Primula veris - cowslip - primevère

As the name suggests it is one of the first spring flowers to appear in the fresh & wet areas of our alpine regions.

The flowers can be used to help as an expectorant when one has a cough in the spring months.

Viola sylvatica - Violette - Violet

Wow I just discovered something fascinating about violets : they are cleistogamous & self-fertilizing. 

Uhhhh, what does that mean? 

Dont worry I just learned myself! It means they flower in spring as a barren flower without seed. In the fall they flower again and are so small you almost dont notice them, but these are without petals and contain alot of seeds!

Nature is just soooo cool!

They are edible and can be put into salads and desserts, which is a cute thing to do!

I took this pic today! Yippeee!

Cydonia oblonga - Quince tree - Cognassier

 These flowers are from a quince tree in my garden. 

They come out in May, sometimes while it is still snowing!

I can't wait to see them with our honey bees this spring!

The fruit smells sooo good that I wish it didn't have to be cooked for hours before eating!

Achillea millefolium - Common yarrow - Achillée millefeuille

A magical plant!

 The leaves from this flower are as it says, thousands, millefeuille. 

They help stop hemorraging. 

I once cut my finger and tied a leaf around the cut and it stopped! 

I had been bleeding non-stop for a good 5 minutes, 

and no amount of pressure I was applying was helping. 

You can make a delicious tea out of the flower heads to help with feminine problems. 

Just be sure not to give this to anyone who has any blood issues!!! 

Grasshoppers like them too!

Salvia pratensis - Sauge des prés - Wild Sage

This is one you see all summer long in the fields. 

You can use & eat the flowers as decorations in salads. 

The leaves are used to make infusions that are supposed to make your throat feel good. 

It is particularly tasty as a sirop in summer. 

Nigritella rhellicani - Orchis vanille - Vanilla orchid

This cutie grows between 1500-2500 meters so you will only find it in the mountains. They don't grow very tall, so you have to get onto your knees to stick your nose on it to find out why it has the word vanilla in its name. Ohhhhh! It is soooo worth it!

Wild orchids are all protected in Switzerland, so don't pick it when you see it please!

Daffodils

Spriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

Cicerbita alpina - Cicerbite des Alpes - Blue Sow-thistle

Apparently the leaves can be eaten as salade or cooked as spinach. But I have never tried it. Will let you know when I do, certainly since it grows like crazy up around the Marlénaz region (behind my house up in Verbier).

Aquilegia vulgaris - Ancolie commune - Common Columbine

This is a toxic plant!

 Be careful because at my house it grows in my veggie garden, so be aware that not everything that grows or is eaten by wild animals or even domestic animals is good for human consumption.

I like the back trumpet shapes in the petals (technically called spurred petals)!

It is this claw shape that has given it its name 'aquila' is Latin for eagle.

 It is definitely tooting its horn!

It produces a lot of seeds, so it is impossible to get out of a veggie garden. 

It attracts bumblebees and I love to watch their furry bodies inside them. 

The openings are not adequately shaped for our honey bees, so they actually pierce the back trumpets to get to the nectar! Isn't nature cool?

Geranium silvaticum - Wood cranesbill - Géranium des bois

Hey guess what? 

These are all over the place all summer long, 

at most altitudes people walk around in, 

and they are edible! 

Yeah, just pick a bunch (make sure they are not in a polluted spot) 

and scatter them in your salads or picnic!

Orchis ustulata - Orchis brûlée - Dark-winged Orchis

One of the many local wild orchids one can find in the Alps.

Two little burnt tips sticking out of an alpine cow pasture! 

They must be why the Swiss Bagnes Cheeses are so yummie!

Knautia silvatica - Knautie des forêts - Wood Scabious

*POW*

 This is why I love to take macro photos in nature! This friendly purple flower looks like a firework exploding! Just what one needs to see on a day when it is raining halfway up the mountain!