Sweet Peas and Blackberries

This morning I was out in the yard for morning rounds and I noticed how many blackberries we are going to have on the vines. There are so many blossoms and when you examine the plant closely, there are tiny little berries forming already. I am in a constant battle with the blackberry vines in both my front and back yards. If left to grow, they would soon take over all the corners. We have worked for years to manage these creeping vines and I have come to accept that we will have few here and there and I will just be at peace with their beauty and their fruit. I love picking a handful of sweet berries as I roam around the yard.

There is no information on blackberries in the Handbook of Nature Study so I will need to pull out another gardening book that I have to learn more about them.

Do you see the little green berries starting there? So delicate and beautiful....and it holds the promise of a sweet treat in a few months.

Along the base of our foundation we always have sweet peas plant themselves and grow up among the bushes that border our house. This year they are pink.
"The sweet pea has some of its leaflets changed to tendrils which hold it to the trellis. Its flower is like that of the clover, the upper petal forming the banner, the two side petals the wings, and the two united lower petals the keel which protects the stamens and pistil."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 589


You can clearly see all the parts of the sweet pea as described in the Handbook of Nature Study. I think we will use this flower for our Green Hour Challenge this week and try to draw it in our nature journals.

Can you believe how pretty these are? Such a pretty shade of pink.

If you have sweet peas in your neighborhood, you can use pages 588-590 to learn more about the sweet pea so you can share a few interesting facts with your children. There are also wonderful observation suggestions that you can use in your nature study.