Goodbye to Bluebell Season & England

Wytham Woods at Oxford University is used for environmental research and hosts art studios.

As eager as I am to return home after a year abroad, England is hard to leave during bluebell season. It's been a fun and productive sabbatical in two countries. My UK young adult novel is revised, and I've started writing a new YA novel set in Japan. We spent lots of time with our British family, caught with old friends, and explored new places. I will blog about last week's marvelous vacation in Wales soon.

Wild bluebells and rapeseed fields at Wytham Woods

This week I'll be mostly offline moving back to Maine. More later!

Bluebell woods at Pangbourne College in Berkshire, my husband's old school.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens with my Daughter

Before my daughter started her summer job, we enjoyed a staycation in Maine. At the top of her list was returning to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, an hour up the coast from us. For her high school senior project Gemma designed a guide to Maine medicinal plants.

CMBG also combines botany and art; sculpture is an integral part of the gardens and seaside trails. My favorite was this supersized pinecone made of rusty old boat propellers.

We first came here with my kids' playgroup, so many years ago Gemma can't remember. There's a children's garden and fairy house building zone in the woods. We were relieved to see that no lady's-slippers were slain for this fairy abode. These woodland orchids grow naturally in Maine at this time of year.

For the botanically illiterate, such as me, plants were conveniently labeled. There was a Japanese accent to the design too, reminiscent of the gardens of Kyoto. At one point, I considered a career in Landscape Architecture until I learned that most work comes from designing parking lots.

We loved the exuberant colors of these Candelabra Primroses. The bright sunshine and dappled shade made photography challenging, but it was perfect weather for exploring the grounds.

The lilly pad pool reminded us of Monet's Garden in France.

Our favorite bloom was the Showy Lady's-Slipper, glowing in the midsummer light. I'm savoring these glorious June days. All too soon, I'll be back to work revising my manuscript. Boothbay Harbor, where these gardens are located, was another town that inspired my fictional Port George.

CM Botanical Gardens:
May 2015 Visit: spring blooms
August 2012 Visit water & sculpture

Blog Watch: if you enjoy botanical posts, check out garden bloggers Tina in Tennessee & Skeeter in Georgia, Les in Virginia, Rose in Illinois and Vivero in Texas. I'm a lazy gardener and prefer admiring the work of others.

Huffington Post posted this beautiful image in memory of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack on Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey last night. ISIS attacked a Muslim country during the holy month of Ramadan. When will this senseless violence stop?

Time to Party for Spring

Before the inundation of tourists, the sand reveals only tideprints.

Waves break under bluebird skies.

Coastal estuaries cycle through mudflat and flood,

rocking clammer boats in empty currents.

Clouds whisk across the sky, 

bringing more rain but also brilliant greens.

In my garden, bumblebees hum over wild violets,

While chartreuse shoots tickle desiccated leaves...

And beer cans are tossed 

from the dorms next door.

Spring at Last in Maine

When we returned from England in late April, there was an overnight frost. Slowly the temperature warmed to the 60s, greening the grass. As usual, our forsythia (above) was the first to bloom along with the crocuses. Wild violets (below) have been popping up everywhere. I got my bike out of the shed, and walking the dog was no longer a chore. Today the azaleas are opening and our cherry tree is budding. The sky has been blue for days, but I'm welcoming rain in the forecast.

Last week my new agent sent me notes on my British novel, the one I researched during my family's Oxford sabbatical. I started writing it as women's fiction, and 100 pages later, decided the story would work better for teens. My former agent is no longing representing young adult fiction so I switched to an agent who specializes in children's books.

It was the right move. I'm inspired to see how much better my book can be...with some hard work. There are lines to cut, scenes to move and new passages to write. Who knew I overuse "even" and eye rolls (my mom is laughing)? If I'm offline, I'm either typing in a deliriously happy frenzy or outside enjoying the late bloomers. No eye rolls.

Happy Spring!

Wildflowers, Carnivorous Plants and Wild Edibles in Baxter State Park

A Mystery Wildflower

There are some wild things growing in Maine's Baxter State Park. This looks like a nice bog, right?
My son knelt down and pointed out two species of carnivorous plants. Yikes!

1. the Pitcher Plant traps and drowns insects.

2. Sundew is sinisterly sticky. 

We decided to stay on the viewing platform.

In the woods, we foraged for bunchberry from the dogwood family.
My son described the taste as plum/tomato.
He'd learned plant ID from Chewonki Wilderness Trips.

I didn't need his help identifying laurel, which grows all over Maine.

Neither one of us could ID this common wildflower,
featured in the opening shot. It lined all the roads.

It's too tall for common dandelion 
and the leaves don't look right for cat's ear.
(Thanks, Gail, for identifying the Kirgia and for hosting.)

It thrived on woodland paths in mid July. Any idea what it is?

More about our Baxter trip here:

Mt. Katahdin

Moose and Calf

Canoeing

Visit Wildflower Wednesday hosted at Clay and Limestone. 

This is my first time.

Reminder: Friday 9/28 is the 10X10 Art Show in Brunswick, Maine.

Woodland Wildflowers in Maine

May is woodland wildflower season in Maine. Our cool, wet weather has been good for flora and for late season flu. Luckily, I didn't need to walk far into my woods to find spring and sunshine.

Wild Geraniums open to sunshine.

Mayflowers are budding below the White Pines.

Star Flowers shine from mossy rocks.

But what is blooming above the Forget Me Nots?

Here's a close up
of my mystery bloom.

Note: 

I'm taking next week off from blogging. 

I'm finally over the flu, 

but I need to catch up on work 

before the kids finish school. 

So much going on at end of term!

Next post will be June 6th.

Spring FINALLY Comes to Maine (GBBD)

1. Jacob's Ladder wildflowers

(Thanks, Carol, for the ID.)

In Maine, spring doesn’t really kick in until May, 
and then everything blooms all at once in my garden and woods.  

2. First to flower is the Forsythia, burning through my woods,

3. Where Wood Anemones bow with blooms,

4. And Partridge Berry rambles.

5. In sun dappled patches, Low Bush Blueberry thrives.
(Thanks, Les, for the ID.)

6. Wild Violets are easier to identify.

7. True to name are Forget Me Nots.

7. Azalea fades as Cherry blossoms unfold.

8. More Azaleas follow.

Visit more Garden Bloggers Bloom Day posts @ May Dreams Gardens.


Gardeners, thanks for helping me ID the mystery blooms.

Maine Garden and Wildflowers

1.happy surprise: naturally reseeded pansies

It takes a lot of will power to keep working on my latest novel with everything blooming in my garden. I’ve drafted the first seven chapters of NOT CRICKET, and now I’m rewriting them from alternating points of view. The American girl voice has been there from the start. I’m enjoying the challenge of writing in a British boy voice. I’ve spent the past 22 years listening to one. My husband is English, and our kids are “bilingual” after a year’s sabbatical in Oxford. I’m feeling nostalgic…

2. Cherry and White Pine 

. . . and manic: yesterday I started writing at 7am and finished at 9pm with breaks to tend to household needs. It’s a busy time of year for my kids (piano concerts, dance performances, out of state crew races, exams) and my professor husband (last classes, grading, dinners, exams.) I’m the Cat in the Hat juggling car keys, bills, pots, a manuscript, a shedding dog and endless laundry.

I’ve been looking forward to my Wednesday blog day for an excuse to get outside with my camera and online to catch up with you. The bright sun melted the near frozen dew, and it’s going up to 60F with blue skies. I’m posting late so that I can share this glorious day with you. Next week I’ll be back to 7am postings.

3. Azalea

Late Happy Mother’s Day! These cyber flowers are for my mother who is traveling in Europe. The blooms are from my garden and woods, most are naturally reseeding wildflowers. Spring is three weeks early after a mild winter. The snow went south.

4. Hybrid Grape Lilacs

5. Wild Violets

6. Forget Me Nots

7. Wood Anemones

8. Star Flower in the woods

9. Barrenwort (thanks, Jan!)

10. Phlox (thanks, Jacoba!)

11. Salvia officinalis (thanks, Jacoba!)

12. wild geranium (thanks Tina and Bonnie!)

13. Lily of the Valley (thanks, Tina!)

Blog Watch: this post will be part of Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day on May 15. A Book A Week posted a literary tribute to her mother. Oasis Writing Link is back on line with a post in memory of her murdered mother.  Several garden bloggers helped me ID blooms.