Road side beauties - Around the Firepit

A few years ago I wrote a post about some of the wild flowers that can be found along our home.

Road side beauties is a follow up to that article:

Road side beauties.

Since I posted the article there have been a few flowers I have not been able to find over the years. It saddens me as it shows to me that some of these wild species that used to bloom in abundance, are now not there anymore for us to enjoy

What has disappeared.

Some of the flowers I have not been able to find are the pink lady slippers, there used to be a couple of spots where they grew, but as said, I have not been able to find them for years now.

Another example is the Tiger lilie, again in abundance years ago, but rather hard to find these days. And Blue Gentian, every year I look for it in the same spot I found it first, but have not seen it again. With the Gentian, it could be that I just missed it as it was around harvest I first noticed it a few years back. Maybe this year I will be able to find it.

Abundant this spring

This spring however the ditches have been blooming yellow with the yellow lady slipper. It seems to me there are two kind, a smaller one with a bit more brown on the petals, and a lovely big lady slipper, very showy and hard to miss.

Yellow Goats beard

This flower, yellow Goats beard (Tragopogon dubius) I had a bit of trouble identifying as I always thought of it as Arnica. However I am quite sure it is the Goats beard. I noticed in the morning that the flower faces the sun, in the afternoon it is hard to find as the flower has closed. It produces large seed heads like a Dandelion. According to my research, the root can be cooked and eaten.(Source: https://www.ediblewildfood.com/goats-beard.aspx)

Buttercup and parsnip

Another yellow flower is the common yellow Buttercup or crow foot (Ranunculus acres) This one is rather tiny, but I remember back in Holland we used to pick it as a child. I found this one along the ditch.

Meadow parsnip (thaspium trifoliatum flavum ), is another yellow flower that blooms in abundance along the ditches and roads.

Absint wormwood

Absint wormwood ( Artemesia absinthum) is one herb that stands out due to its silvery coloured leaves. Rub the leaves between you fingers and it will release a strong pleasant smell. As the name suggests it was used to treat worm inventions in a person.

And was widely used in the French liquor “Absinthe”. In addition, it is thought to cause adverse affects and be toxic in larger quantities ( source: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-is-wormwood#chemical-properties)

Horsetail

Not truly a flower, but interesting never the less, I s the Horsetail (Equisetum arvense). Some of the claimed properties of this herb include: anti-hemorrhagic, antiseptic, antibiotic, an astringent, cardiac as well as a diuretic. (Source: https://www.ediblewildfood.com/horsetail.aspx).

It is high in silicic acid a source of silicon.

And lastly, in the same family, this ancient looking plant:Scouring Rush (Equisetum hyemale). Another plant in the horse tail family, also high in Silicic acid. The shoots in spring can be eaten. (Source: https://www.ediblewildfood.com/scouring-rush.aspx)

Update October 19, 2020

I have been so lucky this year to find different beautiful spots with wildflowers!

Here are a few of the picture I took earlier this year:

Love the beautiful orange of this Tiger Lilie!

An early flower abundant in ditches and along road side.

One of my favourite wild flowers! They smell so wonderful!

This Blue Gentian grew again on the same spot I had found it years before! I was so happy when I found this little cluster of flowers.

Not sure what the Canadian name is. These little white flowers can also be found along road sites and ditches.

Not a very good picture. They are hard to photograph as the white flowers are hanging underneath the leaves. It is just harder for me to crouch down for the picture ;).