native plants, the rat, and cold front

The recent atmospheric river deluge force me to give up captured water for summer plant care. Time to create options.

The glorious surprises and perks of agonizing in the high-maintenance garden are manifest now.

Tiny little thing that I barely noticed growing tangled together with another weed plant. One of the weeds that nobody pays attention too and will get rid of when it starts to grow among veggies. Vicia

When I saw it I thought some nasty bug ate all the petals from daisies :p But nope. This one is like that. Just a bunch of yellow balls on long stems. Santolina rosmarinifolia This evergreen bush is native

My Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are in their full glory at the moment in my shadiest garden to the side of my house. I love them in combination with the Celandine Poppies (Stylophorum diphyllum):

A nice bit of greenery along the water's edge at Lynx Creek in the Prescott National Forest. Here the native bush willows have begun to flower with the fuzzy "pussies" dancing in the breezes.

Early spring in my garden is purple! Photos of sand phlox, Virginia bluebells, and common blue violet.

Spider Orchids (Caladenia species) are a strange looking group of native Australian plants. The top pic is of a King Spider orchid (Caladenia tentaculata). The bottom pic is a Narrow Lipped Spider orchid

My approach to growing has changed. As I discover more about the importance of native plants to local ecosystems, I know I need to add them to any garden I create, ideally, aside from any vegetables, I

Twin Creek, Tennessee

Image from Wikihow Whenever I'm in the woods and find a tree or bush full of berries, I am so curious to know if they are edible, if they are native to the northeast, if I should just take some home and

Redbud Cercis canadensis Size: 15-30 feet Flowers: March-May, before the leaves; tiny, red Fruit: 2 to 3 inch pods Exposure: full sun, partial shade Tolerance: cold hardy Propagation: stratified, scarified

Black Anther Flax-lily in the bush Dianella revoluta and Dianella brevicaulis, commonly known as 'Black Anther Flax-lily' and 'Coast Flax-lily', respectively, are two plants that are of great use as bushfood

Coast Bearded Heath Coast Bearded Heath (Leucopogon parviflorus) is one of my favourite bushfoods. It is also called 'Native Currant'. The 'Bearded' part of the name comes from the flowers, which look