#growing native plants

[coyote-mints]

Penstemon laetus grown from locally collected seed 💜💜💜

[somethingcorenotsure]

I think it's so adorable that early humans took wild gourds - a tiny fruit that hollows out as it dries, making it float - and decided to make something out of it

they thought the tiny fruit was so good that they bred it for thousands of years, making it larger to form into bowls and cups, and different shapes to become bottles and spoons

and musical instruments

And then, people took the hollow gourds they farmed, and they turned them into houses for birds. We adapted them into the perfect houses for birds, and now there are specific breeds of birdhouse gourd just for making into birdhouses

And humans dedicated gardening space and time and thousands of years of breeding to make the gourds so absolutely perfect for birds, that there is a species of bird that lives almost exclusively in them

[the-habitat-ring]

Winter sowing time! We’ve started on our collection of native seeds and will continue to add more containers as we get them.

The “milk jug method” allows for stratification (exposure to cold, wet conditions for a month or two) which many native seeds here in the Midwest need. Once spring comes, the containers act like a mini greenhouse to keep seedlings moist and warm until they’re ready to transplant.

[kazieka]

like, logically I am aware that honeysuckle is invasive in my area and that I should be glad it doesn’t grow in my backyard, But. on the other hand. tasty nectar treat :(

[southernsolarpunk]

Smilax shoot season!! I cooked these with just butter and garlic (and s+p ofc) and they’re like if asparagus was… better. Not as bitter or tough as asparagus. Yum!

[frankenshane]

additional pictures to come tomorrow, but it looks like this golden currant may start blooming soon

[timetravelingcourtney]

Been hanging out inside and sewing during the heat but went out in the evening last night to take some pics of Kirsten among our native plants.

I love these patterns and I’m so happy to offer a few of these outfits at my Etsy shop, InnerStar Collections. Hope you’ll check them out ☺️

[clannfearrunt]

I need to start like fucking patrolling the yard for stray buffalo bur seedlings lest my father find them first and give me hell for “spreading” them (it is almost certainly not my fault as I was rather meticulous about collecting all of my plants’ seed pods, but buffalo bur seeds can lie dormant in the soil for a very long time waiting for a chance to sprout. This entire area just already has them; I got my own plants from the damn yard in the first place! But u try explaining that to him)

[coyote-mints]

Oregon sunshine (eriophyllum lanatum ‘Siskiyou’) in my garden

[fatal-blow]

man i think what a lot of people might misunderstand about invasive species is

A) it's not just about removal. You can't just kill a bunch of invasive species and then dust your hands off and call it a day. in the case of plants especially, you need something in its place. A lot of invasive species aren't invasive so much as adapted to city environments--because a city is an ecosystem too.

B) on that note, some invasive species are here to stay. like, their spread can be controlled, populations maintained, but the goal in the end would be to let the rest of the ecosystem catch up, for a balance to be found, because it would be impossible to eliminate them.

basically every invasive species in every location is on case by case basis. invasive species elimination is a PIECE of larger scale ecosystem maintenance. but still when you DO get to rip n tear it is fun.

[bonefall]

do you think wc cats would eat mushrooms? im pretty sure the answer is no bc identification + possible toxicity. but i think it would be funky for the cats to learn over time that "bright colors = 99% chance you will die" and "hey if we cook this it doesnt make us sick!"

i think shadowclan could do some cool shit with chicken of the woods. + possible oyster mushrooms (bc beech trees i think), pennybuns and puffballs for TC. jellyears could be interestimg too since theyre a bit more gelatinous

I had kinda ruled them out earlier, because in any case, they wouldn't have nutritional value to the Clan cats. I wouldn't want to just make human cuisine, y'know? It should be cat food.

But I just did a little more digging since this prompted me. Huh. Apparently cats DO have a taste for certain mushrooms, because of the presence of glutamate. That's an amino acid found in meat, and it would give mushrooms a flavor cats can actually perceive.

Even saw a couple stories of cats coming into kitchens after smelling cut mushrooms.

A little more reading seems to say that most grocery-store mushrooms are fine for cats, and there's even some micronutrients that can be good for a cat's coat.

So I can definitely use some. I may even jot them down as a replacement for spices, since sooo many of the human spices in our kitchens are straightup toxic to cats (oregano, mint, onions). There's even some suggestions here in the guide I'm looking at to use them as soup stocks-- helpful since ShadowClan is going to be making stews.

SO I'm gonna say YES to this suggestion- I'll look at more mushrooms.

Here is the guide I'm using btw if anyone has any cool anecdotes about mushrooms you think would be cool to translate into battle cat.

[the-habitat-ring]

[fortunatehazelnut]

My first response to people on here who talk about native wildflower seed bombing is: hey. Don't actually trust wildflower seed packets automatically to be like. Fully correct.

This is coming from me living in California, but our state is INCREDIBLY large, with many different microclimates. Seed packets are labeled "California native seeds" much of the time, but what is native to L.A. will not always do well in Humboldt and vice versa. In other parts of the U.S., seeds may be labeled based on region instead, which is even more vague. Actually look at the seeds in the mix and do your research as to what conditions each plant actually prefers.

Also, in my experience, wildflower seed packets tend to contain the same 15-20 wildflowers... this is not all there is to offer in your area, almost certainly. California poppies are beautiful... but maintaining biodiversity is also incredibly important. I'd reccomend looking for smaller seed and plant retailers serving your area with native plants that are often glossed over or less appreciated.

Obviously, all efforts to maintain native flora (which in turn helps native fauna) are great. But I wish people were a little more practical at times.

[taylorswiftshipsbyler]

I didnt feel like writing a card for my mom's bday so instead I decorated the box that the chocolates I always get her come in☺️☺️

also. I can name all of the flowers/plants on here.

milkweed

lavender

sword ferns

jasmine

goldenrod

sunflowers

some random mushrooms in a plantain plant (plantains are actually really cool weeds that might grow in your yard. you can use them to soothe bug bites!)

violets

snapdragons

bleeding hearts

aloe

clover(like the little flowers)

virginia bluebells

and honeysuckle!!

and then there's also little bumblebees that I drew to fill up the empty spaces

[solarpunkani]

hey I just now saw your tags on a post you reblogged of mine about native plants and I think you could totally start growing your own plants as long as you can find someone/somewhere to buy seeds from, I believe in you and your native plant dreams!!

Honestly homie I appreciate it!!

I think the main holdups for me are A: I’m consistently Average at best when it comes to growing seeds and B: I never know when to pot up

Also apparently a lot of native plants in my area don’t like being transplanted which would make growing them for the sole purpose of being transplanted. Tricky.

I would also need the money to buy the seeds because hoo doggy are native plant seeds kinda pricy 👀 but. Maybe I can do a little goofing off next year if I still don’t have an anim job? If all else fails itll be fun

[tinyurbanwilderness]

Oh my gosh!!! 🦊 Poor thing is injured.