Swirl

This time of year it seems like the Morning Glory vines that nobody planted are growing, oh, like a foot a minute. 

Anticipation

I'm waiting on the Anemones, but in love with the beauty of the buds at the same time. Win/win.

Grass Flowers: Karl Foerster Feather Reed mid-June

Well, I dig this grass, but didn't (and still don't) know much about the plantsman it is named after. A quick search tells me he was an east German man who loved plants and photography. And now, of course, I want to know some more.

Free Lunch! Mulberries and Juneberries For Those in the Know

Yes Virginia there really is free lunch. Or at least free snacks. However if I tell you where I found these mulberries and Juneberries, well then I would have to kill you. Those are the foraging rules I think and I don't make the rules, I just follow them!

Spring's Grace Followed Winter's Grace

You will find grace in the garden.  And likely, I'd wager, even in the smallest patches (or pots) of Earth someone decides to dedicate some time to tending.

 (These are some pictures of a yard Madonna with plants I have passed in two seasons so far this year. )

Cactus Buds in the Bright Sun

I don't think it's ideal to take pictures in the bright afternoon sun like this, but I couldn't resist giving it a whirl these sweet fat buds about to bust open.

Fallen Flowers: Catalpa

In the gutter this morning, some fallen flowers from the Northern Catalpa.

Juneberry

I'd tell you where I spied these nearly ripe Juneberries, but then I might have to kill you. 😜

A What's Blooming Now Bouquet of Roadside Weeds

I still think about bouquets and pay attention to what's blooming in the moment, even if it's only the roadside weeds.

Kousa (Kaleidoscope) Dogwood

Not sure if it was the light or the sunglasses, but when I passed this Kousa Dogwood tree, it looked to me like the petals, that aren't really petals but bracts, were white paper cut-outs arranged on the tree like flowers. When I got close though, like in the picture above, sure enough they were flowers.

Peony Late May Morning Weather Report

Yet again this May, the  day started out wet and gray.

Sweet-looking, Sweet- smelling Thing

It's a shame I guess that this sweet looking and sweet smelling flowery thing is so successful that it's considered to be an invasive in some parts while just fast growing lumber in others.

Opuntia humifusa! I still say it like I mean it and am making an important point!

Opuntia! ☝ I still say it like I mean it and am making an important point!  Unfortunately in reality I am still mispronouncing it. I guess studying the botanical name for that ID test at Brooklyn Botanic while mispronouncing it (and pointing) really imprinted that mistake pretty deep in my mind. I think I was trying to associate pointy (like pointy cactus) with Opuntia, so I ended up with the hard t sound stuck in my mind instead of that crunchy, Cha Cha Cha punch sound, which is the correct pronunciation. 

Black Locust Foraging Time

Some people, I guess, would look at these pictures and immediately think, "pancakes".  I imagine foraging might make you think about what it might have been like to live long enough ago that most of your thoughts upon seeing things were "hhhm, I wonder if I could make that breakfast".

It smelled dreamy in the sensory garden

It smelled dreamy in the sensory garden at Hofstra so I lingered for a little bit. Mission accomplished for its designer.

Butterfly Season Begins

Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

It's official. Butterfly season 2018 has begun for me with a glimpse of some yellow on yellow to chase for a moment on this perfectly sunny day which followed a week of mostly rain. Old timey butterfly fact of the day: Wikipedia says the first known drawing of a North American butterfly was this species.

Irises in May, 1890 and Today

Not so long before his death, Van Gogh made that famous painting of Irises in May that once sold for a mere 53 million bucks and also this still life with an Iris bouquet.

It didn't cost me a dime to stroll past some blooming irises and buds this spring. Cheap thrills!

Buds and Blooms From Around the Block

Someone is waiting on poppies and it looks like someone else let a kale or another brassica vegetable overwinter and flower.

Rainy Sunday Pinks and Painted Leaves

I guess if it's going to be a grey and rainy Sunday in May, some sweet pinks catching rain drops and leaves which look like they were painted by hand quite possibly just to delight me ain't too shabby.  

Some Pitstops This Week

In front of some new leaves.

At the lineup. Whodunnit?

Discovering the Red Buckeye blooming at dusk.

For color.