plants – New England's Narrow Road

The Jack-In-The-Pulpit Plant I Found

jack in the pulpit flower — Jack in the Pulpit

As I was weeding the side garden that holds my day lilies I noticed this odd plant and knew at once that it was a Jack-in-the-pulpit. It was growing in the tall grass and weeds at the edge of the woods, but in my yard.

I had seen one before when I took a walk at my old place. It was growing next to a stone wall and I wanted a photo of it, but the next time I went walking and took my camera, the plant was gone. I suspect that someone – or maybe an animal – dug it up. I rarely see them, but I don’t know how rare they really are. So I was disappointed, but now I have found another and it’s close by!

So here are my photos of the Jack-in-the-pulpit plant.

jack in the pulpit plant and flower — Wild plant – Jack in the Pulpit

The Tomatoes Are Planted

little tomato plants — Ready to plant tomatoes

I stopped at Tenney Farm the other day and picked up some tomato plants. I knew that planting time would be upon me soon and I didn’t want to be without anything to add to the garden.
I bought Early Girl, Big Boy and Cherry, Grape and some sort of Roma.
The trouble I am having this year is that everything has to be done at once. Digging the gardens is the most time consuming thing and I had to have loam / garden dirt delivered to add to the vegetable garden area. I’ve also been watching the sun to see where I get it the longest so the tomatoes could be planted there.
Last year I spent most of the end of summer removing the blackberry bushes that had taken over the back right where I wanted to plant my garden. That was a nasty job but at least that part was done. This spring I’ve spent digging, buying soil amendments and lugging dirt. I still don’t know if the dirt will be good enough to give me some tomatoes, but I am hoping.
It might be too early, but the weather for the week will be warm so I planted the tomatoes last Saturday and then finished up yesterday with basil and marigolds. I also built some mounds for my zucchini, summer squash and cukes. The peas were planted a while ago but haven’t grown much yet. I am out of room, but I might get to add some beans if I can find space – maybe along the side of the deck.
I’ve noticed that I have one big sunny spot out front. I might have to turn that area into my garden spot.

White Flowers of the Bleeding Heart

white bleeding heart flowers — White Flowers of the Bleeding Heart

In all the time I lived in the northeastern U.S. as a kid, I don’t remember ever seeing a Bleeding Heart plant. I never saw them in Florida either – they probably can’t handle that heat.

They amaze me with their hanging stems that are full of heart-shaped flowers in either pink or white. The plant itself seems very delicate and the stems break easily, but it is a perennial and survives the long, cold winters to come back in Spring with it’s light green growth.

I planted a white Bleeding Heart next to the rental I lived in for three years and that is when I took the photo above. Unfortunately that plant only lived one year. The cat kept digging in that area and I think she killed it.

What I love about this shrub is that it will grow well in the shade, so I plan to add some pretty Bleeding hearts to my new yard which has a lot of shade out front.

Bleeding Heart (findmeacure.com)
Six Perennials With Late-Flowering Habits (casasugar.com)
Weekly Photo Challenge: Flowers… (eof737.wordpress.com)

The Silky Milkweed Pod

While walking by the lake a week or so ago, I came across some milkweed pods. As a kid, I loved to find these as much as I did the white dandelions so I could blow the silky seeds away. There is something about watching things float off into the sky that is enormously amazing to children, and many adults too!
This time, I didn’t touch the pod, but took a few pictures because it looked so pretty in the sun. The pod was open and the seeds, attached to the long silky fibers, were being swept out by the breeze.

I don’t recall seeing the milkweed plants earlier in the year, but the pods always stand out.
Before writing this article, I was searching for info on milkweed plants and found a page at Squidoo which has all kinds of information about the usefulness of this plant.

Did you know that besides attracting Monarch butterflies, the silk is used to stuff pillows, vests and other things? Also, part of the plant is edible and it can me used for medicinal purposes. I didn’t know any of that. Once I read about the plant, and how to save the seeds, I began to wish that I had kept some of those seeds to grow milkweed in my own yard.

Visit the Many Uses For Milkweeds page to learn more and watch the video which shows the changes milkweed plants undergo.