Spring Delight
...Spring is in full operation here in Ohio. The gardens are all coming alive with the early blooming plants as the amazing miracle of seasons offer their living hope of the day. Color is exploding everywhere. One of my gardening rituals is that of visiting local public gardens to see how they are progressing after the big winter snooze.
It is warm today in the upper 70's by noon. The usual spring rains keep watering all the new growth around us. Today's travel took me to Green Leaf Park located on Medina Line road. For many years the park has been home to a small log cabin, around which a delightful herb and flower garden lies. It was this public herb garden that had me making a seasonal check to see how it was doing. For the passed few years the garden had fallen into a bit of neglect. That saddened me enough to decide to keep track of it, and if needed, I would clean up the garden myself so that the spring plant arrivals would thrive. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the gardens were cleaned up and looked wonderful as the season's offerings were in full bloom and thriving. Copious amounts of violets were everywhere. Forget-me-nots and sweet woodruff mingled their delicate flowers in a border to the garden. The blushing pink of bleeding heart was scattered around the beds. Catnip and tansy found their way most boldly into the garden. Primroses were already blooming. Hostas and iris were growing large enough that they would soon be blooming as well. At the back of the garden a bit of sweet Robert was creeping in. Though bitter to the taste and acrid smelling it is still considered an herb. It will need policing as it is highly invasive. Huge amounts of money plant created a border along the back area of the garden. A bit of skunk cabbage was mixed in, thickening the border along the back trail adjacent to the herb gardens. It has an interesting look, much like hosta leaves, but is greatly invasive. I wouldn't encourage it in your garden. As far as what uses it may have, the Native Americans used the oil to get rid of ringworm and boils. I would not recommend it for internal uses.
Over the weekend I travelled to Ira Trailhead in the Metropolitan Park System, located on Peninsula Road in Cuyahoga Falls. It was the day before Mother's Day and the place was packed. There were plenty of jogger and bicyclers using the trail as well as families who had walked to see the beaver dams. As I walked the trail to the beaver dams I noticed the lily pads that were flourishing along the waterways. Some were starting to produce buds of water lily blossoms. All the lily pads looked burned on the edges. No doubt it was due to the brutal frostbiting winter in Ohio. It had taken its toll on the area, but it had not destroyed it. Somehow even in the worst times nature manages to cone back and to thrive, a life lesson inspiring hope for all of us. Not too many of the water critters were evident at the time of day I visited, but I did see two different kinds of turtles. By the size of the size of the large mud-covered turtle I would say he is a long-time survivor of Ohio winters.
Spring flowers were everywhere and birds of all varieties could be heard on the warm air. Listening to the birds' happy songs reminded me of something a dear aunt had told me. With age she began to lose her hearing and began to use hearing aids. After a time even the hearing aids barely helped. As we talked about her hearing, she told me the one thing that she truly missed was being able to hear the birds singing. she broke my heart when she told me that, and it has made me appreciate the birds' songs all the more. I thank the good Lord that I still have good hearing. It would be so crushing to my soul to not be able to enjoy the birds singing, to enjoy music, and to be able to listen to the wind in the trees before a storm. When I enjoy these things I now enjoy then not only for myself, but for my aunt as well.
Recently a friend was lamenting that due to financial reverses she probably would not be able to buy flowers to decorate her home outside. I told her not to think that way. We all have to change our lifestyles. We just have to live more creatively, and that includes gardening. Since I will be moving, she has offered to share her garden with me. Since we are both over sixty, going on twenty-five, it is time to make the garden more do-able for us. I plan to create tall raised garden areas that we can both reach without having to get on our knees or to do a bunch of bending over to care for the plants. There is always a challenge when starting a new gardening season. I will be sure to journal the progress of this new effort for both of us.
One last thought about skunk cabbages...until now I had never known what skunk cabbage was. My only experience was with "knowing" about it was from a book I had read as a child. If I remember correctly, it was entitled "The Phoenix and Me". It was a story about a young boy who befriended a dragon and the adventure of their friendship. The main source of food for the dragon was skunk cabbage. No wonder dragons have fiery breath! Eventually the dragon told the boy that he was going to die. Upon the death of the dragon the boy witnessed the birth of a new dragon, actually a phoenix, rising out of the ashes of the dead dragon. It was a fascinating story, but the one thing I always remembered was the skunk cabbage. Go figure! So who know, after all these years, maybe I can learn a thing or two from skunk cabbage. And if it makes me young again, or even just the notion of it, all the better...
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| Catnip |
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| Feverfew |
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| Lady's Mantle |
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| Lily of the Valley |
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| Sweet violet |
It is warm today in the upper 70's by noon. The usual spring rains keep watering all the new growth around us. Today's travel took me to Green Leaf Park located on Medina Line road. For many years the park has been home to a small log cabin, around which a delightful herb and flower garden lies. It was this public herb garden that had me making a seasonal check to see how it was doing. For the passed few years the garden had fallen into a bit of neglect. That saddened me enough to decide to keep track of it, and if needed, I would clean up the garden myself so that the spring plant arrivals would thrive. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the gardens were cleaned up and looked wonderful as the season's offerings were in full bloom and thriving. Copious amounts of violets were everywhere. Forget-me-nots and sweet woodruff mingled their delicate flowers in a border to the garden. The blushing pink of bleeding heart was scattered around the beds. Catnip and tansy found their way most boldly into the garden. Primroses were already blooming. Hostas and iris were growing large enough that they would soon be blooming as well. At the back of the garden a bit of sweet Robert was creeping in. Though bitter to the taste and acrid smelling it is still considered an herb. It will need policing as it is highly invasive. Huge amounts of money plant created a border along the back area of the garden. A bit of skunk cabbage was mixed in, thickening the border along the back trail adjacent to the herb gardens. It has an interesting look, much like hosta leaves, but is greatly invasive. I wouldn't encourage it in your garden. As far as what uses it may have, the Native Americans used the oil to get rid of ringworm and boils. I would not recommend it for internal uses.
 |
| Skunk Cabbage |
Over the weekend I travelled to Ira Trailhead in the Metropolitan Park System, located on Peninsula Road in Cuyahoga Falls. It was the day before Mother's Day and the place was packed. There were plenty of jogger and bicyclers using the trail as well as families who had walked to see the beaver dams. As I walked the trail to the beaver dams I noticed the lily pads that were flourishing along the waterways. Some were starting to produce buds of water lily blossoms. All the lily pads looked burned on the edges. No doubt it was due to the brutal frostbiting winter in Ohio. It had taken its toll on the area, but it had not destroyed it. Somehow even in the worst times nature manages to cone back and to thrive, a life lesson inspiring hope for all of us. Not too many of the water critters were evident at the time of day I visited, but I did see two different kinds of turtles. By the size of the size of the large mud-covered turtle I would say he is a long-time survivor of Ohio winters.
Recently a friend was lamenting that due to financial reverses she probably would not be able to buy flowers to decorate her home outside. I told her not to think that way. We all have to change our lifestyles. We just have to live more creatively, and that includes gardening. Since I will be moving, she has offered to share her garden with me. Since we are both over sixty, going on twenty-five, it is time to make the garden more do-able for us. I plan to create tall raised garden areas that we can both reach without having to get on our knees or to do a bunch of bending over to care for the plants. There is always a challenge when starting a new gardening season. I will be sure to journal the progress of this new effort for both of us.
One last thought about skunk cabbages...until now I had never known what skunk cabbage was. My only experience was with "knowing" about it was from a book I had read as a child. If I remember correctly, it was entitled "The Phoenix and Me". It was a story about a young boy who befriended a dragon and the adventure of their friendship. The main source of food for the dragon was skunk cabbage. No wonder dragons have fiery breath! Eventually the dragon told the boy that he was going to die. Upon the death of the dragon the boy witnessed the birth of a new dragon, actually a phoenix, rising out of the ashes of the dead dragon. It was a fascinating story, but the one thing I always remembered was the skunk cabbage. Go figure! So who know, after all these years, maybe I can learn a thing or two from skunk cabbage. And if it makes me young again, or even just the notion of it, all the better...
beautiful beautiful photos........ Spring has just been a wonder this year!
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