I love seeing the oxeye daisies in bloom. They are everywhere right now.  Look along the roadways, meadows, and hillsides.  They are even blooming in my yard.  
 

Botanically, oxeye daisies are Leucanthemum vulgare. They are extremely common, even weed-like throughout much of North America.  I've read that farmers dislike them because if eaten by dairy cattle, they can produce an unwanted flavor in milk.  
 

But, since I'm not a dairy farmer, it's ok for me to love them.  They are cheerful, and make me smile.  
 

Be on the lookout in your travels, especially throughout our neighborhood.  
 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!
 

 

 

OK, I usually show you plants outside;  but this one is so cool, I just had to share.  This blossom is about 5 inches long.  
 

It is in the floral department at the Blairsville Ingles store.  It is a pitcher plant, and it's carnivorous.  
 

There are lots of carnivorous plants, and this is one.  The pitchers are the blooms, and at the bottom of each pitcher is some kind of liquid that decomposes insects that fall down inside.  Hey, everybody has to eat, right?  

 

Let's see if I can find out more about it.  Be right back......I'm going to Wikipedia and look up "pitcher plant."  Here's what I found: 

 

'Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants which have modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of what are considered to be "true" pitcher plants are formed by specialized leaves. The plants attract and drown their prey with nectar.'  

 

Don't you love that description:  pitfall traps!!!!  Oh, so they are NOT blooms, but modified leaves.  

 

There are also some cool pix there.  And more explanation about "feeding behavior."  Have fun.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have been so fortunate lately, seeing all the Mountain Laurel in bloom.  They are all over the neighborhood, all along the roadsides, in the woods.  Well, this one is at Meeks Park, and it's RED!!!  I've never seen one this dark.  Usually they are pink and white.  
 

It doesn't appear to have been planted:  it looks like it grew there naturally.  Go see it;  it's right near the bridge that leads to the Mill Wheel Museum.  I'm hoping to see more in my travels.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

My sister, Betsy sent me this picture of the rose garden at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.  
 

Mother's Day is the best time to see the roses.  They have just started blooming, and there are no dead heads yet.  Thought you'd like to see this picture.  

This month, Norfolk Botanical Garden was honored by the USPS with a stamp.  And it is of this very rose garden.  It's in a group of other famous botanical gardens.  
 

Thanks, Betsy.  What a lovely way to spend an afternoon:  surrounded by roses!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!
 

 

What a beautiful picture of Foxglove!  Al took this photo at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds on Thursday.  
 

The botanical name is Digitalis purpurea.  It is a biennial, meaning it has to be two years old before it blooms.  The leaves are a rosette close to the ground, and when it's ready to bloom it sends up 3 foot tall spikes that look like this.  Foxglove grows easily from seed;  you just have to be patient for them to bloom.   
 

It is extremely poisonous.  However, digitalis is prescribed in the right amounts to strengthen the heart, and regulate its beat.  Don't try this at home!!!!!!  One leaf chewed and swallowed may cause paralysis and sudden heart failure.
 

If you haven't visited the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds, this is the most perfect time to go.  The gardens are full of mature Rhododendrons and hundreds of wildflowers.  And they are in bloom now.  You may see Jack-in-the-pulpit, trillions of Trillium, Digitalis, and Rhododendrons.  You may even see a pink Ladyslipper orchid.  It's over in Hiawassee, just past the Chop House.  It is a lovely spring outing.  
 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

Check out this cluster of Ladyslipper orchids!!!  Cypripedium acaule.  
 

This picture was taken at Brasstown Bald, on the trail coming up from Hwy 180.  I still remember the first time I saw one in the wild.  First I saw the thick, leathery leaves, and thought, "that looks like an orchid."  We continued on up the trail, and saw colonies of them in bloom!!!!!  I almost fainted.  There were thousands of them.  Since then, we go up every year around May 1st, to walk the trail up to Brasstown Bald and see the Ladyslipper orchids.  
 

I wish these grew in our woods too.  But they don't transplant well.  This orchid has a symbiotic relationship with the mycelia in the soil in the places where they grow.    They have to grow where the conditions are right.  So we just have to go to them.  WORTH IT!!!!  
 

Thought you'd like to see them.  
 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Here we are in Roxanne's fairy garden.  The columbine are blooming.  Jim says they act like "weeds."

 

They reproduce themselves way too fast, but they are still beautiful!!!  Maybe you can get some seeds from them.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!

 

Looking for something the deer won't eat?  Check out our garden sage.  It's been here for 10 years, and they haven't eaten it yet!!!

 

I thought you might like to see it in bloom.  So pretty.  Sage is available in the garden center, but it's easily grown from seed.  Give it full sun, and well-drained soil, and you've got a winner!!!

 

Botanically, Salvia officinalis, sage is in the mint family.  Its Latin name, Salvia comes from a word meaning "healthy."  The ancients used sage for many medicinal purposes, but today it is mainly used as a culinary herb.  
 

We cut a few branches and use it as a rack underneath a chicken or turkey breast on the grill.  I have a friend who puts a few leafy stems in a vase on her cheese tray.  Sage is so good with meats and cheeses, because it helps our bodies digest fat.  And it tastes great!!!!

 

Besides, it is beautiful in the garden.  Give it a try.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thought you'd like to see my friends' colony of Jack-in-the-pulpits...Jacks-in-the-pulpit?  Either way you like to say it, here they are.  
 

Botanically, Arisaema triphyllum, "Jacks" live in damp woods and swampy areas.  The leaves have long stalks, and are 3-parted, making them look a little like poison ivy, but not viney or shiny.  Each double-leaf plant sends up one bloom.  These stand about two feet tall.  
 

Look how many they have!!!!  This is just one of several colonies in their woods.  I circled the bloom, but here is a close-up so you can see the blossom better.  

 

 

How fabulous is that ?!!!!!!  Seeing Jacks always thrills me.
 

We've seen them in Meeks Park, and Brasstown Bald on the paths.  We've even seen them on our Creekside Trail, although, not lately.  I wish they grew in my woods.  Thanks Nick, for sharing.  
 

HAPPY GARDENING!!! 

 

Cinnamon fern in our neighborhood.  I looked it up to be sure, and yep!!!  I love when that happens.  We've been calling this beautiful thing "Cinnamon fern" for years, and sure enough, Wikipedia calls it that too.  Botanically, it is Osmundastrum cinnamomeum.

 

This one grows down by the creek on Stonebriar Road.  We always look for it in the spring, and praise the lawn guys for not mowing it.  Actually, as you can see, it would be hard to miss.  I'm in the picture to show you how big it is.  I'm 5 feet tall, and this fern is, well, you can see...about that.

 

I read this about it:  it is native to the Americas and Eastern Asia.  It resides in swamps, bogs, and moist woodlands.  The green 'leaves' are the sterile fronds, and the reddish-brown 'spikes' are the fertile fronds.  The fertile fronds appear after the green fronds are about 4 feet tall.  The fertile fronds are full of spores that drop to the ground and form colonies of ferns.  So far, our colony consists of two large ferns, but it comes back every year.

 

Be on the lookout for it in your travels.  It will make you smile;  and now you know what to call it.  
 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!