Nature Plants

Plants

Once I started identifying plants, I found myself referring to my plant identification book more often. Trying to remember all the names is a challenge sometimes and often the name is on the tip of my tongue. I find some easier to remember though like skunk cabbage and horsetails.

Yikes! Don’t pick that flower! It’s poisonous!

A field of wildflowers including corn lily, Indian paintbrush, and elephant's head.

Kids love picking flowers from the first dandelion in spring to the last one in fall and everything in between. The bouquets are beautiful. The…

Spring wildflowers bring first splash of color

As the weather warms, signs of spring are everywhere–green grass, emerging larch needles and spring wildflowers. The burst of color from spring wildflowers is a…

Mullein seeds prolific and long-lasting

Mullein flower stalk with three yellow flowers open.

Some plants are pretty to look at, others are fun to play with. Mullein is one of those the kids think is fun to play…

Lucky Day! Why you find four-leaf clovers and five-leaf clovers!

If four-leaf clovers bring luck, then my garden must be extremely lucky. Our family has found at least a dozen four-leaf clovers in the garden…

Why do western larch grow new needles every year?

The vibrant green needles growing on a western larch is one of my favorite signs of spring. The needles are so much greener than any…

Huckleberries: Purple Gold

The huckleberries are great this year! I thought I would share an article I wrote for Backwoods Home (Issue 136) in 2012. Enjoy your huckleberries!…

Wild ginger: An inconspicuous plant

Low-lying plants are easy to miss especially when they don’t have vibrant flowers or berries to attract your attention. A few years ago I discovered…

Pollinators: Helping make food

Of all the flowering plants in the world, three-fourths depend on animal pollinators. Bees may be the first to come to mind for pollinators but…

Ross Creek Cedars over 1,000 years old

Towering giants. Ancient trees. Trees growing since Columbus sailed to the New World. We have gigantic western redcedar close by–south of Troy, Montana in the…

Red twinberry one of first shrubs to leaf out

Once the weather warms, shrubs begin to leaf out and the red twinberry is one of the first to bring signs of green. Also known…

Trillium: An early and late bloomer

Oh, the first wildflower of spring is exciting! I always watch a certain spot in the woods where the trilliums seem to emerge first. Trilliums…

Wildlife attracted to dead trees

I often notice snags because of the woodpecker holes or woodpeckers drumming on the tree. However, woodpeckers aren’t the only ones utilizing snags. What animals…