Sunday, October 29, 2017

A Glimpse of Northern Argentina

North and west of Buenos Aires, Argentina becomes more and more tropical and then rises toward the Altiplano and the Andes. The rainfall drops to a few inches a year, which fall during the hot summer.
northwest Argentina
northwest Argentina
To the west, northern Chile sits on the Altiplano, over 10,000' above sea level, with the surrounding mountains even higher.
Altiplano, Chile
Looking across the Chilean Altiplano

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Plant Story--Sticklleaf, Mentzelia nuda

Mentzelia nuda, a short-lived perennial of sandy sites in the western plains, is called stickleaf and blazing star. My personal name for it was "quitting-time flower."
Mentzelia nuda in the late afternoon prairie
The white flowers are Mentzelia nuda stickleaf in the late afternoon prairie

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Plant Story--Ragweed, Ambrosia, an American Wildflower

Ragweed. Makes you think of allergies, right?

ragweed, Ambrosia
ragweed, Ambrosia
But my title says "an American wildflower."

And it is.

The ragweeds, the genus Ambrosia, in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, are all endemic to the Americas. Of the 22 species native to North America, only five are widespread (see USDA maps). But two species are in every one of the lower 48 states, annual ragweed Artemisia artemisifolia, and western ragweed, Artemisia psilostachya. They look very similar. The annual ragweed has always been a plant of disturbed areas, spending the winter as seeds, needing relatively open conditions to prosper during its one year of life. Human disturbances have given it many more places to grow. The other widespread ragweed, western ragweed, is a perennial, and is found in native ecosystems all across the United States.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Ideas from Japanese Gardens

I took a garden tour in northern Japan this past June (blog). Not only did it make me see my plants as poorly trimmed (see earlier blog), there were lots of useful ideas.

Japanese garden scene