Flower for the Day Dames Rocket 4-30-26

Dames rocket (Hesperis matronalis) is blooming nicely on several of the meadow edges. In the family Brassicaceae it has many names including damask violet, night-scented gilliflower, sweet rocket and mother-of-the-evening. It grows on upright hairy stems on which grow alternate lanceolate shaped leaves.  There are multiple large fragrant flowers each of which has four petals. Dames rocket is often confused with native phlox species and are distinguished from each other by foliage and flower differences. Dame's rocket which arrives earlier has alternately arranged leaves and four petals per flower, while phloxes have opposite leaves and five petals.  Dame's Rocket Rising straight as canes around the older farms, the hairy leaves little arms, the seed for jays, the fragrance a marriage of lilac and rose. They say it came with the early whites before escaping, as ornaments may, the farmyards and gardens for what’s left of the prairie, congregating sometimes in ditches, or among century hedgerows, outliving towns called Empire and Cicero. Jesse Nathan <https://yalereview.org/author/jesse-nathan>

Flower for the Day Daisy 4-28-26

The Oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgaris) or common daisy is plentiful behind our house.   This daisy is a perennial herb that has a creeping underground rhizome. The lower parts of the stem are hairy. The leaves have up to 15 teeth on the edges, decrease in size up the stem and are deeply toothed. The plant bears up to three "flowers" like those of a typical daisy. Each head has between fifteen and forty white "petals" (ray florets) surrounding the yellow disc florets. Below the head is an involucre of glabrous green bracts with brownish edges. Ox-eye daisy is similar to shasta daisy (Leucanthemum × superbum <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucanthemum_%C3%97_superbum>) which has larger flower heads. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Leucanthemum_vulgare_08.jpg>  Its OK to sing: There is a flower within my heart, Daisy, Daisy! Planted one day by a glancing dart, Planted by Daisy Bell! Whether she loves me or loves me not, Sometimes it's hard to tell; Yet I am longing to share the lot Of beautiful Daisy Bell! Daisy, Daisy, Give me your answer, do! I'm half crazy, All for the love of you! It won't be a stylish marriage, I can't afford a carriage, But you'll look sweet upon the seat Of a bicycle built for two! We will go "tandem" as man and wife, Daisy, Daisy! "Pedaling" away down the road of life, I and my Daisy Bell! When the road's dark we can both despise Policeman and "lamps" as well; There are "bright lights" in the dazzling eyes Of beautiful Daisy Bell! (Chorus) I will stand by you in "wheel" or woe, Daisy, Daisy! You'll be the bell(e) which I'll ring you know! Sweet little Daisy Bell! You'll take the "lead" in each "trip" we take, Then if I don't do well; I will permit you to use the brake, My beautiful Daisy Bell! (Chorus) Harry Dacre - 1892

Flower for the Day Peony 4-27-26

This peony (Paeonia) is my favorite since childhood. The rich red color is unmatched. Its only downside is that it is too evanescent. I call them Pe’onys. I have a friend from the country who calls them PeO’nys and as you will read below Jeanne Lohman’s gramma called them pineys. They are gorgeous no matter what you call them.  As it blooms it evolves to deeper red and some gold.  The peonies love the kitchen table.  The deep red transforms to pink as the petals slowly fall. Peonies Grandma called them pineys, and I didn't know why. They smelled so good, the full lush petals crowded thick, the whole flower heavy on its stem, the leaves dark and rich and green as shade in Chatauqua Woods where each spring I hunted for violets. What could there be to pine for on this earth? Now I think maybe it was Missouri she missed, and maybe that was what somebody she knew called peonies there, before she traveled to Ohio, a sixteen-year -old bride whose children came on as fast as field crops and housework. Her flowers saved her, the way they came up year after year and with only a bit of care lived tender and pretty, each kind surprising, keeping its own sweet secret: lily-of-the-valley, iris, the feathery-leaved cosmos, lilacs in their white and purple curls, flamboyant sweet peas and zinnias, the bright four o'clocks and delphinium, blue as her eyes, and the soft peony flowers edged deep pink. In her next life I want my grandmother to walk slowly through the gardens in England and Kyoto. I want to be there when she recognizes the flowers and smiles, when she kneels and takes the pineys in her hands. Jeanne Lohmann,

Flower for the Day Iris II 4-24-26

This time of year if you blink there are new blooms. These iris all bloomed in the last day - silently. Words cannot capture their beauty.

An iris feast.

Flower for the Day Slender Yellow Wood Sorrel 4-23-26

Slender yellow wood sorrel (Oxalis dillenii) has replaced the violets in the meadow which is now a field of yellow.  The leaves of this plant resemble clover with three leaflets. The flowers have five yellow petals. Community Garden <https://www.poetrysoup.com/famous/poem/community_garden_1361> I watch the man bend over his patch, a fat gunny sack at his feet. He combs the earth with his fingers, picks up pebbles around tiny heads of sorrel. Clouds bruise in, clog the sky, the first fat drops pock-mark the dust. The man wipes his hands on his chest, opens the sack, pulls out top halves of broken bottles, and plants them, firmly, over each head of sorrel — tilting the necks toward the rain. His back is drenched, so am I, his careful gestures clench my throat, wrench a hunger out of me I don't understand, can't turn away from. The last plant sheltered, the man straightens his back, swings the sack over his shouler, looks at the sky, then at me and — as if to end a conversation — says: I know they'd survive without the bottles, I know. He leaves the garden, plods downhill, blurs away. I hear myself say it to no one: I never had a father. Laure-Anne Bosselar

Flower for the Day Lily of the Valley 4-22-26

With all the showy flowers blooming I almost forgot to show my old and faithful friend the Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis). Other names include May bells, Our Ladies Tears and Mary’s tears, glovewort, and Apollinaris. These green blades appear out of nowhere  finally forming the bell shaped flowers.  The flowering stems have a one-sided raceme of six to twelve pendulous flowers on the upper part of the stem. The flowers have six white tepals fused at the base to form a bell shape with reflexed tips which that are sweetly scented.  Due to its high concentration of cardiac glycosides it is extremely toxic. Lily of the Valley In the world, where flowers glow, Many sweet and fragrant grow. Yet, like you, dear lily fair, None in all the world compare, Sweetly scented, all may know. You are tears from angels’ eyes, Fallen from celestial skies, As they sway among the stars, Shedding sorrows from afar, Whispers of divine goodbyes. Delicate and white you gleam, Like my life’s most cherished dream. With you, precious, tiny bloom, Adornments in spring’s sweet room, Nature’s elegant regime. Yet, the chilly wind may blow, Untimely, it lays you low. Thus, fate’s hand in cruel jest, Steals the beauty we love best, Flower fades, life’s fleeting show. Vacile Alecsandri: translation by Julia Kalman

Flower for the Day Spanish Hyacinth 4-21-26

> > The Spanish Hyacinth (Hyacinthoides hispanica) is a bulbous perennial in the asparagus family. It is also called spanish bluebell and wood hyacinth and spanish quill. It looks a lot like the Virginia bluebell. It has been in this garden area for 48 years. >  > > The flowers are gone in a blink but the greenery lasts for months > > > > THE BLUEBELL > A fine and subtle spirit dwells > In every little flower, > Each one its own sweet feeling breathes > With more or less of power. > There is a silent eloquence > In every wild bluebell > That fills my softened heart with bliss > That words could never tell. > > Anne Bronte

Flower for the Day Spanish Hyacinth 4-21-26

The Spanish Hyacinth (Hyacinthoides hispanica) is a bulbous perennial in the asparagus family. It is also called spanish bluebell and wood hyacinth and spanish quill. It looks a lot like the Virginia bluebell. It has been in this garden area for 48 years.  The flowers are gone in a blink but the greenery lasts for months  THE BLUEBELL A fine and subtle spirit dwells In every little flower, Each one its own sweet feeling breathes With more or less of power. There is a silent eloquence In every wild bluebell That fills my softened heart with bliss That words could never tell. Anne Bronte

Flower for the Day Early Spring Woodland Flowers 4-20-26

> > In Warren County after a heavy rain the streams run deep and clear. >  > > They are magical. >  > > And in the nearby woods the natives have begun to bloom. This gorgeous one is > Miami mist (Phacelia pursii). >  >  > > Here is wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata). >  > > And spring beauty (Claytonia Virginica) has finally shown up.  > > It is truly a glorious time of year. > > Claytonia virginica > > Prim pink pinstripes > beckon from the wet soil > beside the creek. But like > most beauties, they’re choosy > about their suitors, > unmoved except by just > the right bee visiting > in just the right order: > one day they hokey- > poke their stamens out; > the next, it’s the pistel’s turn. > Petals close even for a cloud. > And when flowering’s done, > they do their best > to pass for grass. > Who wouldn’t be wary > with such a large > & edible heart? > > Jennifer Schlick > >

Flower for the Day Early Spring Woodland Flowers 4-20-26

In Warren County after a heavy rain the streams run deep and clear.  They are magical.  And in the nearby woods the natives have begun to bloom. This gorgeous one is Miami mist (Phacelia pursii).   Here is wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata).  And spring beauty (Claytonia Virginica) has finally shown up. It is truly a glorious time of year. Claytonia virginica Prim pink pinstripes beckon from the wet soil beside the creek. But like most beauties, they’re choosy about their suitors, unmoved except by just the right bee visiting in just the right order: one day they hokey- poke their stamens out; the next, it’s the pistel’s turn. Petals close even for a cloud. And when flowering’s done, they do their best to pass for grass. Who wouldn’t be wary with such a large & edible heart? Jennifer Schlick

Flower for the Day Lilac 4-18-26

At the Lake House there is an old if small lilac bush which bloomed this last week. The common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) is a woody plant in the olive family. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word syrinx meaning pipe or tube and refers to its hollow branches. The leaves are opposite and lanceolate shaped. The flowers have a four-lobed corolla with the corolla tube narrow and long. They are monoecious, with fertile stamens and stigma in each flower. The usual color is light purple or lilac. This bush although small was exceptional for its strong almost overpowering fragrance. Stealing Lilacs A guaranteed miracle, it happens for two weeks each May, this bounty of riches where McMansion, trailer, the humblest driveway burst with color—pale lavender, purple, darker plum— and glorious scent. This morning a battered station wagon drew up on my street and a very fat woman got out and starting tearing branches from my neighbor’s tall old lilac— grabbing, snapping stems, heaving armloads of purple sprays into her beater. A tangle of kids’ arms and legs writhed in the car. I almost opened the screen door to say something, but couldn’t begrudge her theft, or the impulse to steal such beauty. Just this once, there is enough for everyone. Alice N. Persons Poem from Doug.

Gnomes

The gnomes demanded to come out several weeks ago. They love it.

Flower for the Day First Iris 4-16-26

> > Well we had a drenching rain last night and the gardens have exploded. Oh yes, the tornado that came by last night missed us by a few miles (it went a little north of us). Iris is the Greek goddess of the rainbow.This Iris is in a flowering plant genus <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genus> of 310 accepted species with showy f <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower>lowers. As well as being the scientific name, iris is also widely used as a common name for all Iris species. >  > They grow from bulbs and have basal sword shaped leaves that grow in clumps. The i <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflorescence>inflourescences are in the shape of a fan and contain one or more symmetrical six-lobed flowers. The three sepals, which are usually spreading or droop downwards, are referred to as "falls". They expand from their narrow base (the "claw" or "haft"), into a broader expanded portion ("limb" or "blade") and can be adorned with veining, lines or dots. In the centre of the blade, some of the rhizomatous irises have a "beard", a row of fuzzy hairs at the base of each falls petal which gives pollinators a landing place and guides them to the nectar. > The three petals <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petal> stand upright, partly behind the sepal bases. They are called "standards". Some smaller iris species have all six lobes pointing straight outwards, but generally limb and standards differ markedly in appearance. They are united at their base into a floral tube that lies above the ovary. The three styles divide towards the apex into petaloid branches. > This iris which blooms first each year was a gift from a friend more than forty years ago. Because of the weight of its flower head it must be staked for its few days of blooming. >  > > Climbing You > I want to understand the steep thing > that climbs ladders in your throat. > I can't make sense of you. > Everywhere I look you're there-- > a vast landmark, a volcano > poking its head through the clouds, > Gulliver sprawled across Lilliput. > > I climb into your eyes, looking. > The pupils are black painted stage flats. > They can be pulled down like window shades. > I switch on a light in your iris. > Your brain ticks like a bomb. > > In your offhand, mocking way > you've invited me into your chest. > Inside: the blur that poses as your heart. > I'm supposed to go in with a torch > or maybe hot water bottles > & defrost it by hand > as one defrosts an old refrigerator. > It will shudder & sigh > (the icebox to the insomniac). > > Oh there's nothing like love between us. > You're the mountain, I am climbing you. > If I fall, you won't be all to blame, > but you'll wait years maybe > for the next doomed expedition. > > Erica Jong

Don'd Blog Joe's Urban Relative 4-15-26

We have a friendly black snake at the Lake House. He is over six feet long and lives under our front porch. Yesterday we saw his urban relative in the side yard. To our amazement we watched as it went to the nearby tree and started climbing up it. Here he is at over six feet from the ground.

And now higher.

and higher,

Then he disappeared into the upper limbs well over ten feet high. Yes, black snakes are excellent climbers (I found out) and frequently ascend trees either to escape predators or in search of birds eggs. They do this using specialized keeled scales and strong muscles to grip the bark. I will think twice next time I walk under this tree.

Flower for the Day 4-13-26 Celandine Poppy

It is so great to be outside gardening. One of my spring favorites is celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum). Also called wood poppy, it is a native in the Papaveraceae family. It loves being on this little hillside.  It grows from underground rhizomes. I <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaves>ts leaves are pinnately cut and lobed. They grow from the base of the plant, and in a pair at the top of the flowering stems. Apart from its normal sap, Stylophorum diphyllum produces a yellow orange latex which can cause stains. The bright yellow flowers have 4 petals, two soon falling sepals, many yellow orange stamens, and a single knobby stigma. They appear singly or in umbels of two to four flowers from early spring to early summer. The flowers issue from between a pair of leaves at the top of the flowering stems.  The flowers issue from between a pair of leaves at the top of the flowering stems.  Celandine poppy is an extraordinary shade plant. When in early spring lonely poppy bloom hidden in the forest and the rock rose gleams under the maple . . . . The splendor of the simple. Only image formed keeps the vision. Yet the image formed rests in the poem. How could cheerfulness stream through us if we wanted to shun sadness? Pain gives of its healing power where we least expect it. Martin Heidegger

Flower for the Day Periwinkle 4-9-26

> > Every garden has an infrastructure including paths and borders (or no borders). I try to keep mine > somewhat tidy using rocks (large and small) and growing steppables. My favorite ground cover is > periwinkle (Vinca minor) which surrounds multiple sides of my gardens and house. It has many advantages. > It grows in drought resistant areas. It stays green all year. It blooms twice a year. It doesn’t climb trees. > It is soft to the touch. It comes in several flower colors. From a gardener’s perspective its dense habit smothers most weeds. If it overgrows it can be readily transplanted. >  > > It is in the dogbane family. Periwinkle spreads along the ground and rooting along the stems forming large clonal colonies. The leaves are evergreen opposite, broad, and glossy dark green with a leathery texture and an entire margin. > The flowers are solitary in the leaf axils, violet-purple and and magenta in color and have a five-lobed corolla. >  > > Disillusionment of Ten O’Clock > > The houses are haunted > By white night gowns. > None are green, > Or purple with green rings, > Or green with yellow rings, > Or yellow with blue rings. > None of them are strange, > With socks of lace > and beaded ceintures. > People are not going > To dream of baboons and periwinkles. > Only, here and there, an old sailor, > Drunk and asleep in his boots, > Catches tigers > In red weather. > > Wallace Stevens > > > > > > > > >

Flower for the Day Phlox 4-8-26

We have had our phlox (Phlox subulatea )for over 40 years. It is also known as creeping phlox, moss pink, and mountain phlox. It is an evergreen perennial which forms mats of hairy linear leaves. It is beginning to look sketchy as a whole but is spectacular up close. Should I rip it out and start over or just enjoy it as it ages with more water and a little fertilizer?  The five petalled flower is awesome. Phlox is from the Latin for flame.   hope is a hillside, a terrace, a forgotten garden spilling over with spring love is a secret drive, a wait ’til we get there spilling over with electricity generosity is a knowing, a giving of true possibility phlox on the hillside, a terrace, a forgotten garden spilling over with hope and generosity and love and possibility and spring. Samantha Lazar <https://medium.com/@LazarSamantha> 2020

Flower for the Day Violet 4-7-26

We have an entire meadow of common blue violets (Viola sororia). They are five petaled perennials. In the field they are majestic miniatures. In a garden they are an invasive weed.  The Violet UPON the mead a violet stood, Retiring, and of modest mood, In truth, a violet fair. Then came a youthful shepherdess, And roam'd with sprightly joyousness, And blithely woo'd With carols sweet the air "Ah!" thought the violet, "had I been For but the smallest moment e'en Nature's most beauteous flower, 'Till gather'd by my love, and press'd, When weary, 'gainst her gentle breast, For e'en, for e'en One quarter of an hour!" Alas! alas! the maid drew nigh, The violet failed to meet her eye, She crush'd the violet sweet. It sank and died, yet murmur'd not: "And if I die, oh, happy lot, For her I die, And at her very feet!” Goethe

Flower for the Day Azalea 4-6-26

The azaleas (Rhododendron indicum) have been striking this year. Ours is a Satsuki evergreen azalea and has been hybridized in Japan for at least 500 years. The first Satsuki were probably natural hybrids of Rhododendron indicum. We have sub-types Karen and Herbert. They bloom at slightly different times allowing them to last longer.   Up close they are amazing,  and intricate. They have single and double flowers.  Azalea Maybe I was as weak as the azaleas giving way to the wind- Each gale whipped at my sanity and eased my fading grip on reality. Dancing delicate like the blooms, I tumbled into a lost oblivion. Blowing aimlessly and brushing cement, I lost all luster- Fading into a pile of like outcasts, our same fate joins us together. Layers begin to wither and peel back, exposing a raw center; Only a part of me is still alive, waiting in agony for insect's pollination, I appear the same at first glance, yet battered and torn under autopsy. Robin Bennett

Flower for the Day Bluebells 4-4-26

This year we have a very nice stand of Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)) on the western side of 

our meadow under the trees. It is a spring ephemeral plant in the Boraginaceae (borage) family with bell-shaped sky-blue flowers, native to eastern North America. Borage is the family of forget-me-nots. This bluebell is also called Virginia cowslip and lungwort oysterleaf. Who knew? It was first described by Linnaeus in 1753 as Pulmonaria virginica.

Virginia bluebells have rounded (ovate) and gray-green leaves which are long and smooth along their margins, petiolate at the bottom of the flower and sessile at the top.The inflorescence is a nodding group of flowers located at the end of the arched stems.The flowers have 5 shallow lobes fused into a tube at the base of the flower, five stamens , and a central pistil. Both the flowers and the leaves are edible.

The flower buds are pink, and the opened flowers are usually light blue. 

There is also a rare white form.

why from this her and him

did you and i climb

(crazily kissing) til

into themselves we fell --

how have all time and space

bowed to immortal us

if in one little bed

she and he lie (undead)

eecummings

[Please explain that one to me.]

Flowers for the Day Explosion 3-3-26

In a garden in the spring if you add some heat and water you get an explosion.

All of these flowers bloomed in the last week. I will get into more detail in other blogs.

Blue violet - Viola sororia

Azalea (Rhododendron indicum) - Herbert

Moss phlox (Phlox subulata)

Bugle weed (Ajuga reptans)

Common periwinkle (Vinca minor)

Celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum)

There are more but they can wait until another day.

When the early morning light quietly

grows above the mountain .  .  .  .

  

                     The world's darkening never reaches 

                        the light of Being.

                     We are too late for the gods and too

                         early for Being. Being's poem,

                         just begun, is man.

                     To head for a star — this only.

                     To think is to confine yourself to a

                         thought  that one day stands

                         still like a star in the world's sky.   

Martin Heidegger 

                      

Flower for the Day Grape Hyacinth 4-1-26

Here are some old friends on the first of April - no foolin'.  They are grape hyacinths (Muscari armeiacum). They are in the squill subfamily of the asparagus Family. They have been blooming here for more than forty years.

I love the flowers which appear as inverted vases.

Covertly

If,  I was not afraid of,   the thing, but the signature   strike of a copycat  in the art of dismantling.    You,  try to pull down brick  by brick, the  jeopardy. A dead premises  becoming alive.    How,  will you,numb with pain,  explain the poetry of victim's trail,  becoming a Buddha ?  Can you find a bo tree for me ?    The,  grape hyacinth, I still  carry your globular blue  eyes, chasing my  kisses. Why in the evening ?      Satish Verma