Wildflower Wednesday: Faded Memories

Gardening--and blogging, too, to a certain extent--have been put on hold for the past week while I've been trying to get my house presentable enough for Thanksgiving dinner, working several days, and fighting off a nasty cold/virus.  But I didn't want to miss out on today's Wildflower Wednesday, hosted the fourth Wednesday of every month by Gail whose Clay and Limestone garden of wildflowers and natives is a true haven for pollinators of every sort.

Since many of you no doubt are also busy getting ready for Thanksgiving, I'm making the pictures large and the words few . . .

After several hard freezes, there are no blooming wildflowers here anymore, but the dried remains of many hint at their former glory and add some visual interest to the late fall garden.  The dried flowerheads of the goldenrod growing wild here suggest different bloom times or perhaps even different varieties, ranging from the brown above . . .

. . . to white, poofier seedheads, reminding me of Christmas snow.

Seedheads of Butterfly Weed are a dramatic contrast to other stems and seedheads.

Another plant growing wild next to outbuildings is Tall Boneset (I think).

Now that it's stripped of most of its foliage, the "weedy" tree behind the butterfly garden is easier to identify.  The red stems of the numerous suckers of this tree confirm my suspicions that this is a Rough-eared Dogwood.

The Frost Aster, featured on my last Wildflower Wednesday post, is still holding on to its blooms.

From a distance--or without my glasses--these puffs of white look as though they've been coated with snow.

The shriveled pokeberries have turned into poke-raisins.

Although technically not a wildflower, the old-fashioned hollyhocks might as well be in my garden,  popping up at will here and there.

Also not a wildflower, switchgrass is nevertheless a native to the prairie.  The new 'Shenandoah' cultivar promises to be an appealing addition to the lily garden.

Another native, the Purple coneflowers will hang around all winter, providing tasty snacks for the finches.

Even the less showy Rudbeckia seedheads look good bobbing in the breeze

and bathed in early morning light.

While I've seen so many asters still in bloom on many other posts, mine are long past their prime.  Still, these powder-puff (as Frances called them) remains have a certain visual appeal. 

Somewhere there are probably some real wildflowers still in bloom . . . do check out other posts at Gail's to see what might be blooming in other parts of the country.

As we enter the holiday season, I have much to be thankful for, but today I am especially thankful for the soaking rain that fell yesterday, adding some much-needed moisture to my parched garden. And I'm thankful to all of you for taking time to stop by . . .

Wishing all of you

A very Happy Thanksgiving!