Weedy Overgrowth

Here are some recent sketches of weeds/brush that I've been doing in the mornings. I love sketching at this particular spot because it has a jungle like atmosphere with all the vines. I recently bought a new Lamy Safari fountain pen (EF nib) and filled it with the Lexington Gray ink that everybody loves. And I love it too!!! You can see more sketches that I've posted on my blog here and here.

©2013 Carolyn A Pappas, Weeds (6-26-13). Gray Ink in 6.5 x 9 inch sketchbook.


©2013 Carolyn A Pappas, Weeds (6-28-13). Gray Ink in 6.5 x 9 inch sketchbook.

Nature's Ephemera

After the snow melted, I found all sorts of pods, seeds, and feathers on the ground near the shed...

details

Sometimes I like to pay attention to the small stuff...

My various magnifying lenses came in very handy...I couldn't even see the hairs on those weed seeds until I looked at them under magnification...

Weeds, Leaves, Twigs and such - Carolyn Pappas

I would love to spend a few hours outside drawing now that it is light longer into the evening, but it is still a little too chilly out to spend longer than about a half hour at a time. Or, maybe I just have a very low tolerance for the wind. These days we are in the process of cleaning up outside and getting things ready for the garden. Here are some sketches I made of some small details while sitting out in the yard.

Nature Offers Weeds - Teri Casper

Sorry this is difficult to see but it is done with ink on handmade paper. When I look at it, my ink sketch and the paper work so well together, it is just amazing.

You can click on it to enlarge.

Monday was not a good day so in the afternoon I took a walk to the lake with sketchbook in hand and these weeds grabbed my attention.

As I sat in the chair overlooking the lake, there was a whole line of weeds against the skyline. Weeds never looked so good.

So I sketched them.

And I felt better.

And of course, here is the haiku that came to mind as I sat there:

I had to go sketch

And leave the world behind

Nature heals the soul

and

See the weedlinescape

Framing the lake beyond them

Beauty from nature

These came later:

Nature offers weeds

Don't let the weed word fool you

Weeds create wonder

And

Sketching in nature

Enjoy the inspiration

Post it and share it

I told you haiku has just been pouring out of me.

Wild Poinsettia - Elizabeth Smith

Wild poinsettia, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Wild Poinsettia
Poinsettia cyathophora
Euphorbia or spurge family

Another one of my favorite weeds, Wild Poinsettia grows in moist disturbed areas and pinelands, this one at the bottom of a chain link fence that borders a bike path and the back of a golf course. The golf course used to be a pine flatwoods habitat, and they kept the pines around the edges, but they spray herbicide nearly every year to keep the bike path from getting overgrown with weeds. These stands of Wild Poinsettia die back, but they return every summer. I’m glad I got to paint them before they disappeared.

The genus name Poinsettia honors Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Ambassador to Mexico.  The species name cyathophora is from the Greek Cyathodes, meaning a small cup or urn, cup-bearing. I think the flowers do look like a collection of little cups.  It’s related to our beloved Christmas poinsettia, which is poisonous as well, and both have the milky sap that is characteristic of many Euphorbias.

Clicking on the image above will allow you to see it larger on my Flickr photostream.

~ Elizabeth Smith,Naples, FL, USA

Fogfruit - Elizabeth Smith

Fogfruit, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Fogfruit Phyla nodiflora
Verbena family

I saw this along the bike path, growing in among the Spanish needles. This is the spot where I saw so many White Peacock butterflies, and later I learned that this plant is the larval food for its caterpillars. I wonder if they were laying eggs that day? Butterfly eggs are so tiny that I may have to wait until the caterpillars hatch and grow up a bit before I can find them.

I also found out that this plant has spread into many countries throughout the world, and has a lot of different common names. I think my favorite so far has to be “Turkey Tanglefoot.” I can just imagine tangled mats of this low-growing ground cover along the sunny edges of trees, ready to snare an unsuspecting bird!

Clicking on the above image will take you to my Flickr photostream.

~ Elizabeth Smith, Naples, FL USA

Spanish needles - Elizabeth Smith

Spanish needles, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Spanish needles, Aster family

Hated by hikers and gardeners, beloved by butterflies

Right now these scruffy wildflowers (or weeds) are growing and blooming like crazy. The butterflies are feasting! They’re also setting seed, those troublesome little slivers with hooks on the end that hitchhike onto our sneakers, socks, cuffs, and pets. I read that one plant can produce 1250 of these seeds! Once one plant gets a foothold in your garden, it seems they show up forever after. They’re still attractive to me; they are survivors and cheery-looking, and anything that attracts so many butterflies can’t be all bad.

Click on the image above to view larger on my Flickr photostream page.

~ Elizabeth Smith
Naples, Florida, USA

Squint your eyes and think of spinach

I had difficulty getting the leaf texture right - it's supposed to be puckered up like a spinach leaf. This Solanum rostratum Dunal has made its first appearance, after 22 years of gardening, at Longears. You know you have a bad 'un when the extension service says of this weed "Nasty, nasty, nasty"! The spines are very strong and sharp and appear on all parts of the plant - even on the leaves! It is considered a noxious weed in 46 states and that does not imply that this Solanum behaves demurely in the other 2 states! In the interest of science, I let mine develop seed so that I could draw it....but I'm heading out to the garden with a thick pair of gloves and a spade to uproot it right now!

Naturalized flowers and weeds

The yard down the street is neglected now that the house stands empty. Once there were flower beds lovingly tended by an elderly man; now some of the flowers have escaped to naturalize in the yard. The yellow one is coreopsis; I'm not sure what the purple one is.



Before church, this weed caught my eye. Very sassy-looking at the edge of the parking lot. I did a very quick sketch of it, knowing my husband was going to mow the area after church. A Kansas field guide calls it Goat's Beard.

A fascination with weeds

A fascination with weeds

I’m not sure why weedy plants are appealing. Maybe it’s the variety of leaf and flower, maybe because they are the underdogs of the garden and lawn, maybe it’s their tenacity to survive. Whatever the reason, I thrill when interesting little unknowns make an appearance in my yard and potted plants. Sometimes I let them grow to see what they’ll become. Other times I feel the need for order and my duty to protect the privileged tomatoes and roses, and become a merciless reaper.

This pot originally contained a small specimen of Micromeria that I wanted to learn more about. I collected this back in December, from a lovely large colony growing in what was a disturbed area, the bottom of a ditch or swale (see my Flickr sketchbook page). In south Florida, we use swales to retain the torrential downpours received in summer; the bottoms are fairly moist even during our dry season. The Micromeria has been growing and has started blooming again, but some friends started to sprout as well. This time I let them grow…just to see.

I am not a botanist, and I have trouble with identification keys unless they’re made for a layperson, so I haven’t been able to recognize the other two volunteers. I know the Micromeria from a long-ago native plant sale. Are there any weed people out there? Hopefully you’ll enjoy my little wildplant garden sketch and can identify the other two!

Elizabeth Smith
Naples, Florida, USA