Spring has Sprung...Mostly
Posted by Jennifer Greever on Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Every year, when Mother Nature gets that spring in her step again, I think to myself, "I should make a record of when I see plants blooming for the first time this year," not only because it would be interesting to have a time line of what flowers show their heads first....but also because, well, I'm a dork when it comes to things like that. : ) So, after years of thinking this but not bothering to do it, I am going to try and accomplish it this year. This blog then is a visual representation of the first few flowers that I have noticed peeking their heads out to soak up some of this fabulous early spring sunshine as well as the usual first signs that spring has arrived. I took all of these pictures in my backyard just a few days ago.
I bet none of you know that I am an amateur beekeeper! This is inside our hive in our backyard. There are two "deep" boxes below this one where the queen lays eggs and the bees store their honey to make it through the winter. This top "deep" is empty and we use it to feed the bees when necessary, like this time of year when they may not be getting enough nectar on their own to feed the hive. We feed them a mixture of sugar water in an upside down jar in which the solution drips out of. Bees will not fly if it is under 55 degrees Fahrenheit, so this time of year, they are only out and flying around on certain days that are warmer. Bees are absolutely amazing creatures!! They work almost as a single entity instead of thousands of individuals and everything they do is completely unselfish and for the good of the hive. Honey bees are actually pretty docile. As you can see in the upper left corner of the picture is my hand with two bees crawling on it. Stinging is a last resort for them. I can simply shake my hand and they will fly off. Last year I was only stung twice, once because I stepped on one as I was walking barefoot through a patch of clover (honeybees love clover flowers!) and the other time because I squatted down while working with the hive and squashed one in my knee pit. It is an amazing feeling to open the hive and have hundreds of bees fly out at you and crawl on you and not be afraid of it, but after working with them for a season you learn how to be comfortable with them. We did not rob our bees of honey last fall, as this was our first year with them and we wanted to make sure they had enough honey to feed themselves through the winter. This fall, we will definitely harvest honey though so stay tuned for more pictures of that endeavor!
Lamium sp. When you see a genus written with a "sp." after it, that means I am not sure of the exact species. A lot of plants that are in the same genus look very similar and it is sometimes hard for me identify the exact species. This is definitely the Lamium genus though and it is in the Lameaceae family, which is the mint family. Being in the mint family does not automatically mean it will taste like mint OR is even edible.
All plant families end with "aceae" and most of them have easy to identify defining characteristics. Those defining characteristics of the mint family are:
**opposite leaves: This means the leaves on the stem are directly opposite each other, as opposed to alternate or whirled.
**purple or white flowers
**zygomorphic flowers: This means they are asymmetrical, you can't draw a line through them and have mirror images.
**square stem: If you feel the stem, you will feel four distinct sides.
Not sure of the actual genus and species on this one, but I do know the family is Scrophulariaceae. I call this flower scroph. Characteristics of the Scrophulariaceae family are:
**mostly blue flowers
**four chambered ovary: you can observe this by dissecting the flower or by observing the ovary after it has gone to seed.
I know this as sedum. I have never bothered to identify its scientific name. It is a succulent (thick watery leaves like a cactus) and is drought resistant. This is an excellent plant to have in your landscaping as it does not require you to water it even in the heat of the summer.
common name: peppercress. This plant belongs to the mustard family, Brassicaceae. Brassicas have unique seed pods that make it very easy to identify them. As the flower falls off and the ovary develops seeds, they extend into long tubelike seedpods such as the maroon ones in the picture above. When they are ready to release their seeds, one side of the seedpod tightens and creates tension. Even the slightest brush past one of these and the tightened side of the seedpod slings open and the seeds fly out. It is quite fun to run your hand through a batch of peppercress when they are ready to release seed.
Stellaria media: common name chickweed. It appears that this flower has 10 petals, but in actuality, it only has five. Stellaria media belongs to the Caryophyllaceae family. Flowers in this family have deeply cleft flower petals, which make it look as if one flower petal is actually two. However, if you look closely, you can see the "two petals" are actually joined at the base of the cleft.
Taraxacum officinale: common name dandelion Dandelions are in the Asteraceae family. To read more about this family, read through my blog entitled "Eddie's Point." Dandelions, while the bane of existence for most suburban, green grass loving, monoculture enhancing Americans, are actually one of our native wildflowers.
One of our gals sipping nectar from an ornamental prickly bush in our front yard. Whatever this plant is, our bees love it!!
One of two blueberry bushes in our backyard. Blueberries are in the Ericaceae family. Flowers in this family have "urn" shaped flowers. If you don't know what an urn shape is, think of an egg with the end chopped off. These blueberry bushes have buds that have not fully opened yet. Other common plants in the Ericaceae family are Rhodedendron and Mountain Laurel. Both of these plants will be highlighted in my next blog "Cloudland Canyon" that will be about a hike I took this afternoon actually.
Last but not least, I had to throw in the privet. If you remember, when we talked about invasive/exotic species, I expressed great frustration to you all about the privet (introduced from England) in my yard that I cannot get rid of. This is privet. (insert furrowed eyebrows and frown here.)
I bet none of you know that I am an amateur beekeeper! This is inside our hive in our backyard. There are two "deep" boxes below this one where the queen lays eggs and the bees store their honey to make it through the winter. This top "deep" is empty and we use it to feed the bees when necessary, like this time of year when they may not be getting enough nectar on their own to feed the hive. We feed them a mixture of sugar water in an upside down jar in which the solution drips out of. Bees will not fly if it is under 55 degrees Fahrenheit, so this time of year, they are only out and flying around on certain days that are warmer. Bees are absolutely amazing creatures!! They work almost as a single entity instead of thousands of individuals and everything they do is completely unselfish and for the good of the hive. Honey bees are actually pretty docile. As you can see in the upper left corner of the picture is my hand with two bees crawling on it. Stinging is a last resort for them. I can simply shake my hand and they will fly off. Last year I was only stung twice, once because I stepped on one as I was walking barefoot through a patch of clover (honeybees love clover flowers!) and the other time because I squatted down while working with the hive and squashed one in my knee pit. It is an amazing feeling to open the hive and have hundreds of bees fly out at you and crawl on you and not be afraid of it, but after working with them for a season you learn how to be comfortable with them. We did not rob our bees of honey last fall, as this was our first year with them and we wanted to make sure they had enough honey to feed themselves through the winter. This fall, we will definitely harvest honey though so stay tuned for more pictures of that endeavor!
Lamium sp. When you see a genus written with a "sp." after it, that means I am not sure of the exact species. A lot of plants that are in the same genus look very similar and it is sometimes hard for me identify the exact species. This is definitely the Lamium genus though and it is in the Lameaceae family, which is the mint family. Being in the mint family does not automatically mean it will taste like mint OR is even edible.
All plant families end with "aceae" and most of them have easy to identify defining characteristics. Those defining characteristics of the mint family are:
**opposite leaves: This means the leaves on the stem are directly opposite each other, as opposed to alternate or whirled.
**purple or white flowers
**zygomorphic flowers: This means they are asymmetrical, you can't draw a line through them and have mirror images.
**square stem: If you feel the stem, you will feel four distinct sides.
Not sure of the actual genus and species on this one, but I do know the family is Scrophulariaceae. I call this flower scroph. Characteristics of the Scrophulariaceae family are:
**mostly blue flowers
**four chambered ovary: you can observe this by dissecting the flower or by observing the ovary after it has gone to seed.
I know this as sedum. I have never bothered to identify its scientific name. It is a succulent (thick watery leaves like a cactus) and is drought resistant. This is an excellent plant to have in your landscaping as it does not require you to water it even in the heat of the summer.
common name: peppercress. This plant belongs to the mustard family, Brassicaceae. Brassicas have unique seed pods that make it very easy to identify them. As the flower falls off and the ovary develops seeds, they extend into long tubelike seedpods such as the maroon ones in the picture above. When they are ready to release their seeds, one side of the seedpod tightens and creates tension. Even the slightest brush past one of these and the tightened side of the seedpod slings open and the seeds fly out. It is quite fun to run your hand through a batch of peppercress when they are ready to release seed.
Stellaria media: common name chickweed. It appears that this flower has 10 petals, but in actuality, it only has five. Stellaria media belongs to the Caryophyllaceae family. Flowers in this family have deeply cleft flower petals, which make it look as if one flower petal is actually two. However, if you look closely, you can see the "two petals" are actually joined at the base of the cleft.
Taraxacum officinale: common name dandelion Dandelions are in the Asteraceae family. To read more about this family, read through my blog entitled "Eddie's Point." Dandelions, while the bane of existence for most suburban, green grass loving, monoculture enhancing Americans, are actually one of our native wildflowers.
One of our gals sipping nectar from an ornamental prickly bush in our front yard. Whatever this plant is, our bees love it!!
One of two blueberry bushes in our backyard. Blueberries are in the Ericaceae family. Flowers in this family have "urn" shaped flowers. If you don't know what an urn shape is, think of an egg with the end chopped off. These blueberry bushes have buds that have not fully opened yet. Other common plants in the Ericaceae family are Rhodedendron and Mountain Laurel. Both of these plants will be highlighted in my next blog "Cloudland Canyon" that will be about a hike I took this afternoon actually.
Last but not least, I had to throw in the privet. If you remember, when we talked about invasive/exotic species, I expressed great frustration to you all about the privet (introduced from England) in my yard that I cannot get rid of. This is privet. (insert furrowed eyebrows and frown here.)
