#spring plants

[flowerishness]

Equisetum telmateia subsp. braunii (giant horsetail)

Strange things are going on - on the other side of the tracks.

In the spring, horsetails produce these alien spore cones, technically called a strobilus. Horsetails are very ancient plants, the earliest ones go back to the Devonian, 380 million years ago. Land plants had just invented roots, leaves and seeds at this time and horsetails were right there at the beginning: Act 1, Scene 1. Equisetum telmateia has been accurately described as a 'living fossil'.

Horsetails have an interesting connection with the energy industry. In the Carboniferous period horsetails grew a hundred feet tall (30m) and those swamp forests produced over 90% of the world's coal deposits. As luck would have it, just as I was taking these photos, a CN freight train rumbled by with a hundred tanker cars of petroleum heading south. Of course oil is another type of fossil from Earth's ancient past. That's why they call it a fossil fuel.

[zuzas-world]

[umiagawa]

Dandelion Blossom Fritter.

(Ingredients):

20-30 Fresh Dandelion Blossoms

1 Egg

1/2 teaspoon Corn Starch

1/3 teaspoon Salt

Vegetable Oil

1. Soak the dandelions for 10-15 minutes to remove the dirt and debris. Turn them up side on a kitchen paper to dry completely.

2. Whisk egg, salt and cornstarch together.

3. Heat up oil over medium-high heat. Dip the blossoms in the egg wash; fry on both sides until golden. Serve immediately.

Hope you enjoy this simple wild edible recipe.

[tofreezetime]

on small feet the world is a big place

[madbirdwoman]

[ahedderick]

This slightly-raised bed and the strip of ground to the right of it are going from vinca minor to asparagus and some simple garden veg. This morning I got at it early and enjoyed the cool weather as I dug up the vinca and assorted weeds on the right, leveled the soil a bit, then planted the last four asparagus roots. There are (I think) eight in the bed that's visible here. I'll put in a tomato plant and a cuke vine when the weather is warmer. Also spent quite a while pulling creeping charlie, dead nettle, and other 'creeping' weeds out of the flower bed.

[mama-forest-witch]

The ground plant coverage in my front yard is so pretty.

[lapai]

[realmoodylilac]

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

What's poppin' in late February: Part 6 of ~7

Not blooming, but surely popping up into life!

Buckeyes - Aesculus sylvatica. Blooming soon! Mullein - Verbascum thapsus Mayapples - Podophyllum peltatum

[pamirsportfolio]

Flowering comfrey; skin healer. Pre-spring photography from the natural areas of The Triangle, North Carolina. Watch this space and for others from unshared recent photo shoots.

[elminx]

Garden Adventures, Early May 2022

My garden continues to grow and change daily. All of my bulbs have passed (I need to put in tulips this fall as I now know that they are good for eating) so it is up to the ground cover to hold the flower line until my later spring blossoms keep up.

Last year we planted some creeping phlox since we're both obsessed with how it looks at one of the local art spaces and its native to our area. There are four color varietals but this hot pink one bloomed first. The other three are right behind it though - I think that they will have blossoms by the end of today now that the sun is out again.

When we moved in, there wasn't Ground Ivy (aka Creeping Charlie) in the garden - it must have snuck in with one of the many plants that our friends donated to our cause. This is what has crept the farthest across the ground of the garden so far but that's great because it is what our early bees have been visiting (as opposed to the dandies like everybody always says).

My late spring bloomers are growing fast though! I think that we may get a lupin bloom this year - they are really starting to look like a real plant. (And look glorious full of raindrops, too.)

And False Indigo! I am so excited. We planted this two years ago from a sproutling and it has been such a flimsy little thing for so long. I think this year we may see what they are really about. I look forward to making some ink from its blossoms.

Also in its third year, my Sea Holly has finally gotten a good hold on the garden. We knew that they would - they were one of our sproutlings (along with the false indigo) that we bought specifically because it is a pollinator plant indigenous to this area. This, along with its sibling Rattlesnake Master, are what brought all of the bees to the yard last Summer.

Finally, sweet yarrow. This little plant didn't have a good transplant last summer and we were a bit worried but it's coming back nice and strong. I can't wait to get to know it better as it blooms this season.

There's a ton of work to be done as there always is at this time of the year. All of the basement plants will be able to go into the ground in the next week (we've had some later frosts so we're eying the weather pretty closely this year) and, as you can see in the photos, we need a good weeding...as always.

[zuzas-world]

[umiagawa]

Dandelion Pulled Noodles.

It just needs flour, salt, water, oil, and PATIENCE to make.

Dandelions are naturally bitter regardless of when and where you pick them. To rid the bitterness, you need to blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes, then soak them in cold water for at least 6 hours; change the water 1-2 times in between. Then finely chop the dandelions.

Once the green is ready, making the noodles is pretty straightforward.

1. In a mixing bowl, combined 2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon salt, chopped dandelion. Then slowly add water and form the mixture into a slightly stiff dough (the dough won’t be smooth, so no worries). Cover the bowl with damp cloth and leave it for 1 hour.

2. Drizzle 1/4 cup vegetable oil over the dough. Divide the dough into smaller portions (about the size of a tennis ball), and flatten them. Make sure both sides of each cover with oil to seal the moisture. Cover the bowl and leave it for 2 hours.

3. To cook, boil a pot of water over high heat. When it’s boiling, pull the dough into bite size and add it to the water. Cook until they float to the top. Serve the noodles with your favourite soup base.

I hope you enjoy this spring recipe.

[tofreezetime]

curious creations

[madbirdwoman]