feet) fern grows in symmetrical vase-like clumps. The ostrich fern likes it moist, and can be found natively on riverbanks and sandbars all over the northern hemisphere (North America, Northern Asia, and Northern Europe). Matteuccia struthiopteris has two kinds of fronds: The tall vertical fronds that resemble ostrich feathers […]
Asarum canadense (wild ginger)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio, Tips on April 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
When the wild ginger broke through the soil, a few weeks back, I was not quite sure what to make of it – the pale almost radiant green protrusions looked like folded handkerchiefs more than leaves, and only later did it dawn on me that this was Asarum canadense. The plant is found in the […]
Mertensia virginica (virginia bluebells)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on April 25, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Synonym: virginia cowslip, lungwort oysterleaf While they are not yet in full bloom, Virginia bluebells are a notable presence in my woodland garden, and their leaves were one of the first to break through the soil a few short weeks ago. This member of the Boraginaceae family is a new addition to my woodland garden. […]