Common Vetch (Vicia Sativa)

Common Vetch also called Tare, Garden Vetch and Spring Vetch maybe a new name to me but I see it in my yard and along the roadside often. For years I've seen it in my yard growing in shades of pink and in stretches of my neighborhood it's purple . Either color I think is pretty . It can also be found growing  throughout the world. Common Vetch is in the Pea family and I never noticed those seed pods before until photographing the flowers. I read they contain cyanide compounds and can be toxic though so I won't be adding this to my edible list. Although some people seemed to be of a differing opinion over this being edible. As for me I'll just enjoy the beauty I've discovered in another one of God's creation. 

Common Vetch 

Common Vetch 

Common Vetch 

Common Vetch 

Old Garden Rose

Learning about the roses on the side of our house has not been as easy as I thought. I had no clue how complicated this would be.I never realized there are so many varieties.Maybe though I have gained some understanding.These roses only bloom once a year so are considered Old Garden Roses.They have no fragrance so must be a hybrid too. I learned that chemicals in roses and glands on leaves and petals give them fragrance.The many years of cross breeding bred out the scent for some and also mildew can cause a loss of scent.There has been some problems with mildew in these but I don't remember them as being fragrant anyway.These roses will definitely spread and climb and are a lovely shade of pink. Possibly I thought they were a Climbing Polyantha or a Hybrid Multiflora. Indeed it has become a little complex for me but maybe I'm on the right path. Gladly I would receive advice on this from someone who has experience and knowledge on roses ! I still don't understand how these roses appeared along a line of hedges that had been there since my childhood. During the 1990's I was cleaning out a section of my families yard covered in leaves and pine straw. I almost had felt like giving up because there was concern that my family (I lived with my parents)might loose our home. I thought why should I keep trying to clear all this if we were going to have to leave. Surprisingly there appeared a small pink rose that caught my eye in the Spring. Almost as a sign from God it was placed there. He took care of the worries over our home. We stayed and years later paid it off. Through many years though of hardship as well as the loss of my Daddy who passed away before this happened. Where the rose came from is not understood. It's possible that it could have been buried under all the leaves and pine straw. I thought maybe my neighbor had dumped cuttings or some she pulled up from else where. Cuttings doesn't make sense now but an idea I had previously. It spread through these hedges over into my yard but was never seen there before neither do I remember any like it anywhere near there. I eventually dug up one and planted it where it is now as seen in the pictures. The others that remain there have stayed small and don't always bloom. Not enough light with so many trees surrounding them. Interesting how God brought it all about and how I now enjoy seeing these every Spring. Discovering His Creation in the rose I can see will continue. 

 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:58

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Psalm 126:5

My Old Garden Rose 

My Old Garden Rose 

My Old Garden Rose 

My Old Garden Rose 

My Old Garden Rose

My Old Garden Rose

My Old Garden Rose 

My Old Garden Rose 

Follow Amber Astrophil's board Old Garden Roses on Pinterest.

Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera Japonica)

Japanese Honeysuckle would grow abundantly in my yard if we let it run it's course. It was introduced to the United States as early as 1806 a while before my state Alabama was granted statehood (1819). It was brought over from Japan and is hard to imagine a time when it would not have been here at all. The fragrance can easily remind me of my childhood summers... Those years have long past but the smell of the honeysuckle returns each year. When researching this I didn't know there were so many varieties of honeysuckle and as many as 20 of those varieties that are native to North America and Europe. Of the 100's I discovered though all are not edible. The nectar from the Japanese Honeysuckle can be sucked without harm and young leaves can be boiled to make tea. Do not eat the berries or the vine though ! It is also said to be medicinal and is high in calcium, magnesium and potassium. As for myself I'll probably just enjoy the fragrance it adds and thank God for another of His creation growing in my backyard .

Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera Japonica)

Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera Japonica)

Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera Japonica)

Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera Japonica)

Chinese Privet (Ligustrum Sinense Lour)

Chinese Privet or Sweet Shrub as I have called it for years is filling my yard with a lovely fragrance. Although Sweet Shrub is not it's name but it sure brings a sweet fragrance around this time of year. It was brought to the United States in 1852 as an ornamental shrub and is native to China. If you don't constantly cut and trim it you will soon have a tree ! That's what now grows in between my neighbor's yard and ours a row of once shrubs now become trees! The flowers are beautiful though and the fragrance is nice. It grows wild and spreads quickly and in some spots can be a nuisance ! 
Some still use it as a hedge and my Mother called it a poor man's fence . She grew up seeing it used that way and it is not uncommon to still see it so. 
It's fruit is not edible and can cause nausea, headache, abdominal pain,vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, low blood pressure and body temperature.  Although it is said to have been used in Chinese medicine for over a 1000 years! With modern research showing it can increase white blood cell count. Not sure if medicinal uses and research is for this member of the privets or others. Information of God's creation is continuing to grow from my own yard . Maybe growing as quickly as the Chinese Privet grows here beside us. 

Chinese Privet (Ligustrum Sinense Lour) The bees love these blooms .

Chinese Privet (Ligustrum Sinense Lour) The bees love these blooms  and are buzzing all around them.

Chinese Privet (Ligustrum Sinense Lour)

Chinese Privet (Ligustrum Sinense Lour)

Chinese Privet (Ligustrum Sinense Lour)

Chinese Privet (Ligustrum Sinense Lour)

Bird's Eye Speedwell (Veronica Persica)

Bird's Eye Speedwell is a small herb or (weed to some) that's had a place in my yard for a while. For years I didn't consider it significant but now I do. It has pretty blue flowers no bigger than an eraser on a pencil. In 1825 it was first recorded in Britain and has since spread throughout the United States. Bird's Eye Speedwell is edible and it can be eaten raw or cooked. It can also be used in teas. It contains tannins, resins, sugars and organic acids. It has been used medicinally to reduce congestion in the respiratory tract and in treating other disorders. So much information is available of yet another discovery of God's creation in my own backyard. 

Bird's Eye Speedwell (Veronica Persica)

Bird's Eye Speedwell (Veronica Persica)

Bird's Eye Speedwell (Veronica Persica)

Bird's Eye Speedwell (Veronica Persica)

Bird's Eye Speedwell (Veronica Persica)

Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera Speciosa)

Today let's discover His Creation and the benefits God has given to us through Pink Evening Primrose.  Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera Speciosa) has really spread in our backyard since the 1990's when my son and mother pulled some up to plant. They would walk in our neighborhood and would see it growing wild on the side of the road. It didn't seem like at first it survived the transplant but the next year it appeared and every year since then continued to multiply. There's no lack of it now and it's really beautiful . Only last year did I discover that it's edible and the Oenothera species have been used as antioxidant and antitumour agents due to their high content of flavonoids and tannins .
The Evening Primrose pictures were taken from my yard as all pictures I share with the blogs .

Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera Speciosa)

Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera Speciosa)

Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera Speciosa)

Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera Speciosa)

Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera Speciosa)

Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera Speciosa)

Sweet William ( Dianthus Barbatus )

I made a new discovery today of a lovely flower I didn't know was edible . There hasn't been much research of medicinal uses but it adds a lovely touch to cakes and other things. 

Birds, bees and butterflies are also attracted to the nectar and I'm attracted to the beautiful colors. Today has been a good day in discovering  God's creation.  

Sweet William ( Dianthus Barbatus )

Sweet William ( Dianthus Barbatus )

Sweet William ( Dianthus Barbatus )