Summer Farmhouse Beauty

Summer Farmhouse Beauty
at the Hudak Farm

European Flair At The Intervale

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

It's Peony Time

A lovely Peony. I particularly love the leaves on this one.

Peony

 Peony

 Peonies

Peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. 

About ants on Peony Flower buds: Many plant species have special glands on their stems that produce sugary secretions which attract ants. It's not just plants either. Insects such as aphids and leafhoppers famously excrete honeydew that ants can't resist. In each of these cases, organisms are using the ants' natural tendency to guard a food source. The ants will viciously attack anything that threatens this easy meal. Peonies are doing just that with their flower buds. By secreting a sugary substance during their development, the plant are likely recruiting ants to protect the flowers, which for angiosperms, are the most precious part of the plant. It takes a lot out of a plant to flower and the threat of herbivory is ever present. If an insect tries to take a bite out of a bud, the ants quickly swarm and drive it off. It's a win-win situation. The ants get an easy, high-energy food source and the plant suffers less damage to its reproductive organs.

Peony In A Gorgeous Coral Color
Paeonia 'Coral Sunset' (Peony)

Purple Peony

Lusciously Pink Peony

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

False Indigo Being Visited By A Bee

False Indigo Being Visited By A Bee

(Baptisia australis)

Native to the prairies of southern North America
False indigo or baptisia, is a member of the Fabacea (aka Legumacea or legume) family with distinctive blue pea-like flowers. The flowers are bisexual and appear in upright racemes (spikes) in early June. The blue-black fruit ripens in late summer. It is about 2 inches long and filled with tiny, yellow-brown, kidney shaped seeds that rattle around inside once they have ripened. This gives the plant its common names Rattleweed and Rattlebush. Leaves are grey-green, trifoliate and arranged alternately upon the smooth stem which, if broken, releases sap that turns dark blue or purple upon contact with the air. The roots are woody, black and warty.

History and Folklore

The genus name Baptisia is derived from the greek ''bapto'', meaning "to immerse", in reference to the plant's usefulness in creating dyes for cloth. The specific name australis is Latin for "southern".
False indigo is native to North America and is most common in the Midwest. It was used by many Native peoples for various purposes including medicine and dye, which the Europeans later did as well. The name baptisia alludes to this practice. As the name false indigo implies, it can be used as a substitute for true indigo Indigofera tinctoria.
Harvesting & Storage
Flower and seed stalks can be hung upside down to dry and added to wreathes and floral arrangements.
Magical Attributes
Feminine in nature and associated with Venus, false indigo is an excellent protective herb. Plant it around your home for general protection, wear it on your person or use it in spells and amulets of a protective nature. It is especially useful for spells and amulets designed to protect pets and familiars, just make sure they don't get a hold of it and eat it because it is poison.
Household Use
The seed pods of wild blue indigo yield a lovely blue dye similar to that of true indigo. The dried seed pods are also quite pretty in floral arrangements.
This plant is said to repel flies from animals. To try this, hang a bunch of fresh flowers in your barn.
Healing Attributes
Baptisia is toxic and should not be used except under the care of an experienced practitioner. This herb should never be used by pregnant women.
This plant has been used as an antiseptic, a purgative and to combat coughs and fevers.
A tea of the roots has been used as an emetic and purgative, a poultice of the roots as an anti-inflammatory and small pieces were held in the mouth to treat toothaches.
A decoction of the stems has been used to stimulate the immune system and help the body fight of pneumonia, tuberculosis, influenza and other serious illnesses, especially of the upper respiratory system. It may also be used externally as a wash for smallpox and similar illnesses.
Side effects of ingesting blue indigo may include vomiting, diarrhea and gastrointestinal spasms.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

Green Tiger Beetle

Green Tiger Beetle 

(Cicindela sexguttata)

The green tiger beetle is a large beetle with a metallic-green body, long blue-green spindly legs, and long, serrated antennae, and large mandibles. The common green ground beetle is also called the six-spotted green tiger beetle due to the recognizable cream-colored spots on its elytra.

The sizable, fast-moving shiny green tiger beetle grows up to 0.55” (14 mm). It is typically found in deciduous forests, feeding on small arthropods like caterpillars, spiders, and ants. The green tiger beetle is one of the fastest ground beetles and will fly if necessary.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

 

Mayapple & Rodgersia

Mayapple

Mayapple is a perennial wildflower and ground covering that is much more common in native woodland areas than in cultivated gardens. Botanical Name: Podophyllum peltatum. Common Names: Mayapple, American mandrake, wild mandrake, Indian apple, duck's foot, American mandrake or ground lemon, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the Berberidaceae (Barberry) family having umbrella shaped leaves. The plant is native to the woodlands of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada and has been used medicinally for hundreds of years by 1st Nations peoples to treat constipation, wart removal, rheumatism and liver disorders as well as a laxative. 

Mayapple is  quite easy to identify because nothing else looks even remotely like it. Moreover, as a perennial that spreads via rhizomes to form large colonies, you're most likely to encounter it in a mass formation that's hard to miss. 

Growing 12 to 18 inches tall, each plant has a single stem with one or two large, heavily divided umbrella-like leaves. Plants with two leaves may produce a large white flower with six to eight petals in early spring, though the flower is usually hidden beneath the leaves. The flower is called mayapple because the bloom's appearance is reminiscent of apple blossoms. The flowers give way to a single greenish lemon sized fruit that turns golden when ripe. Once it has turned yellow, the mayapple fruit is safe for human consumption. This is a unique fruit, with an indescribably exotic flavor that conjures up visions of sunny tropical isles. In excess the fruit can cause colic so don’t overdo it.

While not edible, mayapple rhizomes are used for all sorts of medicinal applications. Native Americans valued the rhizome-Root which is most active medicinally in early spring when it is beginning to shoot. This plant's roots and leaves are toxic to both humans and animals.

Mayapple Flower

Rodgersia & Mayapple

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

Disclaimer

My blog is meant to inform and I strive to be totally accurate. It is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.

Spring In Vermont

Spring at the State House in Montpelier

We Love Lilacs!
Me and the bees.

My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission. 

 

Spring Flowers

Lilacs

 Tulips & Mini Daffodils

I can't wait for spring to get here. 

Happy International Women's Day.

Tulips

Tulips

Tulips Galore! 

With some daffodils and grape hyacinths, in the gardens at the State House in Montpelier.

 Crocuses

Hellebore Flowers Closeup

Hellebore is native to much of Europe and is commonly found in early spring and shade gardens in North America as well. Hellebores look like members of the rose family but they are actually members of the buttercup family. Every single part of the hellebore plant is toxic to animals and humans. Wear gloves to protect your hands from the sap inside the plants, it can be irritating to some.

Hellebore Flower Closeup

Blue Clematis being visited by a Bee on this lovely spring day. 

My New Favorite Color Of Tulips

 Magnificent Magnolias

So happy to see the Rhododendrons in bloom at the waterfront. Thank you Ishana I. for taking this photo.

Chipmunks Like Rhododendrons Too! 

Hummingbirds Like Rhododendrons Too! 
This is a Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Periwinkle Time
This is Periwinkle (Vinca Minor). The flowers of the garden periwinkle are the inspiration of the lavender blue color name periwinkle, and this viney shrub is a popular and attractive ground cover with numerous cultivars, flower colours and variegated foliage. Periwinkle has been used in the tradition medicine of many cultures and peoples worldwide including Europe, China, India and the Pacific and Caribbean Islands. In the Caribbean, practitioners of voodoo magic sew Periwinkle leaves into the mattress to keep husband and wife forever in love, and the home peaceful. They are sometimes mixed with magnolia leaves, which also have a reputation of promoting faithfulness in love. The blue flowers of periwinkle are symbolic of spiritual peace and harmony. The well-known Periwinkles - both Greater (vinca major) and Lesser (vinca minor) are familiar plants of our woods and gardens. This is the species more generally used in herbal medicine, as an astringent and tonic, in menorrhagia and in hemorrhages, also as a laxative, and gargle. Made into an ointment, useful for piles and inflammatory conditions of the skin. Lesser Periwinkle (Vinca minor) is employed in homeopathy for preparation of a tincture used for hemorrhages.

Bearded Irises of Yellow & Purple

Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!

© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. 

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.