Welcome to the Natural Coalescence Blog

Irises aren't just in all the colors of the rainbow, they seem to also be every scent of the cornucopia- a nose rainbow. But do their colors match their smell? Sniff for yourself and read all about them.

Making and testing natural inks & dyes from fruits and flowers in PNW.

Summer time means melons. All sorts of melons these days, not just the classic "water" so many of us ate and spat from the patio on a hot day. Personally I was very disappointed when none grew out of my belly like my older sibling said they would if I ate a seed. I swallowed several seeds hoping to be a human watermelon farm. Ideas and traditions of youth, eh? As things change, so do the melons available and I have recently discovered a cute tasty fun one that feeds my lov

Oak apples aren't a fruit, they're a gall from a wasp and they may not be edible but you can use them for home-made ink.

Buds buds everywhere and not a bulb to eat.  Spring is popping up, literally, as represented by bulbs popping up their plump flower heads from still cold damp soil to catch the first pollinators of the year (maybe) and reward us visual creatures for surviving the depths of winter’s chill. But, um... can you eat those? Basically, I wouldn’t. Many species of our beloved spring flowering bulbs are quite toxic Not just because they’re better off finishing their bloom, fe

medical traits and ID of wild shelf mushroom red belted conk (Fomitopsis pinicola)

There are many cool trees all over the world and possibly more than our 'fair share' in the Pacific northwest due to the variety of...

Blue flowers are the RAREST color. I’ve noticed this for a long time. And it makes sense. But it is also confusing and weird and...

*(sweaty, even while standing still because… heat domes & such) It’s a berry Pacific Northwest kind of life in summer time here. The sun...

There’s a disturbance in the woods. The snow has melted in most places, the skiers have slipped away with the entrance of spring. And...

Hydrangea season approaches! Blue is coming. blue hydrangea starting to open, by sayo ts 2 The special and huge draw of these shrubs for many gardeners is the unusual color of certain hydrangea. They are a vibrant rich blue. You’ve seen blue flowers of course, but if you think hard, you’ll notice they are actually quite rare. Which makes the blue hydrangea both pretty and pretty special. ombred hydrangea, by Cindy Gustafson These plants are not grown just anywhere either.

The iris is more than a lovely (ok absolutely gorgeous) flower. Of ancient Greek mythology, she is the goddess who personified the rainbow and the messenger of the gods where her rainbow trail could be seen left on her message runs between the Earth and the heavens. True, she was a lower tier deity in that mythology, but served a useful role, and how much “use” do we get from rainbows today, really? Definitely some joy and inspiration, and a nice clue to the presence of iso

There are dozens of flavors for vodkas on the liquor shelves, some fruity, some floral. As delightful as a toasted marshmallow vodka can...

I would bet this plant is among those that most people, even the botanically interested, would pass right by. Rosy twisted-stalks, and other twisted-stalks (we have several in the PNW) look like a cute zip-zagging plant similar to Solomon's seals. But if you lift one up you'll see- I think of it like the classic romantic scene moment where the confident love-interest lifts the chin of the bashful beauty for a kiss that says "I love you for you and see just how beautiful you

Begonia flowers are cooler than most people realize. I painted their corkscrew pistils as an oil painting, honoring them as I eat them.

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...

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....

Cottonwood trees (Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa, P. deltoides and B. fremontii) have a love-hate relationship with people. Some...

On a trip to southern California, I was so pleasantly surprised to find myself among the silvery scent-sational low shrubs I recall from...

photo by Katy Cain, from Shenandoah National Park At the edge of a forest, near a centennial remnant of crumbling cedar fence, there’s a gnarled struggling tree of thick knotted branch tangles and a few large dead limbs. She is a marvelous Malus, apple. Her wood is gray and scarred- wrinkles showing the touch of time. And dotted among the fading branches, dusted in new snow, are pink shimmering gems- the round treasures that still coalesce their sugars each fall before they