Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Funny how some plants are viewed, wildflowers vs. weeds, vs. noxious weeds.  Right now the wildflowers are in full bloom.  My favorite is right up the road ... lots of bushes of Lupine in full bloom.   Love Lupine in a vase with lots of Daffodils.


The Good ... Lupine

Then there is this weed, a type of Mallow, everyone I know calls it Cheese Weed because the seed pods look like small wheels of cheese.  The leaves look almost like a Geranium, but the seed pods are similar to a Hollyhock.  Cheese Weed has a very long tap root and I have had it grow to over 6 feet tall if left alone.  Sheep and Goats love Cheese Weed, but unless I move the fences all the way to the house I'll never get rid of it, Sheep and Goats like all the rest of my plants too, especially roses.

The Bad ... Cheese Weed


And then there is Stinging Nettle, you need leather gloves to pull this weed, there are small hair like parts to this weed that you do not want to touch.  However it is supposed to make excellent herbal tea.  Nettle has square stems like mint and it spreads like mint.

And The Ugly .... Stinging Nettle


I think in spite of the snow last week Spring is officially here, the sun was out today and it was nice and in the 70's, however more rain on the way.  I should not complain about the rain at least it is making and keeping the pastures green which means less hay to buy.

Happy Spring.

4 comments:

  1. i would never attempt to make tea from stinging nettle! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hear once it has dried that it does not sting, plus you would strain out all the plant part. Think I will try one of my mints instead. I have apple, chocolate, orange, spearmint and peppermint. Haven't been able to find any pineapple mint to replace the plant I lost few years ago.

      Delete
  2. "Sheep and goats like all the rest of my plants too" - hahahaha :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lupine and daffodils would be lovely together! Stinging nettle is actually a good medicinal plant used to relieve the symptoms of gout and arthritis. It is also high in vitamin C and iron and the tea is a good tonic for anemia.

    ReplyDelete