After a few days of rain, the sun broke through the gray and I was able to get out and spend some time in my backyard this weekend. Most of the time was spent cleaning up debris from some strong winds that broke off weak tree limbs and getting my herb bed ready for some new herbs. I plan on keeping things simple and small this year. I’ve been itching to try my hand at making some hot pepper jelly, so jalapenos are the only thing on my short list that isn’t an herb that I plan on planting. Other than that, I’ll be sticking with my three favorites; peppermint, lemon verbena (or lemon balm if I can’t get any starters for the verbena) and thyme.
After cleaning out my herb bed I took a rest on the grass. What started off as a simple moment of relaxation turned into a mini adventure. I found myself paying way too much attention to the grass as I begun to notice all the tiny plants that I had been trampling and sitting upon. I’ve had a few botany courses, so I can identify flowers, trees and a few plants, but nothing I discovered among this sea of grass was familiar to me except for some clover and dandelions. I’m sure my neighbor, who was out raking her yard, found it a bit peculiar that I was on my hands and knees with small pruners clipping at the grass but I was fascinated. It occurred to me that the plant life in our yards are so common that we never give much thought to what’s going on with it, other than having to cut it and getting rid of pesky weeds so that we can have that manicured look. But as I watch all kinds of tiny insects move and flutter about, I realized that there’s a whole other world going on beneath my feet.
I took a few clippings and made some references photos from them for future sketchs. You can see them below. Other than the clover, if you know the names of any of these plants feel free to comment below. 🙂
Carve & Draw 