These Are a Few of my Favorite Plants



Welcome to the latest entry in my "Year in the Woods" series, where I document all the native plants I can find in our woods in one year.

 

I've been puzzling a bit over what to include in this year-long native plant "bioblitz". For the most part I'm leaving out trees and grasses, at least for the time being, which leaves me with herbaceous flowers, shrubs and vines. But I've also been a bit arbitrary and subjective in leaving out plants that are exceptionally common or uninteresting. Does that seem fair?

 

Oh well; my blog, my rules. Let's get on with it.

I Have No idea What's Blooming in the Woods

Welcome to the latest entry in my "Year in the Woods" series, where I document all the native plants I can find in our woods in one year.

 

You might be thinking that Timberwalkers is a plant ID ninja, but if so I have fooled you. The fact is, for most of the plants I photograph, I spend a fair amount of time leafing through my plant ID books trying to get it sorted out. Then, when I see it again next year, I'll go through the process all over again.

 

Even then, I'm often stumped. Perhaps even worse is when I confidently post a plant name on these interwebs for both of my readers to see, and later discover I was dead wrong. It's happened more than once. Today there are three that have me completely stumped, and one that I have finally identified at least two years after first finding it.

Weed or Wildflower?

Welcome to the latest entry in my "Year in the Woods" series, where I document all the native plants I can find in our woods in one year.

In my college weed science classes, I learned that one definition of a weed is "a plant growing where it's not wanted". In my work as a horticulturist in the ensuing years, I've counseled hundreds of clients on how to get rid of those unwanted plants. However, in my recent studies of native plants I have come to the surprising realization that many of the plants we attempt to banish from our lawns, flower beds and bean fields are in fact indigenous species. I had been working under the mistaken assumption that for a plant to have "weedy" tendencies, it most likely was introduced from another country. Of course, this is true for many of the worst offenders, e.g. kudzu and microstegium. But perhaps we shouldn't be so quick to eradicate every wild plant from our yards, maybe pausing long enough to determine if they perhaps have a role to play for some insect or forest creature.

Wintergreen Blooms in the Spring

Welcome to the latest entry in my "Year in the Woods" series, where I document all the native plants I can find in our woods in one year.

Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata) is a tiny, unassuming plant that (surpise!) stays green in the winter. You might not notice it, even in bloom. Enchanting, though, isn't it? Especially when you take a close up look at the small blossoms (second picture).