Jenifer 🌻 plants wildflowers for fun and profit
@jtidwell.bsky.social
Landscape designer doing restorative ecology. Author of YA+MG novels and DESIGNING INTERFACES; former UXer. She/her. Ecoregion 59b Boston Basin 🌱
Arrowwood viburnum (V. dentatum) and dwarf fothergilla (F. gardenii) in perfect fall color this morning against a red brick wall. While the fothergilla's bright yellow and peach are delicious, today I'm really drawn to the lime greens and magentas in the viburnum. #nativeplants 🌱
November 7, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Arrowwood viburnum (V. dentatum) and dwarf fothergilla (F. gardenii) in perfect fall color this morning against a red brick wall. While the fothergilla's bright yellow and peach are delicious, today I'm really drawn to the lime greens and magentas in the viburnum. #nativeplants 🌱
Pretty sure I have almost identical photos of my grey... hold on...
Yep.
Yep.
November 5, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Pretty sure I have almost identical photos of my grey... hold on...
Yep.
Yep.
Aerial photo of Boston, with Fresh Pond in the midground and Concord Ave in Belmont in the foreground. Looks like we're at or just past peak fall color.
November 2, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Aerial photo of Boston, with Fresh Pond in the midground and Concord Ave in Belmont in the foreground. Looks like we're at or just past peak fall color.
Cannot deny - the law is surely injured and sickened by ICE's actions, as well as tested.
(From WaPo this morning)
(From WaPo this morning)
November 1, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Cannot deny - the law is surely injured and sickened by ICE's actions, as well as tested.
(From WaPo this morning)
(From WaPo this morning)
Looks like they just went through the eye, in fact:
October 28, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Looks like they just went through the eye, in fact:
If you, like me, are watching Hurricane #Melissa tonight and prefer to think about the nerdy aspects of weather data (instead of the human catastrophe Jamaica is facing), this site is great. Looking now at data from the *current* flight into the heart of the storm.
www.tropicaltidbits.com/recon/
www.tropicaltidbits.com/recon/
October 28, 2025 at 3:52 AM
If you, like me, are watching Hurricane #Melissa tonight and prefer to think about the nerdy aspects of weather data (instead of the human catastrophe Jamaica is facing), this site is great. Looking now at data from the *current* flight into the heart of the storm.
www.tropicaltidbits.com/recon/
www.tropicaltidbits.com/recon/
Sleepy borb
October 24, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Sleepy borb
Our signs:
October 18, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Our signs:
Lexington Battle Green was packed this morning to hear Sen. Markey, Bill McKibben, poet Regie Gibson, and others.
Site of the first #NoKings protest (1775 edition).
Let's keep making history.
Site of the first #NoKings protest (1775 edition).
Let's keep making history.
October 18, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Lexington Battle Green was packed this morning to hear Sen. Markey, Bill McKibben, poet Regie Gibson, and others.
Site of the first #NoKings protest (1775 edition).
Let's keep making history.
Site of the first #NoKings protest (1775 edition).
Let's keep making history.
Macaw discovers ice and loves it
(not my macaw)
(not my macaw)
October 16, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Macaw discovers ice and loves it
(not my macaw)
(not my macaw)
Uh, in my experience, they grow fast. With enough resources, it might be taller than you by this time next year!
This one was a tiny little thing when planted in our Miyawaki forest last year. Not shown: the dang thing is at least ten feet tall.
This one was a tiny little thing when planted in our Miyawaki forest last year. Not shown: the dang thing is at least ten feet tall.
October 11, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Uh, in my experience, they grow fast. With enough resources, it might be taller than you by this time next year!
This one was a tiny little thing when planted in our Miyawaki forest last year. Not shown: the dang thing is at least ten feet tall.
This one was a tiny little thing when planted in our Miyawaki forest last year. Not shown: the dang thing is at least ten feet tall.
Perennial sunflowers and switchgrass in our local park. Might be Helianthus strumosus, but dang these are hard to tell apart. #nativeplants 🌱
September 20, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Perennial sunflowers and switchgrass in our local park. Might be Helianthus strumosus, but dang these are hard to tell apart. #nativeplants 🌱
Washington Post showing zero self-awareness today:
September 15, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Washington Post showing zero self-awareness today:
Pink turtlehead (probably Chelone obliqua) and cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) blooming at the Acton Arboretum this weekend, in a magnificent color clash. Note the bumble butt sticking out of the turtlehead.
September 15, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Pink turtlehead (probably Chelone obliqua) and cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) blooming at the Acton Arboretum this weekend, in a magnificent color clash. Note the bumble butt sticking out of the turtlehead.
There are some disease problems, but yeah, the reintroductions started in 2022! Cute little guys.
spixsmacaw.org
spixsmacaw.org
September 12, 2025 at 5:06 PM
There are some disease problems, but yeah, the reintroductions started in 2022! Cute little guys.
spixsmacaw.org
spixsmacaw.org
This guy absolutely deserved center-stage in this photo.
September 8, 2025 at 6:52 PM
This guy absolutely deserved center-stage in this photo.
Ironweed and goldenrod, a perfect late-summer combination for insect support.
September 2, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Ironweed and goldenrod, a perfect late-summer combination for insect support.
After the storm, I made a bet with a friend: that greater NOLA would rebuild to comparable population within a decade. It came close! And it became more diverse, richer, younger, and more vibrant.
But - so many lives lost and shattered. We should have done far more to prepare, rescue, restore.
7/8
But - so many lives lost and shattered. We should have done far more to prepare, rescue, restore.
7/8
August 29, 2025 at 7:24 PM
After the storm, I made a bet with a friend: that greater NOLA would rebuild to comparable population within a decade. It came close! And it became more diverse, richer, younger, and more vibrant.
But - so many lives lost and shattered. We should have done far more to prepare, rescue, restore.
7/8
But - so many lives lost and shattered. We should have done far more to prepare, rescue, restore.
7/8
I still think of NOLA as my home, and I visit regularly. That’s my kid in the first photo. The soul of the city is… well, too big and complex to pin down in a few sentences. Ya gotta be there awhile. 6/8
August 29, 2025 at 7:19 PM
I still think of NOLA as my home, and I visit regularly. That’s my kid in the first photo. The soul of the city is… well, too big and complex to pin down in a few sentences. Ya gotta be there awhile. 6/8
During Katrina, I was in MD, celebrating my stepmother’s remarriage. She was so happy. She didn’t need to see the TV footage that some of us were covertly watching during the reception. She and my late father had lived in Metairie for years, and had countless friends to worry about. 5/8
August 29, 2025 at 6:58 PM
During Katrina, I was in MD, celebrating my stepmother’s remarriage. She was so happy. She didn’t need to see the TV footage that some of us were covertly watching during the reception. She and my late father had lived in Metairie for years, and had countless friends to worry about. 5/8
And I didn’t even know anyone in the Lower 9th or New Orleans East!
But we could see some of the destruction from the highway.
For more than a decade - ruins, rubble, blue tarps. SO MANY TARPS.
4/8
But we could see some of the destruction from the highway.
For more than a decade - ruins, rubble, blue tarps. SO MANY TARPS.
4/8
August 29, 2025 at 6:52 PM
And I didn’t even know anyone in the Lower 9th or New Orleans East!
But we could see some of the destruction from the highway.
For more than a decade - ruins, rubble, blue tarps. SO MANY TARPS.
4/8
But we could see some of the destruction from the highway.
For more than a decade - ruins, rubble, blue tarps. SO MANY TARPS.
4/8
My mom’s house was hit by a falling pine tree, and they had no power for days, but they were OK. New Orleans, though? The duplex we rented in 1979 was 4 blocks from the canal breach. The marina where my dad used to keep our sailboat was trashed. My friends who lived there - traumatized. 3/8
August 29, 2025 at 6:48 PM
My mom’s house was hit by a falling pine tree, and they had no power for days, but they were OK. New Orleans, though? The duplex we rented in 1979 was 4 blocks from the canal breach. The marina where my dad used to keep our sailboat was trashed. My friends who lived there - traumatized. 3/8
The destruction was stomach-churning to see. 2/8
August 29, 2025 at 6:44 PM
The destruction was stomach-churning to see. 2/8
Thinking about Hurricane #Katrina today, on the 20th anniversary.
I grew up in New Orleans, then moved around throughout the South. My mom still lives in southern Mississippi. This photo was taken in Gulfport 7 months after. Cleanup had barely begun. 1/8
I grew up in New Orleans, then moved around throughout the South. My mom still lives in southern Mississippi. This photo was taken in Gulfport 7 months after. Cleanup had barely begun. 1/8
August 29, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Thinking about Hurricane #Katrina today, on the 20th anniversary.
I grew up in New Orleans, then moved around throughout the South. My mom still lives in southern Mississippi. This photo was taken in Gulfport 7 months after. Cleanup had barely begun. 1/8
I grew up in New Orleans, then moved around throughout the South. My mom still lives in southern Mississippi. This photo was taken in Gulfport 7 months after. Cleanup had barely begun. 1/8
That makes more sense - there used to be a route into Lexington via Arlington. For the benefit of everyone else who might be reading this, here's where Five Forks in Lexington appears to be:
August 27, 2025 at 5:56 PM
That makes more sense - there used to be a route into Lexington via Arlington. For the benefit of everyone else who might be reading this, here's where Five Forks in Lexington appears to be: