Monday, June 26, 2023
Teasel
Saturday, June 24, 2023
Poppy Love
Monday, June 19, 2023
Happy Pollinator Week!
Bee On Clematis
Hover fly on Bush Honeysuckle
Hover fly, also called flower fly, or syrphid fly, resemble wasps or bees but do not bite or sting. The larvae of many hover flies are predatory on aphids, so I’m glad to see them in my garden.
Bumble Bee Pollinating Cup Plants
My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.netThanks 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.
Friday, June 16, 2023
Summer Farmhouse Beauty
at the Hudak Farm
My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.netThanks 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.
Monday, June 12, 2023
It's Peony Time
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.
Paeonia 'Coral Sunset' (Peony)
False Indigo Being Visited By A Bee
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
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.