#garden vetch

[textless]

[bluebelly-sun-serpentine]

[ninevehsage]

Bird vetch (Hiirenvirna)

Photograph from June 2024

[thebotanicalarcade]

n997_w1150 by Biodiversity Heritage Library Via Flickr: Phytanthoza iconographia, sive, Conspectus aliquot millium. Sumptibus imprimebatur Ratisbonae [Regensburg] :Per Hieronymum Lentzium,1737-1745.. biodiversitylibrary.org/page/294965

[msbarrows]

Still playing around with the camera settings on my phone when I go for walks (this was #64). Took a surprisingly nice photo of a sign and some tufted vetch (with bonus bumblebee) at the top of the many flights of stairs down to the old high school (now grade school) in the bottom of what was once a gravel pit. I like the depth of field the portrait mode gives, it's much more attractive than the trying-to-be-sharp-everywhere of the regular photo mode.

Still failing to get the hang of the macro setting, even when I'm the right distance I get poor results. This was the best I managed out of multiple attempts along my route:

[reddirttown]

Language of Flowers: Vetch

In the language of flowers, the flower for today, August 13, is Vetch, which signifies shyness. Vicia orobus. Image from Wikipedia. Vicia sativa, known as the common Vetch, garden Vetch, tare, or simply Vetch, is a nitrogen-fixing leguminous plant in the family Fabaceae. ‘Vicia’ means ‘binder’ in Latin; this was the name used by Pliny for Vetch. Vetch is also referenced by Horace in his account…

[gr33nguys]

Vetch and pea in bloom.

[mothmiso]

Flowers (2) (3) (4) by Oksana Gracheva

[astilbee]

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

My Garden Flowers Part 6

All photos mine, unedited.

In order of appearance:

151. Canada Ginger (Asarum canadense) Not a ginger; the root just tastes like it. Flowers are springtime only and you miss them entirely if you don't get close to the ground!

152. Ohio Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) Was able to get her by calling up one of the plant places I order from directly during the COVID years. Their usual boxsets weren't listed as available so I asked if they ever would be that year, as a repeat customer, and listed the plants of theirs that I'd like and they put it together for me! She's a morning flower only, but she's stunning.

153. Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia) One of my very first. Grassy green foliage and cute little light blue bell-shaped flowers.

154. Panicled Aster (Symphyotrichum lanceolatum) Well behaved for an aster. When she starts growing onto the sidewalk I ease her back into the bed and she stays.

155. Smallflower Columbine (Aquilegia brevistyla) You can eat these flowers too but she's not quite as profuse as her taller red cousin so I'll wait before trying one.

156. Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) Considered much more well-behaved behaved than her cousin the common milkweed, and therefore favoured in garden settings, I find she's not nearly as fragrant, but her flowers are stunning. In spite of her name she's quite drought tolerant. And while she doesn't spread by rhizome (well-behaved), she does seed prolifically. But like her common cousin, her young pods, young shoots, and flower clusters are edible cooked!

157. Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) She moves around. Died back in the area I initially planted her but has popped up in several places nearby and considerably further away. Her dried flowerheads still smell amazing after the winter if you give them a squeeze.

158. Wild Geranium (Geranium maculata) A beautiful plant from spring to fall. Her foliage is roundy in the early spring and then she has these wonderful pink flowers against the dark green of her leaves. After the flowers are done the foliage is still interesting, and then it turns red in the fall.

159. Sweet Corn (Zea mays saccharata rugosa) Not technically native to the area and can't survive the winter, but grown here long before colonization. She makes a rather handsome garden plant in my opinion.

160. Purple Poppymallow (Callirhoe involucrata) Just a strikingly beautiful groundcover for a dry area.

161. Smooth Rose (Rosa blanda) She doesn't bloom very often and suckers very slowly, but a non-aggressive rose is exactly the sort I need for property that isn't mine.

162. Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) Beloved of the bumblebees, and I like to use her in flavouring my pies.

163. Redroot Amaranth (Amaranthus retroflexa) Not pictured as I don't have pictures yet. Not sure if she reseeded this year. I rescued her from a fallow area and she has reseeded at least once, so we'll see.

164. Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) Not pictured as I don't have pictures yet. Also one I rescued from a fallow area. I don't know why so many people don't like purslane. She's a cute succulent groundcover in my opinion, and a nice snack too.

165. Crowfoot Violet (Viola pedata bicolor) Not pictured as I don't have pictures yet.

166. Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) The only one I planted without any known food use--it's poisonous--but purely because I saw a picture in David Attenborough's The Secret Life of Plants and always wanted one.

167. Wild Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) Beautiful flowers and tasty all around. What more could one want?

168. Field Thistle (Cirsium discolor) The parent of that field thistle, which appears to be dead in both halves, sadly, though her younger siblings are still alive. Her flowers are quite lovely and I do hope to see them in the garden next year if they don't get cut too.

169. Canada Milk Vetch (Astragalus canadensis) Interesting yellow-green flowers become deceptively inviting bean-looking fruits, but those don't have a known edible use. Other parts do, though.

170. Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium) I can't remember if she's named as such because she was used to treat snakebites back in the day or if her flowerhead kind of looks like snake's rattle. Anyway she's interesting.

171. Compass Plant (Silphium laciniata) Not pictured because she hasn't made a flowerstalk yet. Must be young. Her relative the cup plant has been flowering reliably every year.

172. Heath Aster (Symphyotrichum ericoides) Not pictured as I haven't got any pictures yet.

173. Rough Blazing Star (Liatris aspera) A very drought-tolerant blazing star species. Not quite as showy as dense blazing star but a nice tall plant for the back of a sunny garden.

174. Blanketflower (Gaillardia xgrandiflora) A hybrid with one parent native to here and the other out west. Not sure if she's fertile or not. Got her because I needed another plant for the minimum order and she looks nice enough not to be mistaken for a weed.

175. Graceful Cinquefoil (Potentilla gracilis) Flowering in her first year in the garden! She's hopefully going to form a groundcover in a relatively short period, over which her flowerstalks will sway in the breeze.

176. Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida) Glad I got pictures before the landlord cut her. (:

177. Wild Savoury (Clinopodium arkansana) Not pictured as I don't have pictures yet.

178. Small-Leaved Pussytoes (Antennaria parvifolia) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet.

179. Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium nigrescens) Not pictured as I haven't seen any flowers yet.

180. Red Elder (Sambucus pubens) Not pictured as she hasn't flowered yet.

[mesetacadre]

The collective farm, as we have seen in an earlier chapter, fits in admirably to the military organization; it already has its defense group, its labor battalions, its organization for caring for children and the weak. If the farm is in the immediate rear of the Red Army, its activities are those typified in the Ukrainian village “K.” Through its formerly quiet streets roll endless truckloads of fuel and ammunition bound for the front; in case of need, the collective farm’s machine shop offers minor repairs. Many of the farmers are now in the Army and are replaced by women. The remainder have rapidly harvested the crops and threshed more than half of them, taking them to the railroad for transport to the rear. During a brief lull on the front, fifty Red Army men came to assist in the reaping and threshing; they accounted for fifty acres of peas and forty acres of wheat before they had to go back to fight. Some forty of the farmers are working full time repairing roads for the Army. Gangs of girls and women, under the direction of Army sappers, dig trenches and camouflage them with foliage. This organized dovetailing of the activities of Army and people continues without a break if the Army is forced to retreat. Some of the civilians retreat with it as labor gangs. They destroy the village completely before they go. A detailed account of this “total destruction” was given by a village designated only as “X.” When the Germans approached, a group of young people entered the granary, loaded nine trucks, and sent them to the railway station camouflaged under green boughs. Four tons of barley and vetch, which could not be removed, were burned. The tractors plowed down and uprooted the beets. The milkmaids drove the cows through the maturing wheat and rye; they were followed by eighty girls and women with sickles and scythes who chopped up what was left. The mechanics broke the fuel tank; the blacksmiths destroyed the harvesters and thresher. The broken machinery was thrown down a steep precipice. The people burned the pigsty, cowsheds, granary, beehives, and the new stable. The best horses were driven to the forest for the use of guerrillas. Fourteen fattened pigs were slaughtered for the Red Army commissary, the rest were driven to the railroad and shipped to the rear. The wells were filled with earth, and the water from the pond was let out by breaking the dike. Even the green apples were picked by the gardener with the remark, “They shall not ripen for the robbers." If possible, the entire population of the village scatters in an organized manner. If there is time, the children and weaker adults are evacuated by train to the interior of the country; a fortnight after the war began, trains of evacuated people began arriving in Sverdlovsk and other towns of the Urals, where jobs or accommodations in rest homes were at once available for the newcomers – a fate quite different from that which befell the refugees of Western Europe. The most able-bodied of the population go into hiding in the woods as a guerrilla organization that harries the enemy’s rear under direct orders from the Red Army and often in co-ordination with the fighting at the front.

The Soviets Expected It, Anna Louise Strong, 1941

[project-sekai-facts]

any chance you happen to have a list of flowers in everyones 1st year birthday cards?

i just got these off the wiki so apologies if any of this is wrong

Virtual Singer

Miku: sunflowers, gentians, hibiscus, chinese milk-vetch (on her dress)

Rin & Len: pansies, lady slipper orchid (on blazer)

Luka: grape hyacinth, sagebrush buttercups, society garlic flowers

MEIKO: egyptian star cluster, moss roses

KAITO: hyacinths, snowflake flowers

Leo/need

Ichika: geraniums, creeping zinnias (also some small flowers I couldn't identify)

Saki: dogwood flowers, white clovers

Honami: gerberas, chocolate cosmos, multiflora rose

Shiho: magnolias, violets (on her accessories)

MORE MORE JUMP!

Minori: daisy fleabanes, scotch broom, blue milkweed

Haruka: yellow cosmos, spider flowers

Airi: star jasmines

Shizuku: strawberry begonias, blossoms (the wiki said this was firethorn but imo it looks closer to some sort of blossom. the leaves aren't the right shape)

Vivid BAD SQUAD

Kohane: persian buttercup/ranunculus, iceland poppies

An: larkspur, tickseed

Akito: elatior begonias, lemon flowers

Toya: persian buttercup/ranunculus, yuzu flower (on blazer), pansies, wisteria (in the background)

WonderlandsxShowtime

Tsukasa: yellow tulips, persian violets, peonies

Emu: sea asters, skunkvine, chrysanthemum (ogiku style)

Nene: bougainvilleas/paperflowers, sunflowers, prairie gentians

Rui: common vervains/verbena, astrantia/great masterwort, hypericum erectum (a type of St John's Wort native to Japan, China and Korea. It doesn't have a common name)

25-ji, Nightcord de.

Kanade: crocuses, winter daphne

Mafuyu: cape marguerite, japanese rowan flowers, and i believe plumeria rubra

Ena: mountain laurels, baby blue eyes

Mizuki: bottle gourd flower, st john's wort, garden balsams. i'm not sure what the flower in their hair is, possibly some sort of lily?

the flowers are mostly the same on the second set of cards, though some are changed (notably Len who now has different flowers to Rin), and a few others gain or lose a flower or two. Tsukasa has fuchsias, An has paperflowers, airi i think has blossom and ena i think has yellow lupins now and that's as far as my flower knowledge goes.

[skippyv20]

Saturday 8 June 2024 we travelled from Civitavecchia ( Chiv it a vetch ia) which is the port town closest to Rome. We went by train (about 1 hour) to San Pietro station then walked about 5 minutes to St Peter’s square. It was hot, hot, hot.

We were told not to bother standing in line to get in if we didn’t have a skip the line ticket or a ticket to the museum or weren’t in a group because it would take minimum two hours on a Saturday to stand in the line. It is free to get into the Basilica but costs for the Museum treasures, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Gardens, Papal Palace and the Dome climb. We didn’t have tickets as everything was booked out but we took our chances and stood in line. Apparently Saturday is their busiest day because Italy is a Catholic country and many Italians travel to the Vatican on a Saturday. The Saturday we were there was also school holiday period.

We were only in line about 20 minutes. WooHoo. You go through a security bag check, then through inspection to ensure you are appropriately dressed (it is a church after all) and it was surprising how many people were underdressed but it was a very hot day. They give you a paper shawl thing to wrap around you. One woman had one on her top half and the other over her skimpy shorts. It was hilarious and she was not impressed because her beautiful sculptured look for the camera was hidden behind what looked like blue paper bags.

So now we have made it to the front doors. Actually there are five huge front doors because there are five naves. Each door is beautiful and about 20 feet tall. The panel on each door has meaning but there are soo many people milling about it’s difficult to see and appreciate them so I can’t describe them other than the main door which is bronze, hundreds of years old and has carvings of Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary and St Peter and Paul. It’s a double door - huge - with I think 8 or 10 panels on each side. If you go off season you would be able to see them and they are worth looking at.

Before we go inside I should mention the square. It is huge. It has a massive colonnade on each side leading to the Basilica. It’s four columns across so it’s about twelve feet wide. If you stand on the Basilica entrance and look out it looks like two arms circling the square. On the top there are about 100+ statues of Saints. There is absolutely no shade in the square and the paving is travertine marble so it is hot and it reflects heat up. The only shade is under the colonnades so they were packed. There is an Egyptian obelisk in the square but I am not sure of its significance. The other statue in the square. There is one called Angels Unaware. It’s a bronze boat with people dressed from different countries/cultures and has Angel wings. We were told it was about showing hospitality to strangers who could be angels among us. Apparently there is a replica of it in Boston.

At the bottom of the staircase to the Basilica are big statues of St Peter and St Paul.

Next post will be about the inside.

Thank you so much Julie!  I love the way you write, I feel like I am right there with you!  Thanks for sharing, it is greatly appreciated.  How wonderful!!!!!🙏🏻❤️❤️❤️❤️

[ninevehsage]

Bird vetch (Hiirenvirna)

Photograph from June 2024

[thebotanicalarcade]

n312_w1150 by Biodiversity Heritage Library Via Flickr: Flora Europaea inchoata. fasc.1-7. Norimbergae :Ex Officina Raspeana,1797-1811. biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33562504

[dansnaturepictures]

18th June 2024: Views, vetch, meadow crane's-bill, buttercups, one of my first pyramidal orchids of the year a treasure to see such a key sight of summer at Lakeside Country Park today and roses on the bush in the garden.

My first Ringlets and Large Skipper of the year as my surge of butterfly and general insect sightings of species I needed to see after a few days of more settled weather continues with my butterfly year list up to 29, Red Admiral, Small Heath, Black-tailed Skimmer, Emperor dragonfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Lesser Black-backed Gull seen out the back at home and at Lakeside, young Starlings at home, Greenfinch heard at Lakeside, bindweed, grass vetchling, water dropwort, wild carrot and self-heal were other highlights today.