100 Species #33: Grape hyacinth

These things are all over the yard. I totally stole this picture of grape hyacinth (Muscari sp.) from Alexis. Here's her version.

Grape hyacinth is a flower that typically grows from a cultivated bulb, but can reproduce vegetatively, spreading from one planting across your yard. Most people are okay with this Old World native increasing in size and scope on their property, since it adds a very attractive bit of color to the early spring, and seems to stay in flower a long while. Honeybees braving the cold early spring may come to pollinate the plant. The species most in use in American gardens is Muscari armeniacum, which is a forest wildflower across the countries of the eastern Mediterranean and the Caucasus, including Armenia.

100 Species #34: Japanese pachysandra

These Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis) blossoms are spreading from my neighbor's yard, under their fence and onto the retaining wall that marks the boundary.

Japanese pachysandra is a cultivated ground cover that retains its leaves in winter. It is a widely used plant, and is sometimes encountered in a semi-wild state, left over from garden refuse or spread from a long-forgotten planting. It occurred in this blog before as 365 Urban Species #363.

3:00 snapshot #740

I've been trying to write something at least somewhat interesting with these snapshots, but right now I'm listening to The Bugle podcast, which is the funniest podcast ever.

3:00 snapshot #741

Walkie-talkie charging station, daffodils.