Word of the Week

by Leslie Cox; Monday; February 24, 2025

hyemalis – (hye-MAY-lis)

                     is Latin for “pertaining to winter”.

Eranthis hyemalis, common name winter aconite, is a lovely little plant which pops up in February in our garden. It gets no taller than about 6 inches (15 cm) and has a bright yellow flower that seems to radiate sunshine on even the cloudiest of days.

The genus name Eranthis is from two Greek words: er meaning “spring” and anthos meaning “flower”.

It was interesting that a google search only produced two other plant genus and one bird genus with the hyemalis species designation. (Mind you, I only scrolled through six google pages.)

They were:
Agrostis hyemalis – winter bentgrass; tickle grass
Crocus hyemalis – winter crocus; winter saffron
Junco hyemalis – dark-eyed junco

If you are interested in learning more about Eranthis hyemalis and how it performs in our garden, click here.

Quote of the Week

by Leslie Cox; February 23, 2025

If water, air, soil and fire are the four primary elements, it takes seed as a
fifth element for humans to make the first four equal life here on earth.
Seed is life.

~ Jennifer Jewell
What We Sow, Timber Press 2023

Teaser Tuesday

by Leslie Cox; Tuesday; February 18, 2025

Came home the other day to find a merlin just like this one perched in my chestnut tree.
No other birds to be seen anywhere in the garden. Go figure.

Did you know?

by Leslie Cox; Monday; February 17, 2025
 
Did you know…
                  …worms have existed for about 600 million years? 
 
There are approximately 34,000 different species of worms worldwide with many of them so small you need a microscope in order to see them.
 
 
The one pictured here is the larval form of a stiletto fly species. It looks very much like a wireworm, but white. However, unlike the wireworm, this guy is very much a good guy. It is an avid predator of larvae and pupae of numerous species which reside in the soil.
 
So, if you happen to uncover it whilst digging in the soil in the spring, leave it alone. It will quickly bury itself under cover again. 

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