Welcome! I'd heard of Indian Paint Brush but when I found a picture on Google, I can certainly see why you picked it as your online name...it's beautiful. (I'll add the link for others to enjoy). I'll bet you have many lovely and unusual wild flowers in your area plus native grasses and seedpods to collect.

It's fun to grow things in a garden for drying & pressing of course, but it's also fun to scavenge along roadsides and in empty lots~~smile. Just have fun and experiment. And let us know what you find...josh

Here is a link that might be useful:

Hello Josh;
Thank you for your "follow-up," & also for the reply Post! I was excited to hear from you, because I have seen & read many of your Postings when I first started navigating around the Site here! Thanks for adding the "link" of the "Indian Paint Brush," in which is "Castilleja," or "Castilleja rustica." It grows wild here in the NorthWestern States, and it was always around when I was a child.

Mostly, I have the "Indian Paint Brush" as my on-line name, because I am Native American Indian, & was raised on an Indian Reservation my entire Life when I was young. As you may, or may not know, our Native Culture is heavily into the things of the "Earth," which includes many plants, roots, herbs, & flowers. The "Indian Paint Brush" was always a big part of my growing-up years, and I just love to pick them. In our area here, they are mostly of a bright "orange" color, & this is one of the ones that I would like to "press & dry!"

I have found however, right after picking them (like up in the hills or Mountain areas) they "wilt" very fast, so if I can manage it, I am hoping to get a few "sprigs" of the Paint Brush home on time, & get them pressed & dried!! Would you happen to know a very good "technique" perhaps, in being able to keep this type of flower half-way "fresh" until I could get it home to dry & press it? Generally, we are either out "hiking" or Camping over-night when I do pick these "Indian Paint Brushes," so need to know of a good way to "salvage" them, until I can get them home~

Even though I am cultured in alot of the native Plants & roots around here, I still have so much to learn, especially with the "scientific" names and all. Would you happen to have a good "link" or Web Site to go into in order to type in names of flowers & Plants for "scientific" identifications?? (... this is something I would really need to put into my "Favorites" folder on my Computer for reference!) So, a "Garden Forum" is quite new to me, to say the very least!

Also Josh, we have much Western "sage-brush" all around us (especially out here on our Ranch,) & it is pretty much considered nothing short of a big, "weed" in our area here. Many people contact "allergies" due to the pungent smell off of it when it is blooming this time of year... I enjoy the smell of it, & also have friends who are interested in the "dried" look of it, so that is another thing I will have to consider doing, ... is "drying" some of this sage-brush we have on our Property to send to friends who live out-of-State!

Thank you for your tips on "scavenging" along roadsides & empty lots for various things..... we don't have any empty "lots" around here, because we live way out in the Country, with many wide-open spaces, so I have a vast amount of opportunity to get my hands on many wonderful things to dry & press--- thus, I will no doubt have lots of questions in the near future, & will also probably need some help & "tips" on things to come~

I have already learned alot while trying to navigate around the Garden Site here, and I am anticipating learning even more, as I read my way through the Posts & all. Thank you for your kind words, & also for responding back to me with a "follow-up"... I appreciate that. Please feel free to post to me at any time. Ok?

As stated before, I am still trying to learn to "navigate" my way around the board here, so do know that I have to add more info... I just hope I can learn to do it all correctly! (and please, "bear-with-me" as I am trying to learn, & if I should "goof-up," then bring it to my attention! Thanks!)

This is a great Group here, & I am enjoying myself on Site. Thanks again Josh!

Blessings,
~ IndianPaintBrush ~

Just a note to say I'm very pleased to meet a native American Indian..which tribe? I've just a few minutes now but when you mentioned sagebrush I went to Google, clicked on Images, and typed in Sagebrush and look what I found. Photos of Sagebrush and Indian Paint Brush. Just click on each image to enlarge. By the way, Google Images is great for finding info on plants...if I'm telling you something you already know, forgive me. I wondered if sagebrush is the same as tumbleweed which has always intrigued me. (Can you tell I'm going to have fun looking up info on Idaho and your native plants~~smile~~

More later...josh

Here is a link that might be useful: Sagebrush

O`siyo Josh! (greetings in Indian!)

Once again, I was very glad you responded & replied to my Post.. that was great, & I really enjoy hearing from you!

Thank you so much for posting the link to the "Sagebrush" & also the "Paint brush!!" If you can believe this or not, but you just "taught" me something about the "google images" in regards to finding Plant info! I have gone into this before, but always looking for various other things, & not Plants... so thank you Josh. (wado` in Indian!)

I found the pictures & drawings to be very, very informative, & now I finally know the scientific name for Sagebrush--- and I had "no clue" it was of the "Aster" Family either! WOW! I always just refer to the particular Sagebrush we have here as plain ole' "Western Sagebrush," because to me, it really resembles many of the photos or Paintings you might see done of the old West, and/or by various popular Western Artists, such as "Charles Russell," etc; etc;

Sagebrush is "not" a pretty plant by any means, but I have found, that many, many people are quite interested in it. It is also very "hardy" and has very strong, deep roots, & is also almost "impossible" to kill!! When we bought our land & put a house on it, we had to literally use a Bulldozer to clear all the massive amounts of sagebrush out... & to this day (9-years later) I still must weed little "sprigs" of sagebrush out of my flowerbeds each Spring & Summer! That just amazes me!!

In answer to your question earlier Josh... No, "Tumbleweeds" are not the same as Sagebrush. Forgive me, but I really am not "schooled" in Tumbleweeds yet, as far as their scientific name or just what they are all about, but we have plenty of those too!! They are a big part of History here in the West! Tumbleweeds fascinate me also, because one year, we were so poor, that we had no money for a Christmas tree... thus, I selected the most perfectly "round-shaped" Tumbleweed I could find, and I brought it into the house, bought a dollar can of Christmas tree "flocking" spray, & flocked that entire Tumbleweed! From there, I placed it in a really large Kitchen bowl on top of a "tree-skirt," so it would sit upright, & not wobble or roll around, then, decorated it with some miniture twinkling lights I had, & also hung tiny, miniture ornaments on it. You wouldn't believe how "awesome" that "Tumbleweed Christmas Tree" turned out, & actually, it was one of the neatest Christmas Trees I have ever had in my Life! (I even hated to throw it out after Christmas!) So, I have yet to do a study on Tumbleweeds, but that will probably be next on my list here!

Thank you Josh, for the nice compliments, that you are "pleased" to meet an American Indian... You had asked the question of what Tribe I am from? I come from several. I was raised on the Flathead Indian Reservation out of Northwestern Montana, where my Mom was born. That is almost into Canada, & about 100-miles from the entrance to Glacier National Park. Thus, the foliage & all of the plants & Trees around there I grew up with, still are set into my "memory," & I still relate to much of it as a Adult now. I am also of Cherokee/Choctaw decent on my Dad's side, in which, my Dad was born in Kentucky. Therefore, I have been doing a vast search on plants & flowers in the Southern States... mostly Kentucky, and am just now starting to learn alot about the native plants & flowers they have there.

All of my Native American Ancestors are buried in Kentucky, and one of my Genealogist friends had sent me some Daffodils (...in which they refer to them as "Spring- time Buttercups" there) from in & around some of our Family Cemeteries in Kentucky. I was amazed at these "Daffodils" Josh, because they were so "petite" compared to the Daffodils we have out West here, and they also "smelled" glorious! (Our strain of Daffodils here in the West, have no smell at all to them.) The Daffodils I was sent, I have placed between Newspapers, & am trying to dry & press them at the current time. I wished I would have known about the Lee Valley Microwave Flower Press before now, or I could have used that to "preserve" them! (by the way, I am still waiting for my Microwave Flower Press to arrive, because I just ordered one, & got the info from this Web Site & forum board!)

Josh, would you or anybody else happen to know precisely just what "strain" of Daffodil that grows in the Southern States there? (I'm so curious here!) I see where you are from Georgia, so thought you perhaps might know?)

I'm so inquisitive & so new to my interest now in plants & flowers, that I will probably talk your head off on many occasions! Forgive me! But like I said earlier, I have so much to learn ahead of me, & the first time I've ever been on a Gardening Site!

I look forward to talking to you again Josh. By the way, I would love to upload a few photos of our Sagebrush & things we have here in the West, but I don't know how to do that on Site here, and still trying to get use to the "navigation." So, if you have any good pointers or tips in regards to submitting Photos, I could use the help... any time! Thanks!

-walk in beauty,
~ IndianPaintBrush ~

Indian Paint Brush, Am so glad you found Google Images helpful. I use constantly, for example, I googled Daffodil Species and found American Daffodil Society page (link below). I tink your daffodil must be Division 7, 8 or 13...all small but very fragrant. I also googled Idaho wildflowers and Idaho native plants...some very interesting sites. I didn't realize Idaho had such varied terrain, from mountains to desert to lush woodlands. Anyay, now you know the secret...smile.

If you're out hiking, take along a few ziplock baggies, insert your flower with a small piece of dampened paper towel, blow into the bag and seal. This will protect somewhat from crushing but even better if you could place bags in hardsided container. Or perhaps you could take along a paperback book (pages are usually absorbent), place flower inside, turn a few pages, place another flower, etc. Keep book bound tightly with rubberbands and put under heaviest item when you return to tent.

Loved your tale of the Christmas Tumbleweed...sounds lovely and certainly unique. Tumbleweed was another of my Google Image searches...they are such strange plants...And no wonder my suggestion re "empty lots" made you laugh. I guess I was thinking you might live in a highrise condo in Boise!

Sorry I can't help with posting photos. I don't even use a computer...just MSNTV with my tv set as monitor . Maybe someone else will chime in here...if not, ask on the Northwest Forum and I'll bet you'll get answers...Gardenwebbers are the friendliest folks!

Enjoyed chatting...email me anytime...I too am a plant info junkie...even Idaho nativeplants info now...smile. josh

Oops, forgot the daffodil link...some of the small ones are so heavily scented that they can be almost too much in a warm room. They are my favorites over the big hybrids though. josh

Here is a link that might be useful: Daffodil Species

Darn Josh...
I just got done responding to your previous Posts, & I accidentially "hit" the wrong button and "bleep!"... there went my entire Posting back to you, so I will have to re-post!! uuurrrggghhh! Bear with me, & I'll get back to you!
Thanks, ~ IndianPaintBrush ~