Thursday, August 27, 2015

Wildflower Wednesday: Invited Guests and the Party Crashers

It has been a long time since I have participated in Gail's Wildflower Wednesday.  It's been a busy summer with little time for blogging, but it also seems that most of the native plants I have don't start blooming until late summer.  I've learned so much about native plants over the years from Gail and the WW posts and added more of them to my garden as I've learned about their benefits to pollinators.  So I'm very happy to join in once again with some of the late bloomers from my garden.



If you've read my last few posts, you know that the current star of my garden is Rudbeckia triloba, also known as Brown-eyed Susan.  In fact, it's pretty hard to miss as it's taken over the front of the Lily Bed as well as parts of the Butterfly Garden.  A volunteer that mysteriously appeared in my garden a few years ago, it has made itself quite at home here.  But you can never have too many Susans, right?



Joe-Pye weed is still hanging on at the back of the butterfly garden.  As I've mentioned before, this is definitely the native species of Eutrochium purpureum because the stems are green, not purplish, and the flowerheads not as showy a pink as many of the other types.


'Little Joe,' however, has much prettier flowers and the dark purple stems that I love.  I'd like to plant more of the taller Joes with this coloring at the back of the butterfly garden, but first I have to contend with the semi-thugs that have taken up residence there . . .


 . . . the Obedient Plants.  I have a love-hate relationship with this plant:  I hate its aggressiveness and pull out numerous seedlings in the spring, but in the fall I love these white, pink, and purple blooms.


I noticed today that the pinkish blossoms actually have freckles and remind me of foxglove blooms.  Since I have never had much luck with foxgloves in my garden, perhaps I should change my attitude and think of these as the poor-man's foxglove.  The bees like them, no matter their name.


Although I have planted more natives over the past few years, the most prominent and prolific ones seem to be the ones I didn't plant.  Common Evening Primrose Oenothera biennis is one of those mystery plants that suddenly appear in my garden and I allow to let grow because I'm not sure if it's a weed or something I actually planted and forgot about.


At 6-7 feet tall, it's hard to ignore.  The flowers remain open from evening till morning, but might also stay open on a cloudy day.


Despite its classification as a "Prairie Wildflower" by the Illinois Wildflowers website, I'd classify it as a weedy wildflower.  It has a long taproot, which explains why my efforts to eradicate it have been unsuccessful.  Still, these pretty little yellow flowers are rather attractive, and they do attract moths and the occasional hummingbird and bees, so I guess they're not all bad.


Bees also like thistle as do various birds, including the goldfinches.  However, there are more than enough plants here for the bees and plenty of coneflowers for the finches, so this lone thistle--definitely a weed in my opinion--is going to have to go.


Another volunteer that appears every year is the Pokeweed.  It's another one of those with a long taproot, which is why my simply cutting it off after it blooms never quite gets rid of it.


Because it has been well-mannered so far, I usually leave it alone for awhile so the birds can enjoy the berries.  The berries, as you can see, aren't ripe yet, but when they are, they'll be a deep dark purple.  They are toxic to humans, though, and can stain your hands, so I will definitely let the birds pick them!


Goldenrod is also just beginning to bloom. I'm not sure what type this is, because all the plants are volunteers.  And talk about volunteers--it would take over my garden if I let it!   I pull some of the excess seedlings every year, but I leave the rest because, besides its value to insects, it really does make a pretty backdrop for other flowers, like these seedheads of the gray-headed coneflowers.  It also makes a nice filler for flower arrangements.

As you can see, many of the natives in my garden are actually volunteers, probably gifts from the birds.  Too often it seems the natives I actually plant in my garden don't germinate or disappear, probably overcome by the thugs already there.  But sometimes I am pleasantly surprised, as I was by the plant I wanted to focus on this month.


A few weeks ago I noticed a few tall plants amidst the emerging goldenrod and asters.  I was pretty sure they were weeds until I noticed small flowerbuds on them.  I was intrigued and decided to leave them alone.  Thank goodness I did!  When they bloomed, I was finally able to identify them as Common Sneezeweed, Helenium Autumnale.


A few facts about this Sneezeweed:
  • Zone 3-8, blooms August --October
  • 3-5 feet tall with not much branching but an abundance of flowers
  • likes wet to moist conditions--we had the perfect spring/early summer for it this year
  • the foliage is bitter and toxic, with some reports of livestock poisoning from it
  • despite the name, it does not cause sneezing.  In the past, the leaves and flowers were dried and used as snuff, hence the name


Common visitors to the Sneezeweed include all kinds of bees, some wasps, Syrphid flies, butterflies, and beetles.  Most suck the nectar, but some also collect the pollen.


So how did these pretty bee-magnets find their way into my garden?? I doubted they were volunteers, so I searched through my garden journals, and sure enough, I discovered that I had purchased a seedling at our local Prairie Plant Society sale two years ago.  Because I had seen no sign of it the past two years, I had forgotten all about it--thank goodness I didn't pull it out!  Sometimes there are benefits to being forgetful--it makes for some happy surprises every year in the garden:)  Aside from that, seeing the Sneezeweed in full bloom gives me hope that some of the other natives I've planted in the past two years and haven't seen a sign of may just be biding their time and will surprise me next year.

I am enjoying all these late additions to the garden, whether they were invited or not.  For more information on wildflowers and natives, be sure to visit our gracious hostess Gail at Clay and Limestone.

38 comments:

  1. Wonderful post. Wildflowers are a gift from Nature, including the interlopers.

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    1. Yes, I've begun to appreciate even the interlopers, Dorothy.

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  2. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Late summer is a special time in our midwest gardens, with its own set of blooms. I love it!

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    1. Thanks, Carol. It does seem like the volunteers and natives really shine in late summer.

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  3. I loved the way the Susans invited us up your lane. We could see them from the highway. Beautiful even tho They are so prolific. Your sneeze weed is a beauty too. Your garden is so colorful. Love it.

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    1. Thanks, Lisa. You know I debated about cutting the Susans back, but I just didn't have the heart to do it. Maybe I can convince them to move to the back of the garden next year:)

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  4. Rose, you have so many wild plants in your garden and one of them you write about ' have a love-hate relationship' is PHYSOSTEGIA. It's not wild here because of winter frost and I tried to grow it but no success. Another one Helenium - is the same thing, I have them in my garden, cherishing every year.

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    1. Physostegia does extremely well here, Nadezda. It would take over my garden if I let it, which is why I have that love-hate relationship with it. But it is pretty!

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  5. You have so much blooming! I love the Obedient plants, but you're so right about their aggressiveness. Beautiful photos, all.

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    1. Thank you! Yes, I have often thought about pulling up all the Obedient plants, but they are a welcome sight in the fall. It's not something anyone should plant without careful thought:)

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  6. I've forgotten about Wildflower Wednesday this month, too! Too much going on! :) Love the Brown-eyed Susans and the Sneezeweed! I have a lot of the same self-seeding wildflowers/thugs. I usually leave them on the borders of my wild areas, but do always end up weeding a good amount out of the garden (talking to you, goldenrod!). I am always surprised to see what self-seeds or is planted by birds in my garden. I have ended up with some pretty ones, like the Susans and wild petunias, which the critters love.

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    1. I always wonder about the new plants that spring up in my garden, courtesy of the wind or of birds. I wonder where did these Susans first come from or the phlox in my shade garden? I find it ironic, too, that these "gifts" usually do very well, much better than some of the nursery plants I buy and baby to keep them going.

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  7. I am enjoying volunteers in our new garden.

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    1. Many of them are indeed welcome additions, Diana!

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  8. It's interesting how many of the late summer/early fall flowers are yellow :-) We have far too many pokeweed volunteers around here, and I always have trouble getting rid of them because they are so pretty when the berries turn.

    I have only one real wildflower volunteer this year --Rudbeckia hirta-- and truly just one plant. It's actually coming up right inside the black-eyed susan vine I planted :-)

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    1. I've thought about that, too, Cassi--until late summer my garden is mostly pinks and purples, but all that changes in August. I have some Rudbeckia hirta, too, but it has not multiplied nearly as much as this Rudbeckia. Next year I may have to pull some of these, as they have really taken over this year.

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  9. Oh, you have Sneezeweed! That's a fun one. I've seen it in the prairies around here, and the pollinators do seem to love it. You have many beautiful wildflowers in your garden--volunteers and intentional plantings. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I was so excited when I discovered this was Sneezeweed, Beth! I had always wanted some Helenium, but I was thinking of the smaller varieties. I doubt I knew what I was getting when I bought it:)

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  10. It always brings a smile when I see a flower blooming in the garden and realize "I didn't plant that". And love/hate relationships continue to persist regardless of effort to remove the plant. Years ago, a "friend" gave me Linaria triornithophora and I have yet to get rid of it as it runs beneath the soil and everywhere you look there are Three Birds Flying!

    We had rain, Rose. I heard it at 3 this morning and what a welcome sound it was. Not much, but after 3 months of nothing, any little bit will do. Have a wonderful week ahead.

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    1. I'm always surprised, too, Diana, at some of the plants that mysteriously appear in my garden. I have some lovely phlox in the shade garden that I know I didn't plant. I did plant the Obedient Plant, however--just ONE plant, though:) So glad you have had some rain! We haven't been as bad off as you, but we could sure use some again here.

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  11. I love your post, Rose! I have a number of the same wildflowers you have. I had to laugh out loud at the end, when you talked about benefits of being forgetful. I have always been a bit scatterbrained, but over the last few years, have become more and more forgetful. Speaking of which, you were impressed with my knowing about the bees. Heather Holm identified the long-horned bee for me this summer, which I'm pretty sure she has in the past already. I am hoping I remember it this time. I read in her book, Pollinators of Native Plants, that it is the males that have the longer antennae. Maybe I'll remember all of that next year. ;-)

    If your thistle hasn't been pulled out yet, see if you can figure out what kind it is. People in the Facebook group, Gardening with Nature in Mind have been talking about some native thistles that they let grow, while weeding out the ones that are not. I hadn't known some were native, and some not. Isn't sneezeweed an awesome plant? I sure am pleased with it, and hope it does well in years we don't get as much rain.

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    1. Sue, I am really bad about remembering all the plants I plant each year, especially something that didn't bloom for two years! I try to make notes in a garden journal, but I'm not always organized enough to do that. I've never heard of a native thistle, but that's interesting. I'm pretty sure this is a Canadian thistle, common around here, but not something I want to have. Yes, I am thrilled with the sneezeweed; we had ideal conditions for it this year, and I do hope it does well next year.

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  12. Brown-eyed Susan ... such a great name!

    It is always nice to see wild flowers ... any flowers. Nature can be so wonderful.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Jan, when this plant first appeared, I had to do some research to find out what kind of Rudbeckia they were. I also have green-eyed Susans, though they're not commonly called that:)

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  13. Sometimes those prairie seeds take years to develop and show themselves. Part of the fun of them I think. Lucky you to have so many beautiful natives that feed our pollinators.

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    1. The Sneezeweed does give me hope, Tina, that I'll eventually see more natives in the coming years, especially from all the different seeds I scattered.

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  14. oh my goodness, what lovely photos - your garden is looking wonderful. I think I'm the only person on planet earth who's obedient plant malingered and expired...perhaps too much twirling the flowers around the stems on my part? The pokeweed is an excellent addition, have visited a couple of gardens this past week, and am so impressed with its beauty. One gal actually pruned it to get the shape she wanted - very effective. Thanks for visiting my blog!

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    1. Thank you, Barbara! It's funny how one plant can be a nuisance in one area and hard to grow in another. I'm sure I must have ideal conditions for the Obedient plant because it has survived neglect and dogs breaking it off:)

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  15. I have a dwarf cultivar of sneezeweed that I really like. From your pictures, though, I can definitely see the appeal of the straight species. It is funny how plants seem to disappear and then they pop up and surprise you.

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    1. I didn't realize when I bought this, Jason, what kind of sneezeweed it was. In fact, I didn't even know about this tall variety, but I am so happy with it. These are the kind of garden surprises I like!

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  16. Beautiful shots of many of the flowers that grow in my area. And yes, I "grow" pokeweed and thistle in my garden :)

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    1. Thanks, Ilona. I just discovered I have much more pokeweed growing in an area where I really don't want it--these are going to have to go!

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  17. Great to see all these beautiful flowers !!
    Lovely pictures !!
    Happy weekend !

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    1. Thanks, Ela! The great thing about all these late-summer flowers is that they really draw the birds, butterflies, and bees.

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  18. Such a beautiful range of flowers!

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    1. Thanks, Jannibele. I'm happy that I seem to have more and more late-summer natives each year.

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  19. I'm visiting from Barries book club but how I love your prairie wildflowers..
    Thanks

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