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A Farm of My Own:  Identifying wildflowers / native plants  |
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Huckelberrywine
True Blue Farmgirl
1607 Posts
Michelle
Rosalia
1607 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 28 2007 : 11:26:03 AM
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Are there other farmgirls who love to spend time wandering around the farm (or other natural place) and identify the natural plants in the area?
Since we purchased our place, I've really enjoyed identifying what is growing. It is my secret hope that we may find a Giant Palouse Earthworm (see pg. 160 in MJ's Ideabook) there some day. It seems each week something new is blooming.
What wild plants grow and are welcome at your place? How do they benefit you/your critters/your wildlife?
We make a difference. |
Edited by - Huckelberrywine on May 06 2007 11:06:42 PM |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2007 : 12:57:42 PM
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Michelle-
Your place sounds amazing! Wouldn't it be great if you DID have a Giant Palouse Earthworm?! It makes me so sad to think of these amazing creatures dying out.
Right now the only thing that is growing is weeds. I have an overly abundant crop of dandelions and this strange weed that has really broad leaves and lives close to the ground. I am going to pick a sample of all of my weeds and take them to the U of I for identification. I would love to have a natural grass yard, but these weeds are so invasive- they are driving everything nice away!
Please tell us what kinds of plants you have! It so exciting; I think we are pretty much neighbors so maybe I can get some good ideas from you!
Alee
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YiberryYadeeKarin
True Blue Farmgirl
343 Posts
Karin
Spokane Valley
WA
USA
343 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2007 : 5:34:51 PM
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Michelle,
I do! I do! (Waving my arms to say that I also love identifying and pressing wildflowers!)
I love it when I spot an undisturbed site somewhere in town or near houses. In the spring the yellow bells and grass widows are SO precoiuis!!!!
I'd love to see your place someday. I'm not that far away!
Karin |
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Huckelberrywine
True Blue Farmgirl
1607 Posts
Michelle
Rosalia
1607 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2007 : 7:04:32 PM
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Oh, I'd love to have you both out for a picnic, Karin and Alee!
I've only begun this project, but so far I've identified the following:
Bush/tree
Ponderosa pine, Serviceberry, Elderberry, Golden currant
Woods rose, Wax currant, snowberry
White:
Wild onion, Wild carrot, Miner's Lettuce
Pink/red:
Spreading phlox, Western shooting star, Roundleaf trillium
Blue/purple:
Parry's Delphinium, Idaho blue-eyed grass, Rocky Mt. Iris
Yellow:
Yellow bells, Sagebrush buttercup, Water buttercup
2 kinds of violet, Lewis's Lomatium, Prairie Smoke
Arrow-leaved Balsamroot
Green:
Geranium ...not sure what kind yet
Many native grasses...not sure yet how to ID them, will work on it
Various noxious weeds that are on my "hit list"
I'll add to and update this list as I discover more. Getting the word out that there is to be absolutely no spraying here. I'm so glad others enjoy this too. Karin, what have you found?
Also, a G.P.E. was found as recently as 2005, so there is hope that they haven't been wiped out. Maybe some night I'll find one with a flashlight among the earthworms?
We make a difference. |
Edited by - Huckelberrywine on May 07 2007 06:56:14 AM |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2007 : 06:49:40 AM
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I just love doing this one - hopefully sometime I'll have a "sketchbook collection" of the things that grow on my farm - some of my favorites are the native potawotamee (I have NO idea how to spell it - I just spelled it like it sounds) plums and the really old pioneer "wild" roses. Glad to see that you all are interested, too - how fun!!! I have my share of noxious weeds, too - thistle seems to be the bane this year...Ugh.
XOXO, Libbie
"All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar..." - Helen Hayes |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2007 : 08:23:17 AM
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Michelle-
A Picnic would be lovely! It would be fun to get together one of these days!
Alee |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2007 : 08:25:25 AM
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I just saw a picture of a GPE. They are white instead of the normal brown color. The most recent finding of one was in May of 2005. Yay for the GPE!
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=1613151&page=1
Alee |
Edited by - Alee on Apr 29 2007 08:31:33 AM |
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Huckelberrywine
True Blue Farmgirl
1607 Posts
Michelle
Rosalia
1607 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2007 : 10:16:35 AM
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Libby, I'll have to send you one of my sketches. :) Alee and Karin, how do your plans for next weekend look? I'll e-mail you both and let's see when we can do this. Of course, the farm isn't going anywhere, but the wildflowers won't be this abundant later when it gets really hot. Oh, and if you like birds, bring binoculars!
We make a difference. |
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Mountain Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
806 Posts
JoAnn
Colville
Washington
USA
806 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2007 : 11:14:15 AM
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| Saw my first trillium in a very unlikely place. We have seen Glacier lilies, yellow skuck cabbage, buttercups, shooting stars (both the pink and white,phlox arrowleaf balsamroot, springbeauty, oregon grape is in flower many many others . Many of the trees are of course in flower. My husband is an amateur naturlist and most of our time is spent identifying birds, plants etc. Our dates before we married were all "walks in the woods". One cannot forget the mushrooms. We have already gathered over 75 morels and have three more patches that we're watching(won't pick till they get larger. What I like about this area is that we get many "springs." Down by the river (Lake Roosevelt) flowers appear first, then as the elevation goes higher they appear later so we just go a little higher. Now if I could only sketch.Just remember a great book I have --it'd called Little Things in a Big Country:An Artist & her Dog on the Rocky Mountain Front. IT has lovely sketches and text to go along. JoAnn |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2007 : 12:40:51 PM
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Michelle-
I got your email and replied. My mother-in-law to be might be in town during that time so I am not sure how it will work, but I will let you know as soon as I do! Thank you so much for the invitation!
JoAnn- Those dates sound wonderful. I love just wandering through the woods like that. I hope that my fiance and I can do a bit more of that this summer since he gets to take 12 weeks off from work for paternity leave. It's amazing how just a quick trip to nature really makes you appreciate other things in life, isn't it?
Alee
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Woodswoman
True Blue Farmgirl
512 Posts
Jennifer
Altamont
NY
USA
512 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2007 : 1:10:12 PM
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Me too!!!I love wandering through my woods and seeing what is up. So far some of the things we've seen are:
Red, white, and painted trillium
May apples
Starflower
Wood anenome
Trout lily
We've seen Lady's slipper in the past, but I don't think it is up yet.
One of the art teachers where I teach is giving me some instruction on sketching, so I can do better sketches of the plants. A book I love on identifying plants is Peterson's guide-"Wildflowers". I also use Peterson's "Medicinal Plants and Herbs" quite a bit.
Jennifer |
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Huckelberrywine
True Blue Farmgirl
1607 Posts
Michelle
Rosalia
1607 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2007 : 6:20:48 PM
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Oh, wonderful! I'll have to look those up...I thought I spotted a trillium, the leaves are so distinctive. I'm just waiting for a blossom to be sure. What fun!
We make a difference. |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2007 : 08:54:29 AM
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I like to know what things are, but I can never seem to identify things from a book (tried Peterson's). I need somebody to tell me what's what in person. Somehow I just never recognize the plants from the illustration/description.
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Vintage Redhead
True Blue Farmgirl
233 Posts
Kaylyn
Saint Charles
IL
USA
233 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2007 : 10:57:52 AM
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It sounds as though you ladies up in the Washington/Idaho area have a mix of gorgeous wildflowers! You have piqued my curiosity: What exactly is a "Giant Palouse Earthworm?" And please define "Giant"? Maybe I've just seen too many movies, but I'm thinking small garter snake. (I don't even touch the compost heap in my backyard.)
Amie C.: I would recommend viewing a book such as the Audubon Field Guide to North American Wildflowers to help you identify what you are looking for. Audubon Field Guides generally have full-color photographs, descriptions of plant variances and similarities, the fauna that feed and make their shelter from the plant, and maps of where the plants are likely to grow. I find Audubon Field Guides to be *incredibly* reliable resources. They're a bit pricey, $12-$15, depending on the guide and where you buy it. But if it's reliability you're looking for, then it's a good investment because you'll only have to buy one guide instead of several looking for the right one. We have the North American editions of Weather, Bugs, and Birds and Wildflowers is next on our list because both of our boys are Cub Scouts and we're going camping next month.
Libbie: Here is a "specialty" scrapbook that a gal by the handle "bemidjibelle" put together and posted on another board last year. She cataloged photographs of flowers and accompanied her photos with stamps and poetry. Thought you may like to see it...
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/288311?cat=500&perpage=48&ppuser=3999
That link will take you to one of her photos. Once you're there, you can move around in her personal gallery if you would like to see her entire album of wildflowers...or any of her other work. She is one of my favorite ink artists! ~ K
~ Kaylyn ~ (Living in Suburbia with a FARMGIRL Heart!)
My Cause: http://nickspavilion.blogspot.com/
My Life: http://vintageredhead.blogspot.com |
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Kathie
True Blue Farmgirl
2436 Posts
Kathie
Thonotosassa
Florida
USA
2436 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2007 : 11:01:18 AM
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I love wild flowers.. But i think my yard may look alot like Alee's.. Dandelions & this really cruddy stuff we pretend is grass down here..
I do rearn to know what each new thing i see is though.. & want to capture it in a pressed flower for myself too..
But this is pretty odd listen to this.. down here I just can't grow Foxgloves.. & I really adore this flower.. I think it is just so beautiful!.. BUT we have this wild flower.. weed type thing that somewhat remonds me of a Fofglove.. or possibly a foxtail maybe since there really aren't any sweet little cups.. so.. dumb me.. thought.. hey.. they are so wild.. they are weeds.. they grow EVERYWHERE along side the road even.. if they can with stand that.. shouldn't they grow in my garden? Well.. apparently not girls.. Because once i ever so carfuly Yank them up from the wild!! & gently replant them in my yard.. They hate me for it! & Show me just how much.. by dying on me!
I've tried this 3 times.. So.. I really hate being a plant murderess.. So i have to admire them as i drive by.. But isn't that really too weird.. ? Why do they survive a traffic area.. & hate being babied in my yard?? I don't get it..
I've only seen them in yellow... if anyone knows what this beauty is..
So.. i'll still to my wild milk weed.. She likes me..
In a World Where you Can Be Anything, Be Yourself.. |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2007 : 12:44:09 PM
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Kaylyn-
The Giant Palouse Earthworm is one of the few earthworms that is actually native to the USA! They can grow to be about a meter long, and had been thought to be extinct until one was found in May of 2005! I posted a link earlier in this thread to a news article about it and they have pictures there as well. And of course, MaryJane talks about it in her book.
This area, the Palouse, has extremely rich soil, not a ton of rocky debris (in comparison to other places) and has a great growing season. All this means that before the land was cultivated, it was an earthworm dream. Unfortunately pesticides, chemical fertilization and aggressive plowing techniques have really endangered this worm. I am hoping that places like MJF give refuge to them and we will start seeing them reappear more often. Right now the best places to look for them are in undisturbed forested areas on the Palouse.
Alee
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Vintage Redhead
True Blue Farmgirl
233 Posts
Kaylyn
Saint Charles
IL
USA
233 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2007 : 2:34:53 PM
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Thanks! I see the link now - and get that GPE is board-speak for the "Giant Palouse Earthworm!" Another question: Is "The Palouse" a place (like an indian reservation); a region (that covers a specific geographical area); a type of land (like a prairie but instead encompassing the type of soil you've described); or something combining all of them or none of them? I've read it referenced in MJs magazine and books...but I can't say that I understand what "The Palouse" is and I'm *very* intrigued.
Say for example: out here in Illinois. We have "Prairies." Native prairies in Illinois grow native species of short-grass (thigh high), tall-grass (shoulder high), and mixed-grass (both). Some prairies also are mixed with native wildflowers depending upon where they are in the state. But a true prairie is comprised primarily of mixed-grass.
~ Kaylyn ~ (Living in Suburbia with a FARMGIRL Heart!)
My Cause: http://nickspavilion.blogspot.com/
My Life: http://vintageredhead.blogspot.com |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2007 : 4:37:25 PM
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The Palouse is a geographic area that was created during the last Ice Age. It's actually a pretty neat story (I knew the Soil Class at college would be helpful!)
During the last Ice Age a huge glacier got trapped in the mountains over by Missoula Montana. As the ice age waned, the glacier started to melt but the part that was trapped in the mountain passes stayed frozen. This created a huge ice dam and really large lake behind it. The lake's waters were melted glacial water that also carried all the sediment and top soil that the glacier had scraped off of the surrounding area.
Then as the weather warmed the dam got softer and one day it broke. The glacial water poured down the mountain and where the water flowed, the heavier sediment got deposited. This created the hills and valleys of the Palouse.
Basically the geographic Palouse is the extremely rich farmland that is created by having a topsoil layer almost completely comprised of glacial sediment. Have you ever looked at a stream bed and seen how the sediment has those ripples in it? If you look at the hills of the Palouse, they look the same way!
The actual name "Palouse" is from a local Indian tribe and is a form of the name of an Indian village.
Hope that helps explain the Palouse region a little bit. If you are still interested I can probably find some good reference material about the ice dam and such :)
Alee
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Huckelberrywine
True Blue Farmgirl
1607 Posts
Michelle
Rosalia
1607 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2007 : 4:57:24 PM
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Alee, you are such a wealth of information. :) This area is also where the appaloosa horse breed originated. Note the similarity in names?
For more about the Palouse, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palouse
We make a difference. |
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Huckelberrywine
True Blue Farmgirl
1607 Posts
Michelle
Rosalia
1607 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2007 : 5:18:06 PM
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Oh my goodness, I just read up on the Palouse, and realized that our "farm" has one of the isolated bits of natural Palouse. What I've been doing out of curiosity and a natural inclination to recognize, preserve, and propagate is just what needs to happen. We have a riparian zone too...I've been calling it the bird sanctuary... Wow!
We make a difference. |
Edited by - Huckelberrywine on May 06 2007 11:13:01 PM |
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Vintage Redhead
True Blue Farmgirl
233 Posts
Kaylyn
Saint Charles
IL
USA
233 Posts |
Posted - Apr 30 2007 : 7:05:33 PM
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Alee & Michelle:
Thanks for the info ~ now I have yet *another* reason to visit your wonderful area of the world! I have not yet traveled to your corner of the country. I'm setting my sights on 2009 ~ DH and I are making lists of camping areas that we wish to hit in the next two years.
It's funny - the older I get, the more I realize how little I learned when I was younger, except to learn *how* to learn.
~ Kaylyn ~ (Living in Suburbia with a FARMGIRL Heart!)
My Cause: http://nickspavilion.blogspot.com/
My Life: http://vintageredhead.blogspot.com |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2007 : 09:20:22 AM
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Kaylyn-
We would love to have you out in our neck of the woods! Let us know when you are coming and maybe we could get together!
Michelle- I am so glad that your corner of the Palouse has such a good custodian! I can't wait to some see your place. Maybe in a couple of weeks we can get together!
Alee |
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YiberryYadeeKarin
True Blue Farmgirl
343 Posts
Karin
Spokane Valley
WA
USA
343 Posts |
Posted - May 01 2007 : 9:55:27 PM
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Just a little addition....
I was a (physical) geography major in college (at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, where you can enjoy both the Channeled Scablands and the Palouse) and had it drilled into my head, through classes in geomorphology and geology that the Palouse hills are made of loess, which is wind blown silt. Here's more detailed info that I found on a website:
Palouse Hills
The most characteristic feature of the Palouse is its rolling hills. Early geologists in the area first thought the Palouse deposits were formed by the weathering of basalt. Later studies showed that, based on the particle size and composition of the silt, or loess, the deposits were primarily transported here rather than formed in place. The best evidence shows that the Palouse loess was blown here as fine silt particles that collected in the dune-like shapes we see today.
Loess is not particularly unique since nearly 10 percent of the earth's land surface is made up of accumulations of this wind-blown dust. Besides the Palouse, parts of the Mississippi Valley as well as large parts of Asia and central Europe are made up of loess deposits. These are regions of rich farmlands. In fact, most of the world's best agricultural soils are in loess.
Loess is mostly associated with cool climates and usually forms in arid areas near glacial regions. Interestingly, no pre-Pleistocene loess has been recognized in the geologic record, although numerous pre-Pleistocene glaciations have been documented.
The source area of the Palouse loess has been debated. Both volcanic ash from the Cascades and glacial flour from the ice margins of glaciated regions to the north have been deposited. Most likely, the Palouse loess was blown in form the fine-grained Ringold Formation on the eastern margins of the Cascades and perhaps from the Touchet Beds in the Pasco Basin.
The Palouse hills show a distinct alignment and dune-like form. This is due not only to the original dunes, but also to a number of factors that tend to steepen north-facing slopes and flatten the south-facing ones. From the air, or a vantage point on a "steptoe," the dune form of the rolling hills is dramatic--gentle south-facing slopes and steep north-facing slopes aligned parallel to the prevailing southwesterly winds. More than one observer has likened the view to a sea of waves.
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Huckelberrywine
True Blue Farmgirl
1607 Posts
Michelle
Rosalia
1607 Posts |
Posted - May 02 2007 : 06:58:09 AM
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Well, no wonder I get this idea when the wheat is high and the wind blows across...I always want to go out and stick a giant cut out of a shark's fin in the field. Dun dun..dun dun.. Oh, a big worm... :)
We make a difference. |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4737 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4737 Posts |
Posted - May 02 2007 : 08:41:06 AM
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I discovered trilliums growing in my woods. They are native to IL and on the endangered plant list. It is illegal to move them. They take 7 years to bloom & slowly spread out. I have only one that is blooming, but lots of other trilliums plants growing in there. I can't wait until some spring when they all are blooming!
Dawn in IL |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - May 02 2007 : 12:15:18 PM
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Dawn-
I didn't know that about trilliums! How wonderful for you to be in an area with a healthy population of them :)
Michelle- I had to drive to Spokane yesterday and was very tempted to take the turn off to your town- Unfortunatly I had to pick up my mother-in-law-to-be so no stopping for me :) But I was thinking about you! |
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A Farm of My Own: Identifying wildflowers / native plants |
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Identifying wildflowers / native plants
