The tutor shares another yard find. I’ve noticed wall lettuce in the yard for at least ten years, but only recently identified it. In the right places, it grows fast. It’s a tall thin plant with leaves that hold the …
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The tutor shares another field find. Sunday, I took my sons (11 and 13) for a walk in the nearby woods. I had a couple of plants in mind to find, but found neither. However, I did identify a couple …
Lifestyle: plant identification from field guide: black twinberry Read more »
The tutor shares another yard find. A couple years back I was weeding the front chip patch. Sometimes I have to do so; it’s not my idea. However, it clears the ground for fresh plants to emerge. Anyway, I noticed …
Lifestyle: plant identification from field guide: American vetch Read more »
The tutor checks the front yard for a plant identification. I first noticed sheep sorrel about a year ago on a page of the field guide. While I didn’t recognize it, the guide reported that it definitely grows here and …
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The tutor describes another plant identification. Crossing a sunny field, I passed a five-petaled blue flower this morning that I can’t find in my guide. Searching images of “blue wild flowers” on the ‘net, however, I found the identical plant: …
Lifestyle: plant identification from field guide: flax Read more »
The tutor shares another tricky field identification. Weatherwise, it’s summer here. Plants are springing up everywhere. The plants growing outside of human influence particularly interest me. A plant I’ve noticed on the edge of a field is, I’ve concluded, hedge …
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The tutor shares an easy find that has been harder to classify. British bluebells, while not native to Vancouver Island, are apparently here. I’ve been noticing them amongst tall grass by the roadside, and even in a hidden corner of …
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The tutor shares another patient discovery. Walking home from dropping the car at my wife’s work, I’ve noticed a plant growing along the path in the field. It has long thin leaves around the bottom, then a long thin stem …
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The tutor shares an identification that needed patience. Early this spring, I began noticing a plant that stood apart. Like so many other wild plants, it grows on vacant properties and path edges. However, this plant has some peculiarities: It …
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‘Tis the season for yard work: let the identification of spontaneous plants continue. I don’t call plants that arrive in the yard, weeds. I call them “spontaneous plants,” since they grow here of their own decision. (Spontaneous plants is not …
Lifestyle: plant identification from field guide: common groundsel Read more »