nature makes no mistakes

wild ginger grows in dense colonies in the understory of our woods. it blooms in april and may. and we have a lot of it.  it spreads easily. one of the unique, and perhaps unfortunate, things about it, is that these gorgeous velvety flowers are completely hidden under two large kidney-shaped leaves. one never sees them unless you pull back the leaves. one thing i have learned from all the years of doing STILL is that nature makes no mistakes. so their stealthiness must be serving some purpose. i have no idea why it was taken me 10 years to find a way to capture the beauty of these flowers. nevertheless, i am glad the inspiration finally arrived. better late than never.

canada wild giner (Asarum canadense)

no mow may

i’m playing catch up here, posting today’s image in late afternoon, because i hosted an all-day  workshop for 13 people in my house yesterday. it was so much fun! the guests were wonderful company, and totally into a whole day of gathering, composing, and editing photos together. i was surprised by how much enthusiasm they had, and how long they were able to keep focussed on their respective image making efforts. we wrapped up the day with my husband making us all dinner, while we sipped wine on the deck as the frogs trilled and the birds sang. it was a perfect spring day. as always, i learned from them, as much as they learned from me. one thing i learned about was the No Mow May movement. the goal of No Mow May is to pause mowing during the month of may, allowing flowers to bloom in your lawn to help early season pollinators (it started in the united kingdom in 2019). brilliant! i’m all in. but, honestly, it isn’t any kind of sacrifice for me, as i rarely get around to mowing in may when there is so much planting to do anyway. but i love the idea. and to whomever came up with the catchy slogan–kudos!

young poplar leaves in spring

dandelions forever

there are 2800 microspecies of dandelion. dandelions are thought to have evolved about 30 million years ago in eurasia. dandelions have been used by humans for food and as an herb for much of recorded history. they were well known to ancient egyptians, greeks and romans, and are recorded to have been used in traditional chinese medicine for over a thousand years. the plant was used as food and medicine by native americans. dandelions were probably brought to north america on the mayflower for their supposed medicinal benefits. The english name, dandelion, is a corruption of the french dent de lion meaning “lion’s tooth”, referring to the coarsely toothed leaves. the plant is also known as blowball, cankerwort, doon-head-clock, witch’s gowan, milk witch, lion’s-tooth, yellow-gowan, irish daisy, monks-head, priest’s-crown, puff-ball, faceclock, pee-a-bed, wet-a-bed, and swine’s snout.

so what’s our modern beef with dandelions?

common dandelion (Taraxacum)

my bees need your dandelions

they are here, there and everywhere. and i love ’em! and my bees need them. they are an early spring super food for bees when little else is blooming. dandelions have naturalized throughout all 50 states (as well as most of canada and even mexico) and are believed to have been brought over by the pilgrims, who planted the herb as a medicinal crop. here are 10 reasons to love dandelions as much as i do:

1. Dandelions are not as invasive as commonly thought.
2. Dandelions add color to the drab landscape of early spring.
3. Dandelions are an important source of food for wildlife—especially bees.
4. Dandelions encourage biodiversity.
5. Dandelions protect the soil.
6. Dandelions aerate and condition distressed soil.
7. Dandelions are edible from root to flower.
8. Dandelions have medicinal value.
9. Kids love them.
10. And, c’mon,  they’re pretty.

a trio of dandelion flowers

whoa!

we have a lot of ferns. this time of year i watch them daily. just a few days ago most of them were still tight fists knuckling their way up out of the soil. and then what felt like overnight, one patch literally grew to knee height while i wasn’t looking. just this one patch. all the rest are now about 3-6 inches tall. but this one patch, sprang to knee height in what felt like hours. the patch is right beside my driveway. i go up and down my driveway probably three to four times a day. i check out the ferns every time i pass. this has never happened quite this fast before. i am sure it was all pent up potential energy from our cold spring. in any case, it is now FERN SEASON!

young interrupted fern fronds