Photo Challenges – Bright Dandelion and a Wildflower Walk

On April 15, 2021April 15, 2021 By TimelessladyIn photo challenges13 Comments

I love dandelion puffs. Backlit by the morning sun, the photo becomes naturally monochromatic. There are some interesting sparkles shining in the fluffy parachutes. The correct name for the fluff is pappus. You can find more dandelion information on Quora.

Today, I came upon a great blog called Good One God Challenge. My entry for the challenge is this beautiful dandelion. The dandelion against the sky is part of Skywatch. The square shape and the bright sunshine makes it perfect for today’s Life of B – April Squares Bright challenge entry. While not bright in color, the photo conveys a sense of brightness in the contrast.

I found the beautiful puff of dandelion on this week’s wildflower walk. These bright and beautiful wildflowers are blooming now in my Mid-Atlantic state of New Jersey. (Do squares in a square count as a bright square? I’ll have to ask Becky.)

Top to bottom, left to right, the wildflower names are:

1. Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea) – An invasive groundcover in the mint family.

2. Speedwell Persian (Veronica-persicaiolet) – Very small flowers, but they capture the color of the sky. It’s everywhere at this time of year in NJ, but soon disappears when hot weather arrives.

3. Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) – This plant is invasive, but it also has the beautiful yellow petals of buttercups, and is in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae.

4 Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) – Nutritious, the plant has many benefits.

5. Purple Deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) – Although it can be invasive, it is an important wildflower for early pollinators. In this photograph you can see a Cabbage White Butterfly feeding on the small flowers.

6 White Violets (Viola blanda) – These are lovely, but like many wildflowers, can become invasive and take over your garden beds and lawn.

7. Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) – I learned this wildflower is a wild edible, but also can be invasive.

8. Periwinkle (Myrtle vinca) – Not just a wildflower, this plant is sometimes sold in garden nurseries as an evergreen groundcover.

9. Indian Strawberry (Duchesnea i ndica) – The small strawberries are not edible. The leaves can be used to treat eczema.

Pressed Flowers – Greeting Cards

On April 23, 2012May 27, 2014 By TimelessladyIn Pressed Flowers3 Comments

Johnny Jump Ups, moss, Vinca leaves, barberry leaf, violets & wild onion curls

I have several books of this seasons pressed flowers dried and ready to use. The batch of cards in this post is composed with spring-flowering pansies and wildflowers. I glue pressed flowers to white or eggshell cardstock with rubber cement. After they are dry I press the finished art inside a book with a weight for several hours or preferably overnight. I then check for any loose spots. If I find one or more I touch these up with rubber cement on the tip of a long floral pin, and after they are dry re-press in a weighted book. When they are completely dry I position them on a complementary piece of colorful cardstock cut into a standard greeting card size. Below each pressed flower photo I’ve listed the plant material I used.

Common celandine, johnny-jump-ups, honeysuckle leaves & wild onion curls

Butterfly: pansy petals, nandina leaf, maple bud, seaweed stems & unknown weed foliage

Wild rose leaflets, wild onion curl, wild mustard sprigs & johnny-jump-ups

Buttercups

Johnny-jump-ups, common celandine, honeysuckle leaves & wild onion curl

Wild onion curl, maple keys (seed pods) fern with fiddlehead, Vinca springs & unknown weed sprig

I thought this card has a definite heart shape, but my husband didn’t see it. He thought the maple keys looked more like wings. I guess it’s proof of that old cliché: “It’s all in the eyes of the beholder.” I like it though, it’s unique. I am going to try to make some dragonflies with the maple keys next. I’ll post the results soon. Here’s another maple key composition below.

Wild violet, fiddlehead fern, unknown weed foliage, common celandine bud maple keys & wild onion sprig

Pressed Flowers – Pressing With Heated Books

On February 28, 2012March 25, 2016 By TimelessladyIn Pressed Flowers4 Comments

In the northeast we have had a very mild winter. Many of the area wildflowers are beginning to bloom. In my pile of foliage and flowers are blossoms of Birds-eye Speedwell, Vinca, and Celandine. It’s time to begin restocking my pressed flower supply. I love using wildflowers, they are often small and airy, perfect for pressed flower compositions. One caution though when using wildflowers, be sure that you are not using a plant that is protected as threatened and endangered in your state. To see a listing of your State’s Protected Wildflowers check out this site: US Government list of Threatened and Endangered Plants.

I have found that the best way to retain the colors of most flowers and foliage is to flash press them in a microwave. I don’t use the expensive microwave presses; I have found the best way is to use an old book. The book must have very porous paper, it must not have gold or silver leafing on the spine or page edges, and a smaller book works better. Most of the books I use are from the 1930’s and 1940’s. You can find books of this age at yard sales and thrift stores. They are usually very inexpensive.

1. Separate your flowers into thinner petaled flowers and foliage, and thicker varieties.

3. Lay the blossoms and foliage on the page. These vincas have a thick stem that will not press well behind the open faced blooms. After I lay them out on the page I cut off that stem. For the side pressed blossoms, I leave the stem intact. I also include several buds of the flower.

4. Shut the book and rubber band the edges. For thin varieties of flowers and foliage I microwave between 15 and 30 seconds. This provides the heat that speeds up the drying process. The book should not be hot, only gently warm to the touch. For thicker varieties of flowers and foliage I heat for 30 – 60 seconds. As with anything microwave temperatures vary, you will have to experiment to see what works best for you. After pressing, clean out any residue left behind in your microwave by heating a cup of water with lemon or citrus peel, and then wiping away the moisture from the sides.

5. Don’t open the book, leave the rubber bands in place and put your book under a heavy weight.

6. Your flowers should be dried and ready to use within 3 – 7 days. To remove them from the pages of the book, gently slide a soft paint brush beneath the edges.

I use large books to store my pressed flowers. I place them on acid free paper and label the sides, leaving the edges hanging over the book pages about 1/2 inch. This helps me find exactly the type of flower I want when I am composing a picture.