Taking in Life Around Me: #Sundaystills...Theme: Plant Life

This #sundaystills challenge is hosted by Terri from Second Wind Leisure. It's a great themed photography challenge that you'll enjoy. I love seeing the other participants interpretation of the theme each week...it causes me to think outside the box. I joined in hopes of it pushing me to get out and take more photos...I have to some degree, but I also like that Terri is okay with us finding photos in our archives, which is also a lot of fun. So check out my photos and then head over to Terri's page to participate or visit other's posts. There are some awesome contributors who always inspire me.

This weeks theme is plant life. Hmmmm....where will I go with this one? I love plants of all kinds. I love that in every place you go, plants adapt to their environment. What you find in one place, you may not find in another. 

A Beautiful plant is like having a friend around the house ~ Beth Ditto

Plants are vital to life. Providing needed oxygen, food, protection, homes. They are stunning, unique and if I could have someone come and completely makeover my yard with gardens that attract birds, butterflies and other things beneficial I would. I have a blank slate and though we're not quite at the point of ready for landscape, I sure would love it. For now I have some pots on my porch that I'm trying to help thrive. I don't have a garden because....deer. They've already found the three tomato plants I have just off my porch in pots...like really? COME. ON!! 

By definition, a plant is "a living organism of the kind exemplified by trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, ferns and mosses..." 

When we were visiting Anderson Island earlier in the month, I fell in love with their community garden that sat on  the grounds of their historical museum. WOW! To have a space like this would be amazing. There are rules in order to have a spot in the garden, but boy I'd sure love it. 

I spotted this plant on our hike. I'm not sure what it is, but the leaves were very unique. 

I do my best to have houseplants. I don't have a lot of natural light so it's always a struggle to get them to thrive. However the following ones and the one above, I've managed to keep alive. 

Plants give us oxygen for the lungs and for the soul ~ Terri Guillemets

I grow plants for many reasons: to please my soul, to challenge the elements or to challenge my patience, for novelty, or for nostalgia, but mostly for the joy in seeing them grow 

~David Hobson

On my walk yesterday, I noticed this blackberry bush growing into our cedar trees. I thought "blackberries are the 'squatters' of the plant world. They just plant themselves wherever they want and they're so hard to get rid of". 

I find grasses beautiful.

We also have an abundance of stinging nettles on our property. When I was in HS I fell into a patch of them...uggh. That was NOT fun. I have had nettle leaf tea which is good. I tried making it once, but it didn't turn out as good as I hoped. I'm sure I did something wrong. Many people also use it for soup but I haven't tried that. Did you know that wherever nettles grow, you'll find these ferns close by? If you rub the bottoms of the fern on the nettle sting, it eases the sting from it. 

In some native languages the term for plants translates to "those who take care of us"

~Robin Wall Kimmerer

My container flowers are doing well, though a few in the back are struggling a bit. I may need to add a few more plants to them so they are fuller. I did fertilize them. 

Wherever life plants you, bloom with grace ~anonymous

I loved these ferns amongst the moss on a tree during a hike. So pretty. 

 I never knew this was how air plants grew. Did you?

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin