Not many other plants say “hello summer” the way butterfly weed does – there is no understating the glowing orange flowers which attract human smiles as well as butterflies (i.e. Monarchs) and assorted other critters. I purchased a few plants from Mahoney’s on the cape, and put them in average soil in as much full […]
Archive for the ‘Plant bio’ Category
Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio on July 3, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on July 3, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The lady fern is native to all of North America and Eurasia, and prefers semi-shaded deciduous forests. This fern seems to move – the old rhizomes will die off and fresh fern growth will appear elsewhere. Lady fern has some food value to wildlife – out west Grizzly bears eat this fern. Here on Cape […]
Vitas labrusca (fox grape vine)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on July 3, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Whether Vinland was located in Newfoundland, on present day Cape Cod, or somewhere inbetween, there is no dispute that the Norsemen were here long before Columbus re-discovered America. And I am pretty sure they named their discovery after the fox grape vine. This was repeated when Bartholomew Gosnold named the island of Martha’s Vineyard. This […]
Lonerica sempervirens (coral honeysuckle)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio on June 30, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This beautiful vine is finally blooming, 2 years after having been planted. Curiously, the plant in the semi-shade is erupting into flowers before the coral honeysuckle on the south side of the house, but that one is not far behind. It may have been a matter of maturity. Lonerica sempervirens is a good climber that […]
Sisyrinchium augustifolium (stout blue eyed grass)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio on June 29, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
All members of this genus of plants of the Iris family are native to the new world. Sisyrinchium augustifolium is a common species in the eastern United States. In this region there are 6 species of blue eyed grass alone – other eastern species of blue eyed grass are Sisyrinchium montanum and Sisyrinchium atlanticum. The […]
Thermopsis villosa (carolina lupine)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio, Tips on June 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This plant was a total surprise addition to my garden. I had some Chelone glabra delivered last fall for a late fall planting, and somehow or other this plant made it into the mix. Probably the result of a pre-dawn or pre-coffee loading of the delivery truck. The plant is almost 5 feet tall and […]
Tradescantia virginiana (virginia spiderwort)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Interesting, Plant bio, Tips on June 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This species of spiderwort is also fairly common in the eastern US, including Massachusetts. I can tell it apart from Tradescantia ohiensis because I acquired virginia spiderwort from a plant center with purple-pink, rather than blue flowers. T. ohiensis also has a blue tint on the stems. However, you can’t rely just on color – […]
Silene virginica (fire pink)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio on June 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Fire pink is native to a wide area in eastern North America, from southern Ontario through western New York state all the way down to the Gulf states. It is not natively present in New England, but this is too beautiful a flower not to add to the Cape Cod garden. The brilliantly red flowers […]
Potentilla tridentata (three-toothed cinquefoil)
Posted in Flora, Plant bio, Tips on June 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Also known as, and “potentially” re-classified as Sibbaldiopsis tridentata, this species of cinquefoil grows wild over most of the Northern Hemisphere, including the high arctic regions (i.e. Greenland). Talk about being resilient – the plant can withstand temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit, while on the other side of the spectrum it tolerates drought […]
Osmunda regalis (royal fern)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on June 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The royal fern prefers moist to wet soils in partial to full shade. It also likes rich, humusy, acidic soils, but adapts to less perfect conditions, such as my woodland garden. The soil there is definitely more sandy, but over time the leaves from the overhead canopy, with some assistance from bacteria and worms, will […]