The Plant Kingdom
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Pickerel weed likes to grow in shallow water and the large amounts of it growing along the shoreline of the Ashuelot River tell the story of how low the water level is. We still haven’t seen any more rain than a quick moving downpour or two and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much […]
Another crop of summer flowers from NH Garden Solutions
This beautiful hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium) blossom hints at the rain we finally got last weekend. It wasn’t enough but it helped. Though for many years all I ever saw were white flowered hedge bindweeds it has gotten to the point where all I see now are these bicolor ones. Bindweeds are perennial and morning glories are annuals and one good way to tell them apart is by their leaves; morning glory (Ipomoea) has heart shaped leaves and bindweed has narrower arrowhead shaped, triangular leaves.
Our native wintergreens are starting to blossom and chief among them is pipsissewa, in my opinion. Pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata) flowers often show a blush of pink. Five petals and ten chubby anthers surrounding a plump center pistil make it prettier than most of our other native wintergreens. Pipsissewa flowers are from 4-6 inches tall and nod toward the ground…
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Learn a bit about aquatic plants with this posting from New Hampshire Garden Solutions
On Sunday some friends and I decided to take our kayaks out for the first time this season. The water in Wilson Pond in Swanzey was warm enough for a dip, in case a mishap should happen and one of us got wet. We started our journey by paddling past the island in the pond.
It was a beautiful day and the sun felt hot as we paddled, but luckily there was a stiff breeze that cooled us. Though welcome, it also made the water quite choppy and would blow your kayak across the water as if it were a sailboat if you stopped paddling.
Secluded coves and channels meant we could find some shade and get away from the wind for a while. The water in some of these channels is very shallow; I’m not sure you’d even get your knees wet if you walked them. Last year there…
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We’ve had hot dry weather in this part of New Hampshire but ox eye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare) continue to delight. When I saw these in a small meadow by the side of the road they shouted JUNE! so I had to stop and visit with them. It’s hard to have a bad day while living […]
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This year folks will dose their lawns with gallons of broadleaf herbicides in their vain attempt to eliminate certain flowers they consider weeds. Personally I’m in awe of how these plants can continue to survive in the midst of the onslaught of chemical warfare.
I’ll never have the pristine solid carpet of green that one sees on advertisements, but I can do get the opportunity to look closely at these “weeds”.
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Without a doubt this is the most impressive example of a Bittersweet Vine that I have ever seen and right here in New Ipswich.
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In 2012, the U.S. Forest Service reported that in the nation’s Lower 48 states that New Hampshire leads the nation in percent tree cover.
“Tree cover in the nation’s Lower 48 states covers 659 million acres, more than one-third of the nation, according to a U.S. Forest Service study of national tree cover and impervious surfaces. New Hampshire leads the nation in percent tree cover (89 percent), followed by Maine (83 percent) and Vermont (82 percent). On the other end of the spectrum, North Dakota has the lowest percent tree cover (3 percent), followed by Nebraska (4 percent) and South Dakota (6 percent).”
It is ironic that with so many trees it is difficult to find lone trees that can photographed against an uncluttered background. One notable exception is a tree located on the Sawyer Farm. This location is also a great vantage point for watching sunsets near Mount Monadnock.
I’m not alone in my love of this locale, Anne Miller Rockwell, a local photographer has some photos in her portfolio
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Early in the Springtime one of the first flowers I see are these from the plant Petasites japonicus. It’s a strange plant that I aquired years ago at the New Ipswich Children’s Fair.
The flower bud is known as Fuki and Japan and can be prepared as a vegetable after being treated with an alkaline mixture. I grew it for the huge leaves which look almost tropical.It is supposed to be invasive but I find it to be quite well behaved and I like the patch that I’ve established in our old cellar hole.
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Happy April’s Day,
No joke this morning, just some photos of some of the orchids at Mason Hollow Nursery.
Easter is the season of rebirth, what is more emblematic of that than the first flowers of spring.
Tales of Nature and Photography by Piotr Naskrecki
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