Look who else is blooming in the park.  Mayapples.  I didn't need SEEK to identify this.  If you've ever seen Mayapples, you know what their name is.  Let's look into it further and see what else we can find.

 

Podophyllum peltatum, botanically.  Mayapples, commonly.  Mayapples grow in colonies, and stand about 1 - 1 1/2 inches tall.  First you see the huge green leaves acting like umbrellas;  then look underneath and you'll see the flowers.  Each set of leaves has just one white flower, nodding underneath.  They kinda look like apple blossoms.  All parts of the plant are poisonous, so just look, DO NOT EAT.  But do look and enjoy, they are definitely a happy sign of spring.

 

HAPPY GARDENING !!!

I have a new APP on my phone. SEEK.  With a picture of a plant or animal, it will identify it for me.  WAY easier than searching the books to figure out the ones we don't know.  
 

SEEK identified this small shrub as Carolina sweetshrub.  OK, now I'll go to the books and report back on it.  

 

I'm back.  Couldn't find it under the common names, so I had to look to Wikipedia.  It told me this:  Calycanthus floridus is its botanical name.  Now I can look in my books.  Peterson Field Guide called it Hairy Allspice.  So our horticultural lesson for today is:  Common names aren't the best way to identify plants.  It's  always best to use the botanical name if you can.  
 

OK, here we go.  Calycanthus has several species.  One is floridus, or hairy allspice.  Another is fertilis, or smooth allspice.  The difference is in the leaves.  Hmmm, didn't look at the undersides of the leaves, too excited with the flowers. Wikipedia shows some other species too, western and California allspice.  Probably not either of those.  These shrubs are growing at Meeks Park, in North Georgia.  
 

They grow 6 - 9 feet tall, and are blooming NOW!  Do stop and see them up close.  The flowers are about 2 inches across, and a brownish red, cinnamon color.  You can crush a leaf and smell a cinnamon-like fragrance.  Or scrape the bark and you can detect a camphor smell.  Just seeing them is exciting enough for me.  They are beautiful!  

 

I'm not sure if you can get these in the local garden center to plant in your own yard,  but they would be a lovely addition to any woodland garden.  Go to the park and see them for yourself.  It's worth the trip.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

We're going to have blueberries!  Lots of blueberries!  
 

This is a test message to see if I can get the pictures oriented correctly. This may not be such a good test cause orientation isn't necessary.  Don't care, I've missed you.  Just want to say HI!

 

HAPPY GARDENING !!!

I finally found something nice to write about, daffodils!!!  But I wasn't able to upload the picture.  Where's the sunshine in that?  No story without a picture.

 

I'll try another day, but right now I'm out of patience.  Sorry.

 

Our world was so pretty in the snow.  Even a scruffy ole sumac bush was beautiful.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I wish you could have hopped on the Flexible Flyer with me, and ridden it down Crabapple Lane.  It was fabulous!!  

 

We haven't had enough snow the past few years to get out the sled, but on Saturday we had 4-6 inches of beautiful snow!!!!   We got to sail down our road!!  

 

Going DOWN is great fun, but at our age, hauling the sled back UP is a bit of a chore.  But worth it!!  

 

We got in a few good runs, then decided that 30 minutes of fresh air and exercise was enough for one day.  Then, spent the rest of the day inside reading books and appreciating the snow from our cozy living room.

 

Hope you got to enjoy the snow.  Now, maybe we can start looking for signs of Spring.

 

Who knew that we were going to get this much snow yesterday?  

 

Wasn't it beautiful?  I hope you got to enjoy it.  We sure did!!!

 

I haven't really had anything to say lately, but SNOW!!!!!  That gives us all something to talk about.

 

The daffodils are coming up everywhere; but they really don't mind the snow.  It's normal for them to be emerging this time of year.  They'll be blooming soon.

 

Meanwhile, start looking for signs of Spring.  They should be happening soon.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Don't you love blue sky pictures?  Me too.  I especially love seeing Sycamores in winter poking their white branches up into the blue sky.

 

Platanus occidentalis.  I remember that because the leaves are as big as dinner plates, 6-10 inches across!   Well, no leaves now, but they are still quite distinctive.  

 

Sycamores are very large, growing up to 130 feet; some trees living 500-600 years!!!!  And they have this wonderful, mottled bark that flakes off like puzzle pieces, revealing yellowish or whitish underbark.  They also hold onto their hanging ball seed clusters almost all winter.  

 

They are easy to spot at 55 mph.  Just look up for white branches with decorations hanging all over them.  

 

I promised I'd be back...I just had to find something interesting to talk about.  

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

 

 

 

 

The winter solstice occurred last night at 11:20. The sun entered the sign of Capricorn, officially welcoming winter.  So I'm here to say HAPPY WINTER!!!

 

I'm having a little trouble finding things to blog about, but I haven't forgotten about you.  We're always on the lookout for interesting things in the neighborhood!  Check out the picture above.  

 

Not sure, since we didn't see the resident, but we think it's a hummingbird nest.  It's only about 2 inches in diameter. The bird book didn't give a size, but it said the nest is made of plant down, covered in lichens, bound with spider's silk, and located on a horizontal branch 10-20 feet above the ground.  I can't be sure, but I want it to be a hummingbird nest.  Anyway, thought you'd like to see our winter find.  

 

Hope you all have HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!  See you next year, 2020!!!