The Greening
Written and Photographed by Juliet Blankespoor
Our neighborhood farmers’ precious daughter
My excitement for springtime is punctuated with the hurriedness of the tending – our nursery, school and gardens. Anyone tied to the land in the northern temperate world knows this springtime reality. And yet it is such a juicy time. In between my thirteen hour work days, I have the wonderful opportunity to get out and witness the beauty of all things fresh and renewed; I hope you enjoy these little snippets of the gems I found in the greening. Click on the horizontal photos if you want to see them grow larger. And leave a message if you feel inspired, I love hearing from you!
Tulip
Morel mushroom, yummm
A bonnet fashioned from fallen rock tripe lichen
Pansy
Wild Turnip (Brassica rapa) field in our valley
Foamflower, Tiarella cordifolia, Saxifragaceae
Wild Geranium, Geranium maculatum, Geraniaceae
White Oak leaves emerging, Quercus alba, Fagaceae
Burdock harvest (Arctium minus)
Tulip
Magnolia buds, Magnolia x soulangeana, Magnoliaceae
Look for Part 2 of the greening later this week, and I hope you all are getting out as much as possible to witness the beauty and excitement of the season.
Juliet
Meet The Green Mastermind Behind Blog Castanea:
JULIET BLANKESPOOR is the founder, primary instructor, and Creative Director of the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine, an online school serving thousands of students from around the globe. She's a professional plant-human matchmaker and bonafide plant geek, with a degree in botany and over 30 years of experience teaching and writing about herbalism, medicine making, and organic herb cultivation. Juliet’s lifelong captivation with medicinal weeds and herb gardening has birthed many botanical enterprises over the decades, including an herbal nursery and a farm-to-apothecary herbal products business.
These days, she channels her botanical obsession through her writing and photography in her online programs, on her personal blog Castanea, and in her new book, The Healing Garden: Cultivating and Handcrafting Herbal Remedies. Juliet and her family reside in a home overrun with houseplants and books in Asheville, North Carolina.
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Ricky says:
Juliet,
The Foamflower photo is just absolutely stunning! It made me notice some things about the flower that I hadn’t before.
I also love the Wild Geranium one!
Ricky
Bonnie Sharkey says:
Juliet, your photos are gorgeous and convey such warmth! I can never thank you enough for the amazing education you gave me, and how much it inspires me every single day!
Juliet Blankespoor says:
Bonnie,
You are so sweet, as always! Thanks Bonnie
meshell says:
Que liiiiiiinnnnddaaa las fotos!
AMIGA MIA, your posts and your pictures are incredibly inspiring, and have my heart exploding with the thought of returning back to appalachia so soon. I love and miss you dearly, I have dreams on hiking with you sometime in the near future. xoxoxoxoxo see you soon, i arrive in atlanta thursday afternoon xo
Juliet Blankespoor says:
we miss you and look forward to seeing you again, safe travels!
Mom says:
Beautiful flowers and plants–and little people as well. The view from my kitchen window is breathtaking!
Kelan melon says:
What treasures! I was out on a walk off of route 9 with Oliver and he lead me to a bog filled with giant tadpoles! I have never seen these before they were fatter than quarters and starting with their legs and still had their tails. What a delight! Oliver even threw his sun hat in so I was required to wade around with them.
Juliet Blankespoor says:
sounds like a very fun adventure indeed!
Ruth says:
Absolutely gorgeous!!!
I always look forward to seeing your posts–they are so awesome. They also help me with my own plant id’s–I use your excellent photos as an additional resource. Thanks!
Ruth
Juliet Blankespoor says:
Thanks Ruth, I’m glad the photos are helping. Have fun with the plants!
Samantha Cattell says:
Wonderful photographs thankyou for sharing them!
claudia Green says:
So very very beautiful …these photos….so very refreshing…pure and bright.
Thank you.