I had intended to write

A long, fascinating, witty blog. And in fact, I did write just such a blog on Saturday. Then somehow lost the entire thing while trying to fight with pictures and captions. Mostly because the blog is all about the pictures. Except I had a couple of brilliant haiku’s in there which I cannot possibly re-create. Your loss.

Here’s my attempt to re-create at least part of it, just because it’s too damn beautiful not to share.

We will start our tour

at the gardens. Spring reveals

wild and cultivated columbines

herself in flowers.

the garden columbinia (my plural)

lilies of the valley

plus rose geranium and some soon to bloom siberian iris in the background

more rose geranium with wineberry stems and a peach tree. also much mint and garlic chive

baby peachlings

just a bit of green for you.

And now we head down

Into gardens planted by

Mom Nature herself.

black locust in bloom

Along the way, I’ll

endeavor to acquaint you

with stuff you can eat.

aside from being amazingly fragrant, the blooms are edible. their taste is kind of a cross between a violet and the way lilacs smell.

ease on down the road

Not ragweed, altho often mistaken. also not edible.  chrysopsis mariana to you.

but right purty they are

purslane in bloom. edible. better picture to follow, somewhere in this mess

just the creek after the rain. just because.

also. what she said above.

Don’t stop now, so much

More to see and learn about.

Surely not done yet?

wild garlic mustard. edible. lovely in salads or cooked with other greens. and don't call it shirley

say hello to my little friend

winter cress. edible , tho better young. a bit bitter. flowers taste like a cross between broccoli and mustard flowers.

a better look at purslane

water cress in the stream. winter cress's more popular sister

I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille

There’s nothing like it,

The sound of a creek, tumbling

Over polished stones.

pink clover, before flowering. all parts of this plant are edible. No thanks to Euell

plantain. the other kind. edible and lovely raw or stirfried. tastes like mushrooms.  I threw in the dandelion gratis cause  people consider them edible. not me.

wineberry vine. the leaves make lovely tea now. the berries are magnificent later

miami mist not edible

chickweed. my favorite spring green. i like it even more than violet leaves. very high in vitamins c and a

the white stuff is wild aster

my darling chickweed at its finest

wild strawberries, not in bloom.
you can eat the flowers. but why would you when you can wait and have berries?

i don't know their names. lets call them all alice.

wild aster again.

we call this heal-all. but i think it's not. feel free to correct me

violet leaves. remember what i said earlier? i'm nit going to repeat myself

the only wild azalea i've found on the propertty

another view of black locust

deerberry. berries look like green blueberrys but never change color. edible, but why would you unless starving.

wild blueberry or huckleberry. 

one of the rhododendrons getting ready to bud

This ends our program

for today. Time to head home.

New beauty awaits.