Our county cuts the weeds along the county roads every year about this time and now the bellflowers are gone along with all the other wildflowers within 4 feet of the road I enjoy walking for exercise. Feels like I lost some friends. Further down the road I saw lots of Serviceberrys weighing down their branches, so I solaced myself by munching on many of them although even that was difficult with a steep road shoulder and mosquitoes that seemed as excited to see me as I was to see all the serviceberries. Anyway, here is two pictures of 'Cicuta maculata' (water hemlock, yes poisonous) and one picture of 'Impatiens capensis' (spotted touch-me-not, jewelweed). These were surrounded by many 'Interrupted Ferns'. Enjoy the flower season, Gil
Oh what lovely shots - thanks for sharing. I enjoyed reading your post. : ) Welcome, to UBC Gardening Forum!
Re: Hungry Hollow road. Glad you like the photos. It was a breezy day and those plants would not stand still. The Water Hemlock is about 5 or 6 feet tall and even though the Jewelweed was only about 2 or 3 feet high, it kept moving too. Maybe I should learn how to use some shutter speed stuff on the camera instead of just using the automatic mode and tripod and timer. Gil.
Yes, by all means, tinker around with your camera and check out the different settings. You'd be surprised. I got my digital cam about 3 or 4 months ago and I am still getting to know it, even after all this time. I thought your shots were great.
Very nice pics, Gil. The local authorities over here near Sydney at Darkes Forest also mow the roadsides. I spotted this lovely native Sun Orchid growing by the road near an electricity pole which probably has saved it from being slashed. These orchids only open in the sun and as you can see it's growing in very poor rocky soil. If it is windy I often try using flash, as it can sometimes freeze any movement, even in the sun. David
Thanks for the flash tip, David, I'll try it out sometime. Your photo of the flower amazes me in that the landscape appears bleak and desolate but yet this flower pulls intense color out of somewhere and displays it as though it was magic. I can imagine a Magician saying “Look here, nothing in my hat” and then presto, pulls out something Blue. A few decades ago, I was hiking near Lake Superior and found some 'Evening Primrose' growing in a barren area that had too much sand to support many plants but a few Evening Primrose were there. Your post reminds me of that time partly because Evening Primrose tend to open in Evenings as opposed to Sun. The sandy soil poked my curiosity and I pulled one out and noticed it's root was much larger than I expected. I cooked it that night although I rarely do that since roots are usually smaller and require more work and removal will stop the plant from spreading. It was tasty though if I remember right. The sand forced a sparseness on the number and types of plants growing there so identification of the first year plants and second year plants was much easier. Nothing up my sleeve, Gil
The biggest danger here comes not from the highway department, but from the power company, which hires private contractors to clear the area beneath electric lines. These people are absolutely ruthless. And the results are often heartbreaking.
Ditto here re the Electricity maurauders. Fortunatly we as owners still get some say as to clearance but in the end they do win. Council also has a big say around here as we are tourist area and they don't want it ground zero. My negotiations now have created a rough hedge of natives that act as a dust barrier for the road. The company keeps it trimmed to their line limits above. They have done a lot of timming on the large trees inside the fence and hence they are heavy on one side. Fortunatly the wind blows mainly to the full side (paddock side) so non have come down but up further they have where the road goes around a bend. Re grass trimming that is only done out on the main roads. It's up to the land owner to trim the natural footpath area. As a result I have been able to keep my native grasses (slow growers) and just make sure the blackberries are out. . Liz
