May Apple Blooms

I like the unusual architecture of this plant. The flower is at the intersection of the two leaf stems. Finally a lovely bloom! I'm curious to see the apple.

Tiny wild flower

This flower is about the size of a violet, I have to look it up. Anyone know what it is?

Jill Osgood says "fringed polygala, or gaywings. Lovely early New England wildflower. I see them in the woods at Evergreen cemetery."

a few different violets in my yard

Since the Greeks cultivated violets about 500BC the range of species has grown to between 400-500.

The Greeks and Romans used violets for herbal remedies, making wine (Vinum Violatum) and to sweeten food. The violet, considered a symbol of fertility and love, was associated with the goddess Venus, thus it found its way into love potions. Napoleon wore a violet as a badge of courage. Pliny recommended a garland of violets to be worn around the head to ward off headaches and dizzy spells. It is still used for similar purposes by herbalists today as one of its many healing properties.

 The deep grape color of this hyacinth can not be captured.

fritillaria meleagris is one of my favorite flowers. I would like to meet the (graphic) designer

I'm following this plant. I am not sure what it is. I see a small bulb that might be a flower.

Thich nhat hanh
suggest you only display 1 or 2 flowers so each can be appreciated for their own beauty.

Imagine this seed cluster
as a pendant on a cord...wouldn't that be beautiful?

What an entrance!
May be a white Trillium.
The reds are already flowering.

Emerging

 I love the way Bloodroot leaves cloak the flower and only open when the flower is in full bloom!

 

Sanguinaria canadensis (Latin name from bloody root called rhizomes) is ethereally beautiful, but shares its lovliness briefly. The flower resembles a water lily and has 6-8 white petals.

Certain native ants have a win-win relationship with bloodroot. They carry the bloodroot seeds to their homes, eat the seeds’ nutritious outer layer, but he bloodroot seeds are still viable after the ant feast and are protected in a chamber within the ant nest. This chamber, along with the ants’ refuse of organic matter, provides a fertile place for the seeds to germinate. While bloodroot does spread by its rhizomes, the additional boost from ants serves to speed up the process, helping bloodroot populations to expand at a time when destruction of its habitat is rampant.

May Day Romance

Today I'll forget lactating ewes and dissident's poles and instead recall

Bo Peep skirts fashioned of pastel crepe paper

the perfume of wheat paste revealing their attachment to dixie cups lined with layers of zig-zag-edged papers

nesting pastel jellybeans, save 1 or 2 black.

Pipe cleaner handles decorated with white hankie carnations which get their red edge from swiped lipstick

That evening after supper my parents would drive me to the house where I would hang the basket on the door and hopefully in exchange get a kiss.

 I have been dyeing with natural material: my notebook records preparing fabric with a mordant such as Sumac;
using onion skins or walnut husks for the dye bath.

Shibori, silk in dandelion root bath with black beans tied with string.










A strip of cotton, I had wrapped around rusty nuts & bolts. 

Recently I took a class with Velma Bolyard called Spirit Papers where we used materials such as leaves, berries, plants to make bundles to go in the dye pot with mordants of sea water, iron, rust etc. Lots of fun.


Arches paper, wrapped bundle of various natural material.

Nature's way

I watch the birds fueled by nature building their "sub rosa" nest. It breaks my heart to know that last year the squirrels found it. Female House finches are more likely to return to the same nesting spot than to return with the same mate. There are many males with which to mate but finding a dry, sturdy spot for a house is primary or should I say primal. Matter of fact she might find a brighter colored male (brighter means better diet.) 

Early days of the garden

Mother and child outside my window.The red dot garlands are hung to prevent the birds from hitting the windows.I would love to have the deer visit but they are actually grazing on: Azalea (I haven't seen flowers since the first year I planted this bush because the deer annual enjoy the buds.) The Hellebore budded out in March through a layer of snow but they never had the chance to bloom before the deer ate them. I feel so sorry for a long winter and a lack of food for the beautiful creatures. 

nothing compares to nature's beauty