The Flowers of Spring & Summer!

In our lower forest, we have a small thicket full of holly. The other day I was visiting my local friend's photostream and was very surprised to find that what I thought was holly was actually called Oregon-grapes! I had no idea!! Coincedentally, I'd just taken some pictures of flower buds that were about to bloom, so here is one of my pictures to share! :) The Oregon-grape is the state flower and can be found growing from British Columbia to northern California. Although it's not actually related to grapes, it produces sour-tasting, purple berries, which look like tiny grapes. To add to the confusion, this plant isn't even related to holly, though the leaves look just like them. Instead, they are part of the barberry family...but barberry leaves don't look like holly leaves! So confusing!! (The name itself is hyphenated to reduce confusion with true grapes.) Oregon-grapes were commonly eaten by Native Americans, and can be made into wine and jelly, though a great deal of sugar is needed to counter the berry's tart flavor. The berries have been used as a purple dye, and the roots and stems make a yellow dye! Amazing! This plant even has medicinal uses! It was used by Native Americans to treat dyspepsia (upset stomach or indigestion), and is now used as an alternative to the over-harvested herb, Goldenseal, an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial medicine, used in the treatment of infection. Furthermore, some extracts are used to treat skin diseases including eczema and psoriasis, though a side affect is a rash and a burning sensation, which makes me wonder why anyone would bother! :D Finally, there is evidence that Oregon-grapes reduce resistance to antibiotics!! Now that's really cool!! And to think...I thought we had holly growing on our property! It's so interesting to reasearch information for each of the flowers I find here! Hopefully you are enjoying the education too! :) If you would like to know more about Oregon-grapes, Wiki has a great page here: Wiki: Oregon-grape

Now that Spring is in full swing, our property is covered with so many flowers that I can barely keep up! It seems like everywhere I look there's a new flower! My flower folder is getting more and more stuffed with pictures, so I hope that you don't mind, but I will need to start showing more flower pictures until things start to calm down. So, until then I'll be posting two extra flower pictures every two days, and my normal " Flower of Spring" every day. A few weeks ago, I posted a picture of Oregon-grape buds, and this is what the blossoms look like! Aren't they gorgeous?! They are so pretty in every form, and after this they will turn into purple berries!! So much beauty from one plant! In case you didn't get the chance to read about this plant before, I'm reposting the information below. Enjoy! The Oregon-grape is the state flower and can be found growing from British Columbia to northern California. Although it's not actually related to grapes, it produces sour-tasting, purple berries, which look like tiny grapes. To add to the confusion, this plant isn't even related to holly, though the leaves look just like them. Instead, they are part of the barberry family...but barberry leaves don't look like holly leaves! So confusing!! (The name itself is hyphenated to reduce confusion with true grapes.) Oregon-grapes were commonly eaten by Native Americans, and can be made into wine and jelly, though a great deal of sugar is needed to counter the berry's tart flavor. The berries have been used as a purple dye, and the roots and stems make a yellow dye! Amazing! This plant even has medicinal uses! It was used by Native Americans to treat dyspepsia (upset stomach or indigestion), and is now used as an alternative to the over-harvested herb, Goldenseal, an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial medicine, used in the treatment of infection. Furthermore, some extracts are used to treat skin diseases including eczema and psoriasis, though a side affect is a rash and a burning sensation, which makes me wonder why anyone would bother! :D Finally, there is evidence that Oregon-grapes reduce resistance to antibiotics!! Now that's really cool!! And to think...I thought we had holly growing on our property! It's so interesting to reasearch information for each of the flowers I find here! Hopefully you are enjoying the education too! :) If you would like to know more about Oregon-grapes, Wiki has a great page here: Wiki: Oregon-grape

[best appreciated at full size against black] I've been keeping my eyes open for this darling little flower because I missed it last year and that made me a very sad panda. (I did take a nice picture of it when on a hike, but boo hoo, it's not the same thing!!) I love this flower for several reasons. One--it's very tiny! The flower is only about 1/4" in diameter! Two--the blossom stems grow from these fleshy leaves that look very much like lily pads in the air! Three--Miner's Lettuce is edible, and in fact, is sometimes served in fancy restaurants as part of their specialty salad menus! Isn't that cool?! :D I've tried it but honeestly, it tastes a lot like lawn trimmings to me! :D Miner's Lettuce is a fleshy annual plant native to the western mountain and coastal regions of North America from southernmost Alaska and central British Columbia south to Central America, but most common in California in the Sacramento and northern San Joaquin valleys. It grows in cool, damp areas on our property in Southern Oregon in the early spring to about May or whenever it begins to get dry and warm. It gets its name because it was eaten by miners during the Goldrush era to prevent scurvy and provide vitamin C. It has a delicate flavor and can be mixed into salad greens. It is sometimes boiled, and then has the flavor and consistency of spinach. This plant was introduced in western Europe in 1749 and has been widely naturalized there. If you would like more information about this wonderful plant, Wiki has a great source here: Wiki: Miner's Lettuce, Claytonia perfoliata I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) NOTE! I have finally updated my profile and I hope you'll take a look to find out a little more about me and how important all of you are to my experience here on Flickr! www.flickr.com/people/sfhipchick/ This image was taken in April, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] Sometime before Steve and I moved here, one of the previous owners planted a bunch of different bulbs that we've enjoyed every year! Crocus, daffodils, irises, garlic, and these little beauties! These Grape Hyacinths are very small and grow along our road in a few places, but I don't see them if I'm not looking because they are shorter than much of the grass growing up all around them! Grape Hyacinths are also known as "Baby's Breath" and more properly by their genus name, "Muscari". I was very surprised to find out that they aren't related to hyacinths at all, which are much larger, fragrant, and delicate flowers. They were once classified as a lily but now have their own genus, Muscari. Believe it or not, they are in the same family as asparagus!!! There are about 40 different wild specias of this easy to grow, hardy flower, and many cultivated varieties are available too, in a rainbow of colors! If you would like more information about this wonderful plant, Wiki has a great source here: Wiki: Muscari If you're interested in seeing some of the different colors of cultivated Muscari, you can see many here: John Scheepers: Muscari I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) NOTE! I have finally updated my profile and I hope you'll take a look to find out a little more about me and how important all of you are to my experience here on Flickr! www.flickr.com/people/sfhipchick/ This image was taken in April, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] Here is a flower bud I found next to the trail on top of our ridge. I noticed these buds about two weeks ago and I took this picture about a week ago. I've been checking every few days to see if it's opened, including this morning, but I think it has stage fright! :D I wonder what it will look like when it opens!! Please keep your fingers crossed that a deer or other animal doesn't EAT IT!!! It's the only one I've seen anywhere on our property, though I've been looking for others. I am very unhappy to report that I went to check on the progess of one of the flower buds I posted and a few days ago I found that it had been eaten right down to the ground! *cry* *tantrum* *howling fit* A few days ago I spent a couple of hours climbing around on our hillside, looking for another one of those flowers, but alas, I didn't find any, nor did I find any more of this kind either. I was, however, very impressed by all the neat plants and trees up there...it's a mess of brush, fallen trees, and thickets of awful poison oak, but there are many deer trails criss-crossing the acres that comprise the hillside up to the ridgeline. I wish I had the time to begin clearing out the brush and dead trees and branches, but I'm just too busy at this point. I do look forward to this project though...I really enjoy cleaning up our property and have most of our lower forest in good shape now, with enormous piles of brush and branches scattered all over. They make wonderful homes for birds and other animals, though at some point we hope to burn the piles or put them through a wood chipper. I do love the idea of having better access to the wonderful habitats on our hillside instead of needing a machete to hack my way through! :D I will be going up there on a regular basis through the summer though--I know Indian Paintbrush will be blooming, and there are bound to be other surprises as well! :) This image was taken in March, 2012. Explored on April 11th, 2012.

At the beginning of the month, I posted the graceful buds of the 26th Flower of Spring . This was a flower I found a couple of weeks before on our ridge line and took its picture as the buds got bigger. For the next couple of weeks, I checked every few days to see how the buds were developing, and one day I went up to discoveer that at last the day had arrived that it began to open!! Here is my joyful image of the bud beginning to crack open, the first petal freeing itself and starting to turn backwards. When I saw this, I finally knew exactly which flower I was looking at! The stunningly beautiful Scarlet Fritillary Lily!! I took this picture at the end of the day, and went home to tell Steve how excited I was! The next morning I popped out of bed, gathered the dogs, and up the hill we went! I zoomed over to my beautiful flower friend...and...just stood there in complete shock. It was gone. I simply couldn't believe it. When I finally got my wits back, I kneeled down and saw that there were just a few leaves at the bottom, and the flowers had been eaten just hours ago. Talk about HEARTBREAK. I know it was just a pair of blossoms. But I'd watched it grow, I'd taken many, many pictures as it got bigger, and I was so elated about seeing it in full bloom that it really hurt to see it taken away. My Flickr friend, Toni , mentioned a deer spray for her special flowers, and it crossed my mind to get some, but never got around to it. And I have searched all over for more of these flowers to no avail. This flower was chomped up about a week ago, and maybe it's silly, but I am still very depressed over losing it. :( :( The good news is that this flower can be found in many places as late as June. I saw budding flowers on our trip to the Upper Table Rock and I even have a picture of one! I also discovered that I actually took a picture of one last May during a hike to Lost Lake Reservoir. I remembered, when looking at the picture, that I knew it was a little blurry, but it was such a beautiful flower that I put it up anyway. Steve and I will find another Scarlet Fritillary and then I'll have my pretty flower blossom to show, but I will always remember this pretty lily that didn't get its full day to shine! (By the way, if you would like to see an awesome image of an open blossom, my friend Donald took a stunning one! Donald Tedrow's Scarlet Fritillary )

[best appreciated at full size against black] This darling little blossom ia only about 1/4" in diameter, and there are hundreds--perhaps thousands--of these Birdseye Speedwell flowers all over our meadows now! They are irresistable to photograph with a macro lens because they are so bright and beautiful! This one appears to be admiring its lovely friend in the bokeh background, and so am I! I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) NOTE! I have finally updated my profile and I hope you'll take a look to find out a little more about me and how important all of you are to my experience here on Flickr! www.flickr.com/people/sfhipchick/ This image was taken in March, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] Look at this pretty little pair! I was surprised to find them when I was walking around the property the other day, because last year I saw them in a different place! I also didn't know these flowers blossomed in April! Smallflower Blue-Eyed Marys are in a genus called Collinsia, which includes about 25 species, and this one is among the smallest, measuring only about 1/4" in diameter! (We have two other species too, both of which are larger and bloom in May!) This beautiful little flower was used for medicinal purposes by Native Americans, though I couldn't find out what it was used for, however. If you would like to know more about this tiny flower, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Smallflower Blue-eyed Mary This image was taken in March, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] Here is one of my favorite springtime flowers, the beautiful little Popcornfower! (I don't know why, but this plant's name is spelled as I've written it, though I really want to spell it as Popcorn Flower!) Popcornflowers are part of a genus that includes over 65 species, most of which grow all over North and South America, and more than 15 are found in California alone! Surprisingly, there are 5 species known in Australia! These joyful little blossoms are usually white with yellow centers but some species bear yellow flowers. I have always thought the blossoms look very similar to Forget-Me-Nots, a flower that grows on Mt. Davidson behind my childhood home in San Francisco. One of the features of this flower that I love so much is the fern-frond-like unfurling of their blossoms. I will be posting a picture of how this looks in the next few days! :) If you'd like to know more about popcornflowers, Wiki has a page here: Popcorn Flower (Plagiobothrys) I also found a fascinating page all about popcorn flowers with amazing close-ups that will surely make you say WOW!!! Popcorn Flowers on Wayne's Word This image was taken in March, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] Here is one of my favorite springtime flowers, the beautiful little Popcornfower! (I don't know why, but this plant's name is spelled as I've written it, though I really want to spell it as Popcorn Flower!) Popcornflowers are part of a genus that includes over 65 species, most of which grow all over North and South America, and more than 15 are found in California alone! Surprisingly, there are 5 species known in Australia! These joyful little blossoms are usually white with yellow centers but some species bear yellow flowers. I have always thought the blossoms look very similar to Forget-Me-Nots, a flower that grows on Mt. Davidson behind my childhood home in San Francisco. One of the features of this flower that I love so much is the fern-frond-like unfurling of their blossoms. I will be posting a picture of how this looks in the next few days! :) If you'd like to know more about Popcornflowers, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Popcornflower (Plagiobothrys) I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) This image was Explored on April 14th, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] A couple of weeks ago, I posted pictures of the lovely Rusty Popcornflower . I mentioned that the flowers unfurl from a long, rolled stem that I think is really cool! As promised, here is a picture to show you what a budding Popcornflower looks like as it begins to unroll! Isn't that neat? :D This image was taken in April, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] The other day I mentioned finding several new flowers in one small area, and here is one of them! When it came time to identify it, two things happened: the first thing was that I couldn't figure out what it was. The second thing was that I had a nagging feeling that I new what it was all along. Sometimes things are so obvious you don't see them...like looking for the butter in the refrigerator and it's right there in front of your nose and you can't find it! I finally threw my hands up in frustration, tossed my flower books aside, and went back down to where I found this flower. When I took a close look, I exclaimed outloud, "IT'S A MINER'S LETTUCE SPECIES!! NO WONDER I THOUGHT IT LOOKED FAMILIAR!! This flower is different in three ways: the flower is a slightly different shape, the blossom grows high above the leaf which resembles a lily pad, and that leaf is very small compared to the other type. It's possible that this is actually the same species but I really doubt it becuase they are so different from one another. Miner's Lettuce is a fleshy annual plant native to the western mountain and coastal regions of North America from southernmost Alaska and central British Columbia south to Central America, but most common in California in the Sacramento and northern San Joaquin valleys. It grows in cool, damp areas on our property in Southern Oregon in the early spring to about May or whenever it begins to get dry and warm. It gets its name because it was eaten by miners during the Goldrush era to prevent scurvy and provide vitamin C. It has a delicate flavor and can be mixed into salad greens. It is sometimes boiled, and then has the flavor and consistency of spinach. This plant was introduced in western Europe in 1749 and has been widely naturalized there. If you would like more information about this wonderful plant, Wiki has a great source here: Wiki: Miner's Lettuce, Claytonia perfoliata This image was taken in April, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] Another wonderful find from my flower hunt the other day, this tiny beauty is a truly miniscule flower. It is perhaps the smallest flower I have photographed, with a diameter of about 1/16"!! This is the kind of flower I adore taking pictures of because so few people can even see them. They are the flowers I loved most as a child, carefully picking an itty-bitty, miniature bouquet that was the right scale for my Barbie dolls! :D Slender Phlox is so small that its scientific name is "Microsteris"! This annual herb is found all over the western United States down to Mexico and parts of South America, and blooms from March through August. If you would like more information about this wonderful plant, Wiki has a great source here: Wiki: Slender Phlox This image was taken in April, 2012.

I have been looking for this flower to show its pretty pink face, where it's found growing in our large meadow. This tiny bud cluster is only about 1/3" in diameter, and will open to be about an inch wide, but the remarkable thing about this flower is that it turns our large meadow pink with thousands of lovely little blossoms! Shortspur Seablush is also known as Rosy Plectritis and is an annual herb in the Valerian family. (It's not the type harvested as the sleep and relaxation herb, valarian root, which is Valeriana officinalis) This common plant is found in western North America from Vancouver Island to Southern California. If you would like to know more about Shortspur Seablush, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Plectritis congesta Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :)

[best appreciated at full size against black] The other day I posted a picture showing Shortspur Seablush buds . A couple of days ago I went out to take some pictures of open flowers and when I found this flower, I noticed that it had a bodyguard!! Just look at this cutie pie! :D I'm in love, aren't you?! :D Crab spiders are extremely common on our property and I find them on flowers all the time. They can be so small you can barely see them, and sometimes as large as half an inch in size. They are extremely timid and if they feel threatened, they will scurry around to the other side of the flower or run down the stem. Sometimes they just dive off the flower to the ground below and I swear I hear them squealing, "WHEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!" as they go! :D I love these little guys with their awesome ninja positions! I found out today that the reason they seem to come in so many colors is because they can change color over the course of several days to blend in perfectly with the flower they're hunting on! How cool is that?! :D These cute little spiders are harmless to humans but they are very effective ambush predators to insects which visit the flower they're on. They lay in wait, positioned just as this one is, and grab prey as it arrives! Their front legs are longer than their back legs to help them reach flying insects before they can get away. I think they're extremely cool little guys and I will be taking many pictures of them in the coming months! If you would like to see some of my earlier shots, taken with my SX20 and 30, here's the link to click! :) (You will also get to see that I have improved a lot since I began taking pictures last year in February!) If you would like to know more about crab spiders, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Crab Spider (Thomisoidea) I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) NOTE! I have finally updated my profile and I hope you'll take a look to find out a little more about me and how important all of you are to my experience here on Flickr! Janet's profile (sfhipchick) This image was taken in April, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] Have you ever realized that grass has flowers? I don't know about you, but when I think about grass, I see a freshly-mowed lawn. But flowers? Well, if you get down on the ground and look really close, this is what you'll see when grass blooms! SURPRISE! :D There are all kinds of grass too! Did you know that bamboo and reeds are types of grass, for example? And did you know that there are over a dozen species of lawn grass species used, depending on your climate? Amazing!! This is a flower from Annual Bluegrass, which is in a genus which includes over 500 species! Bluegrass gets its name from the color of the seed head of some species, which turn blue as they mature. Bluegrass is among the most popular lawn grass in the world, and is also used for sports fields, golf courses and horse race courses. Finally, did you know that the roots of certain species is good for treating fresh wounds and bleeding?? And back in the 16th century, some species were used to treat inflamation of the kidney! WOW! I had no idea!! If you would like to know more about lawn grass, Wiki has a great page here: Wiki: Lawn If you want to know more about grass species, there's a source on Wiki here: Wiki: Grass For more information about bluegrass, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Poa (Bluegrass) This image was taken in April, 2012.

I'm back! :D Boy, did I have a super day today! Steve and I went on a photo walk in a forest along the Rogue River and let me tell you, it was mushroom heaven!! Couldn't BELIEVE all the mushrooms!!! Also lots of flowers, leaves, spiders, water shots, so many cool things to see! Steve and I will be sharing these amazing treasures in the weeks to come, but for tonight, I'd like to share the 34th Flower of Spring, which was found along the edge of our hillside! I was amazed to see the perfect green star shape its sepal (the leaves just below the blossom) makes--isn't that just the coolest thing?! :D And do you see that she has a pretty face with two eyes, a nose and a mouth?! :) Common Chickweed has very tiny flowers, about 1/4" in diameter, and is a native of Europe, but now grows all over North America too. It's considered to be a weed, hence its name, but it's also edible, quite nutritious, and served in salads! :D (Here are many recipes for tasty salads with Chickweed and here it is listed in a fancy restaurant's menu !) Also, Chickweed is served as a symbolic dish in the Japanese spring-time festival, Nanakusa-no-sekku. Finally, chickweed has had many folklore purposes, used for everything from mange to arthritis relief, though no evidence of actual medical value is known. If you would like to know more about this pretty little flower, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Common Chickweed (Stellaria media) Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :)

[best appreciated at full size against black] It's totally amazing to me that our 26 acres is full of micro-climates, where some things grow and others don't. I've never seen a mushroom on our vast hillside, but I commonly see them in our lower forest, meadows and the granite valley, for instance. The flowers are the same way. This opening Narrowleaf Mule's Ears flower is just one of hundreds growing all over our hillside! But it's not found anywhere else on our property! Isn't that interesting?! :D Narrowleaf Mule's Ears: are in the Aster family and are also known as California Campassplant, This perennnial herb grows on the west coast of the United States from Washington to California and can be found in meadows and open forested areas like our tree-covered hillside. Each plant can have one or more large flowers measuring about 4-5" in diameter. If you would like to know more about this flower, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Narrowleaf Mule's Ears (Wyethia angustifolia) I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) NOTE! I have finally updated my profile and I hope you'll take a look to find out a little more about me and how important all of you are to my experience here on Flickr! www.flickr.com/people/sfhipchick/ This image was taken in April, 2012.