Posts Tagged ‘spring flowers’
spring flowers
Our dominant ground greenery at this time of year is from the leaves of lily-of-the-valley (Convalleria majalis). Like emerald flames they light up the yard. And now they are in bloom. The fragrance is amazing!
All my best
and please stay safe at home.
Jane
Coltsfoot – first flower of spring
Although other flowers quickly follow, the first flower to bloom along our New Brunswick roads is Coltsfoot (Tussilago Farfara L.). Its bright yellow flowers are often mistaken for Dandelion, but Coltsfoot is recognised by a quick check for the leaves … Coltsfoot blooms before its leaves appear.
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The yellow blooms of Tussilago form large patches in waste areas, beside brooks and roads, and on damp hillsides. Its dandelion-like flowers are borne on scaly, leafless stems. Later, the large, woolly leaves appear. Other names for the plant are Son-before-the-Father, which refers to the appearance of flowers before the leaves, and pas-d’âne (literally donkey-steps). The scientific names are from the Latin tussis, meaning a cough and referring to the European use of the plant as a remedy for such ailments, and the Latin word for coltsfoot, farfarus. The plant was named by Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who established the present day system of naming plants.
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Coltsfoot
Tussilago Farfara L.
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Gold-
splashed beside the road
like prints
of a frisky colt’s feet
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at first glance-
an early dandelion!
but-
too early
stem scaly
no leaves below the bloom
no perfume.
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Coltsfoot,
Son-before-the-Father
(flowers before the leaves).
Introduced from
far away.
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Old wives say
boiled greens
will ease
a cough.
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Long ago
Tussilago
sprang from where
a burro trod
among the palms
(pas-d’ane).
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Poem published as: ‘Coltsfoot’, Winter 1993, The Antigonish Review 92:76-77.
Copyright 2018 Jane Tims
A moment of beautiful – crocuses in bloom!
the place: our front lawn by the driveway
the time: April 27, 2017
the beautiful: three plantings of purple crocus
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A couple of days ago, as I left the driveway, I looked back and saw my blooming crocuses … purple and dark-purple-veined … shining in the sun.
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The sight reminds me to always plan for the future. I planted these a few years ago, thinking, one day these will give me and others lots of joy. Today was the pay-out!
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Flight paths
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Bees navigate airways,
scan for nectar, flowers
in April bloom.
Guidance olfactory and sight –
ultraviolet, blue and green –
landing platforms,
runways invisible
(to human eyes)
lead to nectar.
Workers gather
and leave
for the hive
to waggle stories
to their kin.
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
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