She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not: Flowers!

July is all about flowers in the Midwest. Yes, we have our Spring bloom, our winter bulbs that poke through the newly worked soil in April, May, June and show off their wares. But, it’s the flourish of summer when Nature preens, shows off, impresses. Some of the perennials do their thing in July, having survived the greenhouses, the crazy flock of green thumbs that pick them over during plant sales or Saturday morning in the landscaping companies parking lot, and haphazard (I might be a bit autobiographical here) transplanting with probably not enough compost, probably too much water, and not even close the right depth in the soil. Sound familiar? Other plants that were started from seed, or survived in situ the winter pummeling, also begin to express a little floral color in July. However, I do not think that our household and yard plantings are the origin for why this month is so special when it comes to flowers. We need to venture out, off the roads, on the dirt paths, into our local prairies and woods to see that there is a true swelling of the land. There isn’t much time to sprout, shoot, and flower, but the prairie forbs seem to have found that way, and late June, and definitely in July, August, and September, are the most glorious yellows, purples, whites, and reds imaginable, on all sizes ands shapes of green stems that would make even Claude Monet go running for the oils and palette., maybe even jumping for joy, screaming something about “Impressionism.” My meager attempts at home are but a reminder of the truly great things happening elsewhere, humbly realizing that elsewhere means “anyone else’s yard”, but, most importantly, the untouched, or restored areas outside or next to human development. If you are one of the avid blog readers, my trusty followers longing for the full, ripe chapters that will surely be filling “My Years of Plants”, the flowers treatise will eventually include such tidbits as the Kiefer versus Varmint battle over sunflowers and whether or not the 4th sunflower generation of 2012 survived; floral parts and botanical taxonomy and the relevance of this somewhat geeky topic to your daily life, medicinal quandaries, and scientific discourse with friends during meals or over a beer; “She loves me, she loves me not”; edibles and medicinals and what might be the difference; and much, much more. What should you do with this tease, this prelude to the future? Well, as with past chapters, stay tuned!

(Fill-in-the-Blank) Berries

Perhaps it is fitting that the June "My Year of Plants" entry actually takes place in mid-July. The pace of plant-related activities and responsibilities achieves a whole new level as summer hits full stride. There is watering to be done, before and after work, especially in this year of record drought and high temperatures. The Japanses beetles finally found my grape vines, so I have to spend time picking them off the leaves and brainstorming about ways to prevent their friends and cousins from following suit. And, not to mention the hours planting, transplanting, tying up, mulching, composting, and fixing fences. Who has time to write? Had none of these (wonderful) tasks infused my life, I would have dedicated June to berries, spurred partly by the picking and enjoying/eating that took place during that month in a friend's raspberry patch. Berries are clearly the hot topic nowadays in the media, for both our local varieties (an interesting push is occurring in Wisconsin about the chokeberry, Prunus virginiana) and for the many interesting tropical fruits touted for their impressive antioxidant levels and purported health effects. Sure, I consider health and vitality when popping a berry into my expectant mouth, but I'm more of a simpleton: the taste, the texture, the fact that often I have just picked this from some unsuspecting thorny cane, these are my motivators. I can't seem to get enough. Furthermore, berries are where my past meets my present and then shakes hand with my future; I find that I remember working in my grandmother's garden as a child and now try to re-live the recipes in my summer life. Not to mention the plans I have for jams and jellies, and frozen berries that make their way into smoothies, taking advantage of a new and powerful blender. I could go on and on, and, in fact, I will in this chapter of "My Year of Plants." The pending book will be your guide to berries, smoothie recipes, and insider scoops about weeding a strawberry patch in northern Wisconsin. You can't wait, can you?