Zebra Mallow This is a plant I knew nothing about when I bought it, beyond the pretty picture on the plant stake. I knew it looked like a geranium blossom and it was a perennial. I’m so glad to have bought it. The first couple of years it went ga-ga and re-seeded itself in its…
Author: Lisa or Li
mother, grandmother, gardener, observer of nature, reader, writer, learner, bicyclist, woman who runs with the wolves, lover of music, philosophical daoist. Welcome.
A2Z 2025 — Day 25 — Yarrow
Yarrow I’ve had yarrow of multiple colors. It seems to sprout up wherever it wants. Right now there is white yarrow growing between the cracks of the driveway. I love not only their colorful blossoms but their feathery foliage. Which of these yarrow are your favorite? One more day to go and A2Z 2025 will…
A2Z 2025 — Day 24 — e(X)hibit — was FFF 13 — Tiffany Lamp exhibit at Muskegon Museum of Art (11/17/23)
I tried to think of something in the yard or in the house that could use “x” but couldn’t, so I searched past posts for something that might work. Here it is. Hope you enjoy it. We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. — Winston Churchill…
#SLS — “Down to You,” by Joni Mitchell, from Court and Spark
Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark is #113 on the 2012 list and #110 in the 2020 list of Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Court and Spark was Joni’s 6th studio album. It was an immediate commercial and critical success—and remains her most successful album. I’m actually surprised at…
A2Z 2025 — Day 21 — Unwanteds (warning: not for the squeamish) (update: hornworm addition)
UnwantedsEven in what I regard as a comfortable sanctuary, there are residents and visitors that show up that I really wish would move on. It’s hard to say which one takes top billing because they are all shadows. So, in no particular order… Free-Ranging CatsAnyone who’s read my blog for any length of time knows…
A2Z 2025 — Day 23 — Witch Hazel and Willow
Witch HazelAnyone who has followed this blog for long knows I bought 10 young bare root witch hazel shrubs/trees a few years back and planted them along the south fence line. It’s been a learning experience and there have been mishaps along the way — but all 10 are still alive. I learned that deer…
A2Z 2025 — Day 22 — Violets, Vinca, and Voles
VioletsViolets have grown in every place I’ve lived. They usually are just there, and they like to spread. They are short, seem to like the shade, and their blossoms compete with their beautiful leaves. This next pic is not from my yard. A former massage therapist was also an herbalist and she had these…
Tao Talk 