Field Pussy Toes

Yep, I said Field Pussy Toes (Antennaria.)
Notice the pretty, silvery spot on the ground in the picture to the left? We have them in a couple of places around our yard and in the Spring they send up little flowers. I discovered their name online last year, but haven't been able to learn much else.

As bad as thepicture below is, hopefully it will at least illustrate why they got their name. I promise, I'll get a new camera one day...

Here's what I know:

They're considered either a wildflower or a weed depending on your point of view. I like them!

Some varieties are sold in nurseries. There's a pretty rosy variety; unfortunately ours isn't one of those.

They like full sun and well-drained, dry soil.

Is?/was? a medicinal herb. It looks like it was some kind of mood enhancer a long time ago and is now part of some herbal remedies.

Spring is Here!

I know not terribly original, but definitely irristable. It's my favorite time of year and like most gardeners it's hard not to a daily check on new growth, pulling back leaves and mulch to discover anything yet to break their surface! Can you believe some "experts" say you shouldn't do that because you could hurt the plants? Perhaps, but as usual passion is stronger than common sense.

A busy (and cold) late winter kept me from getting my early vegetable planting done before last weekend. However, a warm weekend and distracted guests let me slip out long enough to get peas, lettuce, carrots, beets and onion sets in the ground. Of course I went out of town and it didn't rain, so the poor seeds have gone a week without water. Oh well, it'll be a miracle if the crows don't rip them out of the ground or the deer don't eat them so a little tough love in their early life is probably the least of their worries.

My Spring peeking has made it clear that almost everything is returning! The pictures show a few of the best in bloom right now. From top to bottom, peach blossoms (no we've never had one, but the squirrels say they're delicious!), cilantro (I have tasted this!), mahonia and the much despised, yet still lovely, shallow-rooted, weak-stemmed, stinky, messy Bradford Pears. Unfortunately I can only take credit for planting the cilantro the rest were done by previous owners.