Seasonal changes in nature have fascinated many of us since we were children. The passing of summer into the beautful colors of autumn, the leaves dropping and swirling in the cold winds that bring winter snows, the arrival of new birds singing their songs in Springtime, and the circle is complete when the long days of summer make for beautiful gardens and lazy days. All of us have favorite seasons, but for some of us it is the change from season to season that is anticipated.
As in all things, scientists study such phenomona. Indeed, there is a whole area of study devoted to understanding the annual changing of the seasons. This area of study is called phenology, which is the study of climate influences on observable events. From the College Random House Dictionary —
Phenology (fi nol’e- jé), n. the science dealing with the influence of climate on the recurrence of such annual phenomena of animal and plant life as bird migrations, budding, etc.
phenological – adj, phenologically – adv, phenologist – n.
The main goal of WildeHerb.com is to document the natural events that we observe here in South Central Pennsylvania. Our natural setting is a temperate deciduous forest, mainly consisting of oak and hickory. So, we are in a fantastic place to watch the changing of the seasons.
Join us on our journey to find out what’s blooming now! Add WildeHerb.com to your blogroll, or bookmark us.
Dear Wildeherb,
Is there another way for me to get access to your bloom calender? The link on the website does not seem to be working. I am a graduate student at the university of Maryland studying plant phenology and invasibility, and I am gathering information on many native species in order to design an experiment. Also, if you know of any other databases of herbaceous plant phenology, that would be extremely helpful
Thank you,
Kevin Barry
Ph.D. student
University of Maryland
Kevin,
Thanks for commenting! I tried to reach you via your email, but it did not go through. My bloom calendar is still taking shape so I have not posted it here yet. Check back a little later.
Good luck in your phenology studies!
Dear Wilde,
I have a large garden but never can seem to get the right combinations. i plan on doing an edible landscape around my house. any suggestions on plants around house and or garden design.
Thanks for your time,
Patrick
Hi Patrick,
Congratulations on wanting to have a go with an edible landscape! It can be a life-long project to improve upon one’s gardening skills, so don’t give up! Learning about the huge variety of plants that are edible is part of the fun. Our grocery markets offer a small percentage of edible plants for sale and many of them come from other parts of the world. We like to encourage everyone to try their hand at gardening or growing any kind of plant.
Herbs are some of the plants that we grow just about anywhere. They don’t need to have a certain place where only herbs grow. We have a herb bed for favorites that is accessible to the kitchen, but mints, oregano, thyme, bee balm, catnip, lemon balm and chives grow all over the place. As far as garden design goes one might say ours is a bit haphazard-looking, but to me that’s not the important part. The design of the garden means less and less when the fruits start ripening!
You may be interested in companion planting for a little more success with your garden. Some plants won’t like to follow others in the garden and some herbs, like lemon balm and basil, can be planted as insect deterrents as protection for other garden plants. Check out this classic book: Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening
Good luck and good eats!
Liz:
This is a beautiful site. Very inspirational. I may even go out and plant something.
Bart
Thanks Bart! I really enjoy exploring outdoors and finding new plants or pretty blooms to share. Planting can be very satisfying and fun – whether it’s flowers or vegetables or trees. Watching what you plant grow into vegetables you can eat or flowers you and the bees can appreciate is my kind of fun!
Stop by again!