Category: Gardening

Reflections from Buttercups

Published on by Lucas Pam4 Comments
Black and white photo of a young girl wearing sunglasses and posing in a fold-up lawn chair.
A Hollywood moment wearing sunglasses in my parents backyard.

Being a kid in the spring was fun for me.  I’ve already shared with you about picking dandelion greens for a salad and sucking the nectar from the honeysuckle blossoms. Well, there was yet more to come from Mother Nature each spring.

The dandelions came first, then the honeysuckle and then the buttercups.  Ah, the buttercups.  We were so lucky.  War had not been waged on weeds in lawns at this point in my little life.  I was a post WWII baby and folks were busy getting their loves & lives back together, making babies, buying a house (thanks to the GI Bill), buying a new refrigerator and trying to silently put the scars of the war in a place that no one would know about.  So silly weeds were the last on the list of people’s worries.  This was a great time for buttercups and for kids who had to use their imagination and make fun.

We had to entertain ourselves.  Having just a few toys and living in a home that had inside tensions created the perfect formula for playing outside whenever possible.  The coming of the buttercups was yet another reason for us to enjoy being out there.

Buttercups grew freely in our yard, but we knew they would not be there for long because our Dad would soon be using his manual, sharp bladed, push-mower to level the grass and cut down our beloved yellow lovelies.  Our dolls got to come along. We’d pick the little flowers, leaving long stems and make bouquets of butter.  Butter? Simple fun…hold a buttercup under your chin…if you see a reflection of yellow on your skin, you like butter.  Seems we always saw a yellow reflection and never questioned the outcome.  I wonder if anyone today plays that simple butter pastime. Might be a challenge, as buttercups are not in the picture due to pesticides and fertilizers and lawn services.  I guess people just trust their taste buds.

Buttercups are a simple faucet of nature.  Considered a weed by many, they are a flower. They are poisonous to cattle and horses.  Humans as well cannot eat these little lovelies.   Interesting to me that we kids never considered eating them, even though they represented butter to us.

Visit: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/why-buttercups-reflect-yellow-on-chins to find out the scientific reason there is a reflection.

Dandy Weeds – Lion Face Flowers –Dandelions

Published on by Lucas Pam9 Comments

I grew up with dandelions. Each spring my father would get out the push mower and sharpen the blades. Then, by hand, he’d start digging up the dandelions. Attack weeds, cut, attack the dandy weeds. This was his thing all spring and summer.

There were dandelions in my grandmother’s yard. She allowed dandelions. She lived in the country. She’d pick the young leaves from underneath the yellow flowers and make dandelion salad throughout the spring and summer.

Easy recipe: dandelion greens, topped with a light dressing of white or apple cider vinegar (no balsamic then) and a pinch of salt and some sugar. The bitterness of the greens was complimented by her simple dressing. Bitter greens and homemade biscuits worked.

Time moved on. Dandelions are all but gone, thanks to the spreading of pesticides & weed killers. Suburban dwellers want and pay for well-manicured landscapes and solid green grass lawns. I get that.

It’s the end of April. We have a few healthy dandelions growing here and there along the fringes of our suburban community. I took pictures of these lovelies before the lawn service arrived for the first killer application.  I’m emotionally attached to dandelions.
I am a Dandelion
I am a flower disguised as a weed
Upon your lawn I will stampede
I am a weed disguised as a flower
My leaves and roots have medicinal powers
I am 3 celestial bodies in one
I awaken each morning to greet the sun
I sleep in the evening and dream of the moon and stars
Which are 2 of my other avatars
Upon the wind my seeds are blown
Carried for miles around
But on this lawn I cannot hide
And I’ll soon succumb to pesticides
By Joseph May

http://www.poetrysoup.com/poems_poets/poems_by_poet.aspx?ID=29278

Google search offers many of today’s foodie versions of  Dandelion Salad.

Patio garden says “Scat Mosquitoes” & Butterfly Bushes scream “Come Hither Mosquitoes”

Published on by Lucas PamLeave a comment

We are outdoor people and can be found on our patio enjoying life, weather permitting on a year round basis. Each spring we enjoy preparing our flowerbeds, selecting the flowers, planting & preening, then stepping back and enjoying the bounty. This year our planting criteria has changed, all due to the growing concerns about the mosquitoes, specifically the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries the Zika virus.

After reading up on the 2016 dreaded mosquitoes, it became clear that if we were to enjoy our patio we needed to make every attempt to illuminate these potentially harmful insects. There was plenty of available research and existing common knowledge to help make this happen. There are ways to deter these horrible creatures and it’s simple.

First, eliminate any standing water. Even a teacup containing still water can attract female mosquitoes. The Aedes aegypti, especially likes man-made containers of any kind to lay its eggs. We don’t have a birdbath but if we did, we’d need a bubbler of some sort, a schedule for scrubbing the bowl every two days, then changing the water to attract the birds.

Next plant flowers/herbs around the patio that are actually known to repel mosquitoes. Insects in general rail at the smell of marigolds, ageratum, geraniums, scented geraniums, eucalyptus, pennyroyal and citronella grass, as well as lavender, lemon balm, rosemary, peppermint and basil.

We selected the following plantings that say “Get Out” to mosquitoes:

Geraniums

Scented Geraniums

Eucalyptus

Lavender

Rosemary

Peppermint

Basil

Marigolds

Additionally, lantana is so effective in warding off mosquitoes it’s recommended that you plant them near doors that are opened frequently. The last things you need are mosquitoes inside your home. So this year lantana will be in a large decorative pot by the door.

Of course, there are other flowers/herbs that I would prefer to plant in the patio area; especially ones that are vibrant with color and loaded with nectar that would naturally attract butterflies…but this year we’re planting defensively, at least around the patio area.

Speaking of butterflies, in my research I found an interesting article about the beloved butterfly bushes and how science has discovered that these lovelies, while they attract butterflies with their yummy nectar, they also attract mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are drawn to these bushes just like the butterflies. The source of the article is quite credible and can give pause to those of us who have these bushes planted in our yards. The article states that research is underway and….go to:http://www.glacvcd.org/2016/01/study-highlight-butterfly-bushes-attract-mosquitoes-laying-eggs/ for more details.

Our “scat mosquito” landscaping will be planted soon. Look for updates.