Just some plant happenings around our yard.
#1. I found a surprise Golden Alexanders. I was pretty thrilled since none came up last year.
#2. Wild Geranium
#3 A wee little Prairie Pussytoes
#4 I just love all these Wild Violets around my yard. They are doing well this year. Sadly, some people I talk to want to slaughter them with Round Up. What is so exciting about grass blades?! :(
#5. Here's my ball... Bee Balm I have several around the property and like this shape.
nice pictures!
Maybe the Golden alexanders was a tiny sleeping seedling hidden under another plant..
I found caterpillars of American Lady butterfly today in my Pussytoes.
You can keep your common violets, and mine, I have wayyyy too many. but I hand pull. And eat a few here and there. I think somethin is supposed to use them as larval food, but they don't seem to ever have bug holes here.
I love that ladybug on the Geranium; so cute!
Violets are host for fritillary butterflies, but I've never seen caterpillars on them either.
Speaking of Golden Alexanders...I planted some seeds from mine (Zizia aurea) and when they came up, at first I thought I had mixed up the seeds because the seedlings look nothing like the mature plant. I'm going to submit some of these photos to Plant Files in case others think they should rip up their seedlings!
There's a tiny seedling at the bottom right of this photo that looks like mine: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/60944/
I forgot to mention that your Bee Balm is amazing! I've never seen one so full and compact.
Thanks for the compliments. :)
I was looking at last year's pictures and found a photo of my first Pussytoes, which started at about the same size as the one I posted here. It really exploded! I planted about six this year, so I am looking forward to that patch filling in.
Neat about the Fritillaries. We've seen them here, but never knew their hosts. Our violets do get chewed up as the year progresses.
I have a hard time with seedlings because I never pot them, just direct sow. My Alexanders were part of a prairie seed mix. I think with rain, some of the seed was pushed out of the area we planted. That's fine with me. I am trying to fill in the area west of the garage.
The Bee Balm no longer looks quite like that, it's starting to get gangly as the stems are shooting up. I planted them as plugs last year, so didn't get any blooms. I am soo hoping this year I will with the massive growth.
"Bee Balm" is applied to Monarda didyma and its zillion cultivars as well as loosely to just about any other Monarda on the planet. Do you know more specifically what your plants are?
You made me run downstairs to look in my journal, and I had to look at Cowbird. Don't like those fellows.
It's a Monarda fistulosa. So far, this is the only type of Bee Balm I have. Yeah, I am learning how important those Latin names are. I've ordered the wrong thing or two without them.
Glad to help foster your exercise program. ;-)
Just some recent flowers.
1. This is just a baby yet, but it is my very first Clematis virginiana flower. I have not seen others, but hope there will be more.
2. Lion's Foot (Prenanthes alba) I ordered that during a dormant bare root sale this spring. The flowers are small, but quite interesting.
3. Yellow Giant Hyssop I did not expect any of these to flower since I put them in the ground in June.
Those are fun natives! Wait till you see the bees on your Yellow Giant Hyssop; they love it.
That's a great photo of your Prenanthes alba.
