Image of the day

Trond, these are also called coltsfoot here, not that anyone I have ever known talks about them, besides me...lol--so I should say called coltsfoot in books!
Mothers' Day and my mom's birthday are usually close together, and if I am here, I always try to pick mom a bouquet of Petasites and Caltha--sometimes the Caltha are barely starting, like they were this year (by mom's b'day, may 13).. I just found out in the last few years that my grandmother also used to pick Caltha for my mom and her twin on their birtday!

Booker wrote:

Tussilago farfara near Lake Como in early March this year.

Cliff-Spring sunshine!
Trond--that's why I often don't bother with the common names--can be useless/confusing! Our other spring flower, which we call cowslip (Caltha palustris)--also has a common name with a totally different meaning in other places-- I'd never heard of Primula veris till I was an adult (or near to it) and only in books/pics.. still have never seen one in person!

Hoy wrote:

Plants have different names even in different places in Norway - but they all have official names too! And Latin name is useful indeed ;)
Do you want seed of Primula veris?

Yes, scientific names are the useful ones :) Sure, I'd love seed of P veris-- I had some a few years ago that did nothing, for some reason....

A number of native willow species here, which I have no names for.. by the roadside, I either have not photographed this beauty before, or not caught it at this stage...

more at:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=591.15
or:
https://picasaweb.google.com/cactuscactus/May052011FirstWildFlowers#

cohan wrote:

Our other spring flower, which we call cowslip (Caltha palustris)--also has a common name with a totally different meaning in other places...

Even in places that are much less foreign than you may have in mind... as a kid in central Saskatchewan, "cowslips" (at least to my parents) was hoary puccoon, Lithospermum canescens:

(That's not my photo, but an excellent one that I was sent.)

I remember you mentioning that before, Lori-- a gorgeous plant! and one I have also never seen in person, but would love to...lol. Is it also spring blooming?

I guess 'cowslips' are one of those 'old-country' plants that people were homesick for, so they used the same name for anything that reminded them of the originals! Not that many people in my area came from english speaking countries, but I guess the name was imported from somewhere else in North America!

It blooms in June as I recall... doesn't occur in Alberta, unfortunately.  The Lithospermum that occur here are not as showy.

Skulski wrote:

It blooms in June as I recall... doesn't occur in Alberta, unfortunately.  The Lithospermum that occur here are not as showy.

I'll ask on the ColdZone group whether anyone sees it around.... otherwise maybe someone like Prairie Moon would have it... not that its urgent...lol

I asked on the ColdZone group about the Lithospermum and got two replies--one from someone in Manitoba who has seen it near a lake they sometimes visit for weekends, she's going to ask her father in the area if he can watch for seeds..
Another person ( forget if he is MB or SK) has a plant in his garden....

McDonough wrote:

I have plenty of room left, and I desire Lithospermum canescens badly!  Lori, can you ask your friend where that photo was taken, has to be the form form I've ever seen a photo of.

The photo was sent to me long ago by someone from SE Saskatchewan, who used to correspond on a gardening forum.  That plant is particularly well-grown, but the colour and overall form are similar to that in the area where I grew up in central Sask.. It's odd to see some in a light yellow in some of the sites you found... to me, it should be Warden's Worry orange (a reference that fly fishermen will get)!  If I visit home at the right time, I'll try to remember to collect seed... not too many natural areas left there though.

Not a very special shot, but gives an idea of our state of greening... shot taken a couple of days ago, and we had a significant rain since, so its probably somewhat greener by now..

The last shot was just outside my driveway; this is a 'from the moving vehicle' shot on the way to town..

Hoy wrote:

cohan wrote:

The last shot was just outside my driveway; this is a 'from the moving vehicle' shot on the way to town..

What do you do now in your spare time, Cohan, with no snow to remove ;D

Ha! I've been trying to find some time for gardening--weeding, digging new planting areas or re-digging old overgrown ones (my mother and aunt made many plantings, mostly overgrown with grass etc, some tough plants remain, and some shrubs)..also raking leaves and grass (there is a fire risk in places where too much grass and leaves build up), raking/shovelling bark and sawdust where we were cutting firewood all winter (woodcutting isn't done, but much much reduced--we actually had a couple of days where we didn't need a fire even overnight!) , weeding, watering seed pots (happy for a few days of rain, to fill rain buckets/barrels and not to need to water :).. and in the next few days when its dry enough, we will start mowing--usually a couple of hours worth each for two people--necessary to keep  the forest from taking over, and a build-up of dry grass... the only plus of our short growing season is that it means a short mowing season  ;D the grass usually stops growing in August sometime, but weeds like clover and the poplars, will grow faster and for a longer time...

Todd, we've had a couple days with rain, and its much greener now already! Interestingly, after a cold March/April, mostly, May has been warmish with no snow in weeks!  :o

Booker wrote:

Beautiful viola, Todd.
My contribution today ... a lovely plant of Delphinium beesianum as exhibited by John Bunn at Southport AGS Show on 21st May.

DELPHINIUM BEESIANUM

Two lovely violet flowers! Cliff, is this species as low as it seems in the photo?

Booker wrote:

It may interest some of you to know that I am posting this from a hotel room in the Picos de Europa National Park in Northern Spain where we have enjoyed our first two remarkable days of warm sunshine, excellent food and INCREDIBLE plants - both at the top of the Fuente De cable car and in the orchid meadows to the south of Potes.  This is the life!

Sounds great! Looking forward to pics!

After a cool, slow early spring, May has been quite warm (until the last couple of days) giving the sort of disconcerting feeling that things are flowering early--in fact I think many wild flowers are coming at a fairly typical time, just very soon after the earliest species!
Today, in the wet woods on the farm, not that far from my house... Calypso bulbosa

And a far more common species: Viola renifolia usually found in moist places,  flowering mainly at the edge of wet areas, just where mixed woods start... this year, they are flowering throughout mesic woods, no doubt thanks to the extra moisture of our late, heavy snow..

Very nice, Cohan!

I'm also looking forward to your postings, Cliff.

cohan wrote:

After a cool, slow early spring, May has been quite warm (until the last couple of days) giving the sort of disconcerting feeling that things are flowering early--in fact I think many wild flowers are coming at a fairly typical time, just very soon after the earliest species!
Today, in the wet woods on the farm, not that far from my house... Calypso bulbosa

[attachthumb=1]

And a far more common species: Viola renifolia usually found in moist places,  flowering mainly at the edge of wet areas, just where mixed woods start... this year, they are flowering throughout mesic woods, no doubt thanks to the extra moisture of our late, heavy snow..

[attachthumb=2]

Cohan, love the fairy slipper. I'll have to find a European breeder who sells this species.

Thanks, Wim, has to be our fanciest native flower! This single flower has not been setting any seed the last few years, and I have not been successful at finding any others around so far (I'm sure they exist, but the plants are only a few inches tall, and they do not grow in bare ground places, so very hard to see them...)..
I did see a guy on Ebay in the U.S. selling something--I forget whether it was seed, or seedlings guaranteed not to be wild collected...

Seeds are being sold for 20 US$ here: http://71.18.66.214/International%20Orders.htm. Maybe I'll give it a try.

WimB wrote:

Seeds are being sold for 20 US$ here: http://71.18.66.214/International%20Orders.htm. Maybe I'll give it a try.

I checked the Ebay site, seems like its the same guy...
if you get them, how would you sow? In ground or try the cardboard method?

I've always had a secret (or maybe not so secret) love of Calypso bulbosa.  They grew in abundance in Victoria where I grew up and we used to pick armfulls of them as kids.  Meanwhile, spring in all its lushness is all around now - a couple of pictures - lots of yellows, which I also love.  Fran

Frances Howey
London, Ontario, Canada
Zone 5b

And another lovely yellow of the moment.  Fran
Frances Howey
London, Ontario, Canada
Zone 5b

Beautiful, Frances!  I love the potentilla especially - it's one that occurs here in the alpine zone!

And, looking forward to hiking/"botanizing" season, here's another image for today:

Howey wrote:

I've always had a secret (or maybe not so secret) love of Calypso bulbosa.  They grew in abundance in Victoria where I grew up and we used to pick armfulls of them as kids.  Meanwhile, spring in all its lushness is all around now - a couple of pictures - lots of yellows, which I also love.  Fran

Frances Howey
London, Ontario, Canada
Zone 5b

I wish we had them by the armfull  :o I think they have a hard time in my area, since they tend to be in open moist woods and that is a very unstable habitat--they either grow over or are cleared, they are often around birches which don't last long, etc..... They manage to stick around as a species, but each clump/patch may not survive..

cohan wrote:

WimB wrote:

Seeds are being sold for 20 US$ here: http://71.18.66.214/International%20Orders.htm. Maybe I'll give it a try.

I checked the Ebay site, seems like its the same guy...
if you get them, how would you sow? In ground or try the cardboard method?

I'd probably try them both ways...I'm not sure yet.

Booker wrote:

Himantoglossum hircinum

Himantoglossum hircinum - The Lizard Orchid captured today in the Picos De Europa National Park in Northern Spain.

Three images showing habitat, flower stem and close-up.

We encountered a total of thirteen plants in three different locations.

To see greatly enlarged images please visit AlpenPix at the following link:-
http://botu07.bio.uu.nl/temperate/?gal=alpenpix

Very interesting flowers! Is this spot generally wet, or just current weather?