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[velveteengreen]

🐁 🌾 🌻 🐜 🪹

harvest mice weave little round nests for themselves out of grass. they are also small & light enough to perch on flowers. it’s much safer up there! ✨➡ check out my shop for this painting & more work like it!

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Field Copperleaf 💚

This plant grows abundantly outside where I live. I noticed it and wondered if it was edible in any way and a few glamour shots later, discovered the amazing benefits of consuming field copperleaf. This perennial, shrub like herbaceous plant remains largely uncultivated in North America. Often mistaken for nettle. This plant is in the euphorbiaceae family!! But interestingly does not produce the signature white sap when cut. Native to Brazil, it is anti-bacterial, anti-septic, antiemetic, anti-inflammatory, can be a diuretic, but the use I found most amazing is the anti-spasmodic properties since I struggle with episodes of stomach muscle mishaps. It can also be used to treat various skin diseases and irritations, menstrual issues, vaginosis and more!! The entirety of the plant is used, Best taken as a tea before meals. The whitish tall and fluffy flower eventually turn pink / red and produce small capsule like fruit. Overall excellent for muscle relaxation

Pictured next to it is some of the leaves I have processed for tea ☕

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[velveteengreen]

Purslane blew my mind

I noticed a small succulent looking plant growing out of one of my cactus and like any gardener does, classified it as 'other' or a weed in my specific type of plant! Untill I googled about what it could be, and found out that purslane has many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that make it recognized as a superfood in many parts of the world. Rich in vitamin C, A, beta - carotene, omega 3 - fatty acids, calcium, folate, iron, magnesium, and potassium! Excellent for tossing into salads. It's recommended to either cook lightly, leave it raw or cook the hell of out them to avoid an okra - like gooey texture that can generally be unpleasant. The only thing I'd say to watch out for when consuming purslane is due to it's oxalate content, especially the seeds, it may not be the most suitable for those who are prone to kidney stones. And the plant that may be mistaken for it, poison spurge, will leak a white sap when broken apart!

Purslane completely changed my view on the things the grow around me, in my garden and throughout the neighborhood. It has inspired me to really consider what is a 'weed' and what is actually just an unidentified source of healing, or nourishment.

Bonus: tiny plant, big flower for some species 🌸 (photos provided by Google)

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Roselle Hibiscus from local food forest ❣️

recently have been learning more about growing edible and medicinal plants and actually started lots of seedlings with my husband like beets, sugar magnolia snap peas, dill and catnip to name a few. It feels good to have started them instead of anxiously putting it off!! Hoping for some sort of harvest 🤞🏼

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Philodendron Ring O' Fire 🧡

6/16/23 - 9/25/23

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found in an understory of bushes at a local plant shop

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One of my favorite trees due to year round interest. Birch bark cherry or Tibetan cherry. Prunus serrula.

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omg this lil guy came out of one of the houseplants while I was watering 🥹

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Hark! a vagrant!

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can I get uhhhh HELL YEAH for this Alocasia Cuprea "Red Secret" coming back from the dead?! On the right is what it originally came home looking like back in January. It then proceeded to slowly die back untill I was left digging up the soil in hopes of finding a bulb intact. After having it suspended in a shot glass with a cardboard collar to keep the top dry and the roots wet (hydroponically I suppose) for awhile I transferred to soil and WOW look at that lil cutie! Here's to hoping it regrows acclimated to the plant room 🤞🏻

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Philodendron Ring O' Fire

Forgot to freak out about acquiring this beauty last week 😭🧡

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i love when ur inside chilling or cleaning and it suddenly starts raining hard as hell YESSSSS IM A LITTLE MOUSE IN A TREE HOLLOW HOUSE

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@crxmes