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Welcome to the Natural Coalescence Blog
Here you will find botanical tales and planty fun of all kinds with botany nerding and ecology through a entertaining lens.


Iris Pride
The iris is more than a lovely (ok absolutely gorgeous) flower. Of ancient Greek mythology, she is the goddess who personified the...
6 min read


Random Roots to Weed-Out & EAT
What's the best way to get rid of weeds? Eat them, of course! And we are hitting prime dandelion season, so it's time to get digging. ...
7 min read


Some Call Me Chocolate
You know how it is. When you're a pretty little thing with a brown complexion, folks tend to nickname ya "Chocolate". Not that I have...
7 min read


My 'Currant' Vodka Infusion
There are dozens of flavors for vodkas on the liquor shelves, some fruity, some floral. As delightful as a toasted marshmallow vodka can...
6 min read


Rosy Twisted-Stalk- tasty mountain stream treat
I would bet this plant is among those that most people, even the botanically interested, would pass right by. Rosy twisted-stalks, and...
5 min read


Begonia's Spirals
Begonia flowers are cooler than most people realize. I painted their corkscrew pistils as an oil painting, honoring them as I eat them.
4 min read


Tale of Three Junipers and a Gin
Junipers are not the trees you think of associated with the drizzly Pacific Northwest. But they are old friends from home in the much...
13 min read


Crinkly Crocus
Hey ya doll. Don’t you mind me, or should I say “us”. We certainly don’t mind this snow that can’t resist showing up again after a long...
4 min read


When there's plants in your sock drawer
You know that 'adult thing' where you like slipping on a fresh new pair of socks? It's like a cozy snuggle for each foot. It's a thing....
1 min read


Cottonwood: Cuddly, But Sticky
Cottonwood trees (Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa, P. deltoides and B. fremontii) have a love-hate relationship with people. Some...
9 min read


Why I can’t stop smelling this bush
On a trip to southern California, I was so pleasantly surprised to find myself among the silvery scent-sational low shrubs I recall from...
4 min read


The Marvelous Ms. Malus: She's no bad apple.
At the edge of a forest, near a centennial remnant of crumbling cedar fence, there’s a gnarled struggling tree of knotted branch tangles...
7 min read


When there are pine cones in your toaster
This use probably won't make it onto a toaster oven box or manual, but it was only too obvious for me. How else can you encourage some...
1 min read


Mystical Mistletoes
Mistletoes get an interesting and sort of bad rep. They are only really thought about during the holidays (unless by botanists) and many...
9 min read


Ancients in Plain Sight
You may have heard the quick story about the oldest tree, or maybe the oldest organism. But the details and the bigger story is so much...
12 min read


Sapiosexual Quercus: Oaks
Santa Claus may have all the ho’s, but it is the stoic oaks that draw the sapiosexuals to wrap an arm about their branch and light up...
3 min read


Peeking at Beaked Hazelnut – wild filberts
Roast them by an open campfire, if you can find them. Or stick to chestnuts. I challenge you to roast pine nuts though. So small. Not...
6 min read


Ambiguous Libidinous Larches
“libidinous- from ‘libido’, being sensual and lustful or with strong connection to libido” Larix species: You can’t really pin them down....
6 min read


Acorn-y Take on Pancakes
Acorns aren’t just for squirrels. Or jays. Or bears. They take some work, but we too can chow down on them too. And they are very...
4 min read


When you find seeds and/or moss/ leaves in a lot of your pockets
Talking with fellow gardeners today, I noticed (again) how commonly we have plants in our pockets. It's what I call "Botanist-ID", like...
1 min read
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