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| A sunny spring walk on the Division Street Trail in Bellingham. |
On a walk this week, I noticed several bright yellow blooms in natural settings or crevices where they are trying to take hold.
Three of them are non-native species. One is considered a useful weed and two, while they have beautiful yellow flowers, are on the invasive species list.
Dandelions
Everyone is familiar with dandelions. If you have a yard, you might not enjoy them taking over your lawn, but they are a welcome sight early in spring.
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| Dandelions holding on in a precarious spot next to the sidewalk. |
Seattle Magazine had an excellent article about using dandelions in the kitchen. If you decide to try, make sure you gather from areas that are not polluted and have not been treated with pesticides. Suggestions included using the young leaves in salads, sauteing leaves and unopened buds (open flowers are bitter), making jelly from the petals, teas and toasting roots for a coffee-like drink. Dandelions are good for you as a natural source for iron, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. I haven't tried eating dandelions - yet.
Scotch Broom
I just saw Scotch Broom for the first time in our neighbourhood. When it flowers, it's very evident. Scotch Broom always reminds of my Powell Lake home. In spring, cleared areas break out covered in bright yellow.
As pretty as it can be, Scotch Broom is an invasive noxious weed in Washington State and BC. It's poisonous for livestock, overtakes native plants and crops, and is very hard to eradicate because of it's prolific seed production and deep roots. To help quarantine the species, you cannot buy, sell or transport Scotch Broom or its seeds.
Lesser Celandine
Along a retaining wall at our condo complex, I've been watching a ground cover plant. It's bright green leaves first caught my attention. Then it had tiny yellow flowers. I took a picture and went to Google images to make an identification.
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| A thick mat of Lesser Celandine in a condo ornamental bed. |
I'm pretty sure this is Lesser Celandine. Maybe a reader can confirm or correct my identification. If it is Lesser Celandine, it's an invasive noxious weed in Washington State. It aggressively takes over in lawns, planters and natural areas. It's toxic to humans and livestock. Like Scotch Broom, digging up down to the roots and careful disposal in spring is recommended.
What flowers are you seeing in your neighbourhood? Are you allowed to go outside to walk? Can you use parks or other natural areas? Stay home (or near home) and safe until we get a handle on this horrible pandemic. -- Margy
We only have one of those here, the dandelion, but it's not out yet.
ReplyDeleteYou are a colder climate than here on the coast. Ours are already going to puff balls. - Margy
DeleteWhat fabulous finds on your walk! I rather like dandelions :)
ReplyDeleteIt's delightful to see you over at 'My Corner of the World' this week!
I do too. But then, my front yard is a water lot and not grass. - Margy
DeleteA refreshing walk with those flowers
ReplyDeleteThey do make our strolls outdoors more enjoyable. - Margy
DeleteI love the intense yellow of dandelion flowers as they are so cheerful. As children we used to blow their seedheads into the wind and make a wish :)
ReplyDeleteMe too with the seed heads. Our dandelions are not starting to go to seed. - Margy
DeleteYou may have eaten dandelions without realizing it. Sometimes the young leaves are included in spring green salad mixtures.
ReplyDeleteThat wouldn't surprise me. They do look good when they are young. - Margy
DeleteI love spring flowers too, they always look incredibly fresh. Even the first roses are not like the ones that bloom later in the season...
ReplyDeleteAll the best!
My mother loved roses. This condo we inherited from her was the first place she couldn't grow any. - Margy
DeleteNice pops of yellow
ReplyDeleteYellow flowers have always been my favourite. - Margy
DeleteOur spring wildflowers are at their very beginnings in upstate New York. I am not that familiar with Lessor Celandine (although I may have seen it and mistaken it for marsh marigold) so I looked it up and it is indeed considered invasive here, too. I do know about Scotch Broom and that is considered invasive here - batting two for two. Dandelions tend to be a little too bitter to me but I do wince when people call them lawn weeds - they are truly edible and healthy for you. I enjoy rail trails (if this is one), too. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI would guess our climate is somewhat similar. But we do get a lot less snow. My husband is thankful for that having grown up in Rome, NY. I don't think this was a rail trail but it might have been an old road that was repurposed when the homes and apartments were built. - Margy
DeleteI once knew soneone who made dandelion wine. I never tried it but people who have say it's good. My wife loves dandelions, it is one of her favorites.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the weekend.
That's what I've heard too. - Margy
DeletePretty shots. I used to see Scotch Broom flowering along the highway while driving up to the local mountains. Very pretty, but I didn't know they had a dark side!
ReplyDeleteThey were brought over from Europe as an ornamental plant and has spread like wildfire. My mother tells about having Scotch Broom as an ornamental plant next to the back door at her childhood home near Los Angeles in the early 1900s. - Margy
Deletewe get a lot of dandelions here, i don't like them but i never pull them out. i like Scotch Broom i think they are so pretty!!
ReplyDeletewe are seeing a lot of tulips right now, and a lot of the flowering spring tees are flowering!! we are allowed to walk or ride our bikes in our neighborhood, there aren't any restrictions on that!! we ride our bikes when we can, no more rides in the car, unless you are going food shopping or to pick up prescriptions!!!
spring trees
DeleteIn the nearby Skagit Valley they grow daffodils and tulips for bulbs. We didn't go see them this year, but I know they were there in all their glory. - Margy
Delete...dandelions are out in full force here. Enjoy your weekend.
ReplyDeleteOn our walk today the ones in the shade were still in full bloom. The sunny areas they had already gone to seed puffs, and even those had blown off. - Margy
DeleteHello. Beautiful spring flowers. Thank you. Stay safe!
ReplyDeleteThanks Anu, you stay safe as well. - Margy
DeleteThese are beautiful pictures of the spring flowers.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog.
I wish you a nice Sunday.
Best regards Irma
We got to go out on another walk today and that made it a very nice Sunday. - Margy
DeleteYou are very knowledgeable on your flowers Betty. I know about dandelions, mainly because of our neighbour doesn't maintain their lawn properly. Their dandelions keep spreading over my lawn and it's a constant battle to keep them at bay. Not sure I fancy eating them after my selective weedkiller!
ReplyDeleteWell, I had to look up some of the information. The two I was familiar with were Scotch Broom and Dandelions. The Lesser Celandine was new to me. One thing about blogging I enjoy is learning new things. - Margy
DeleteLove these fabulous photos of the spring flowers!
ReplyDeleteThanks Veronica, the brighten the day for sure. - Margy
Deletebeautiful. The dandelions are popping up over here as well. Makes the world a bit more colorful.
ReplyDeleteDandelions are great for making early spring seem bright. - Margy
DeleteHello, I love all the wildflowers even the dandelions. I heard the bees depend on dandelions, they are crucial and are one of the first to bloom provide nectar and pollen. Take care, enjoy your day and new week!
ReplyDeleteWe need to everything we can for the bees. I usually have mason bee nesting blocks out back home. Fortunately I put last years filled ones out before we left in January "just in case." At least they can hatch and fly away to new homes. - Margy
DeleteI am not sure when or how dandelions got to be so maligned, but they sure have been mistreated by humans. Why a buttercup is beautiful, or a marigold perhaps, and a lovely golden dandelion is treated as a mortal enemy to be destroyed is a little beyond me!
ReplyDeleteProbably when people started having manicured lawns in the suburbs. - Margy
DeleteI don't know their names but I have seen some pretty yellow flowers growing wild by the roadsides especially during this rainy season.
ReplyDeleteI just saw some tall yellow mustard plants on our drive today. They would have been a good one to add to this post. - Margy
DeleteWe have something like scotch broom and the seeds cling to your pants leg! Oh, about the state park committee: I went to an informational meeting and they asked for volunteers so I raised my hand.
ReplyDeleteScotch Broom is in the pea family I believe so there seeds come in pods. Even so they spread like wildfire. - Margy
DeleteWell! I didn't know you could eat dandelions. When I was a child we used to make necklaces from them. Have a great week, stay safe and thank you for visiting my blog this week.
ReplyDeleteI've heard stories about the roots being used in the depression for coffee substitute. - Margy
DeleteWhen I was a child in France I would go and pick dandelion leaves in the fields with my cousin’s great grand-mother. She would make a salad with vinaigrette and hard boiled eggs – it was so yummy and became one of my favorite salads. Here I buy the organic dandelion greens from Sprouts or Whole Foods and make that same salad. Though I have not been able to go out, but when I do that’s one of the first green I’ll buy. You are well informed about wild plants – I like them but don’t know that much.
ReplyDeleteJust an aside, my babysitter when I was little was born in France. After WWII she immigrated to the States. I heard many stories about growing up in France and going to boarding school in England. - Margy
DeleteWe have dandelions here in New England...plenty of them. They don’t bother me as they do other people. I like to see a bit of colour in the lawns.
ReplyDeleteThat's the way I feel. It seems here in the Pacific Northwest people are more tolerant with Dandelions in their lawns than when I lived in Southern California. - Margy
DeleteYellow are surely one of my favorite colors because it represents joy, celebration, and positivity which I think are traits that talk about our islands :) Thank you so much for sharing these yellow flowers to us Margy! And I have to be honest, this is the first time I saw dandelions in bloom, I always just see pictures of the flying hairy seeds (not sure if those are seeds that you blow on, we don;t ave dandelions in our side of the earth :))
ReplyDeleteThe puffball seeds blow everywhere. Soon the cottonwood trees will release their seeds that fly with cottony fluff. Those seeds are much more messy. - Margy
DeleteBright and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWish they had lasted until now. There are a few replacements, but the blossoming time is about done. - Margy
Delete