Sunday, July 31, 2016

Wildflower Wednesday on a Sunday

It's been a long time since I've participated in Wildflower Wednesday, almost a year in fact. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy reading and learning about all the native plants that Gail and others post each month.  Actually, native plants and their importance to pollinators have been on my mind a lot this summer.  Last week I attended a workshop on "Pollinator Pockets," a program developed by our local Master Naturalists and Master Gardener programs to educate the community and encourage people to plant more pollinator-friendly plants.  It's a great program, and now I am officially trained as a Pollinator Pocket presenter, so I will share more about this program later--probably this winter, when I'm not knee-deep in weeding and dead-heading,

For today, though, let's look at a few of the natives blooming in my little butterfly garden, now officially designated as a "Pollinator Pocket."


For the last few weeks, the gray-headed coneflowers, also known simply as yellow coneflowers, have been commanding attention in the Butterfly Garden as they sway in the breeze above the shorter natives.  Although they are called coneflowers, they are not an Echinacea at all, but belong to another genus Ratibida pinnata.


The drooping florets are topped by a head that initially is green/gray, but gradually turns brown.  I've found no info to support my theory, but it appears that the head slowly turns brown from the bottom up, kind of like a reverse balding process.


Growing up to four feet tall, the gray-headed coneflower is a common sight in many prairie plantings and is especially attractive to many species of bees.  It's easy to grow, adapting to many soil and moisture conditions, and--so far--doesn't seem to be an aggressive spreader.


Another native blooming right now is Joe-Pye Weed,  Eutrochium spp.  Actually, I'm not sure what type of Joe-Pye weed this is; as I've mentioned before, mine looks quite different from most Joes I've seen in gardens.  The flowerheads are fluffier, the stems aren't purple, and well, frankly, it's not as pretty as other Joes.  I suspect it is a straight species of some type.  For a much more attractive plant, check out Gail's post featuring the Joe-Pye weed this WW.


Joe-Pye weeds are such bee magnets, they are a great addition to any pollinator garden.  But for gardeners who don't have room for these 5-7' tall beauties, 'Little Joe' is an excellent alternative, growing only to 3-4 feet tall.  Notice the much prettier flowerhead on my 'Little Joe' and the purple stems compared to the tall one previously.


Every spring I weed and thin out the thugs in this area and plant some new seedlings, but after that, it's pretty much on its own.  So you never know what might pop up during the season.  Smack dab in the middle of the garden right now is this Queen Anne's Lace, Daucus Carota.  Many people think of this plant as a weed, but I've always had a special fondness for it and am happy to see it make an appearance this year.  For the past couple of weeks the roadsides have been lined with Queen Anne's Lace and Chicory, one of my favorite wildflower combos that always brings a smile to my face.


Another plant that popped up rather out of place is this hollyhock.  Once I had many hollyhocks, descendants of plants from my grandmother and my husband's grandfather.  But in recent years they have fallen victim to rust, so when a new plant springs up--no matter how out of place it might be--I let it grow, hoping I'll eventually get a healthy crop of them once again.


One plant that has really grown taller this year is Tansy, Tanacetum vulgare.  This is one of those plants I purchased at a gardener's plant sale without knowing much about it.  It's actually not a native, having been introduced from Europe many years ago, and can be invasive in some places.  But it does provide nectar and pollen for small bees, flies, and wasps, and I think the button-like flowerheads are kind of cool.  We'll see if it gets too aggressive in my garden--it will have to duke it out with the asters and goldenrod first.  Sticking up in the forefront of the photo are the seedheads of blackberry lilies, whose blooms faded before I ever got a chance to photograph them.


Peeking out behind the Tansy is the Butterfly Weed, Asclepias Tuberosa.  While I have trouble getting other milkweeds to grow here for some reason, Butterfly Weed has done well, though it takes time to get established.


There are other plants blooming as well right now in the Butterfly Garden including a few coneflowers and Black-eyed Susans hiding out at the back.


Not so shy, though, are the Brown-eyed Susans, Rudbeckia triloba, blooming along one edge of this flower bed.  This plant is not for the faint of heart or one with limited garden space.  The first year it mysteriously appeared here I had one plant, the next year two or three, and this year--well, let's just say, I did a lot of digging and sending perfectly robust plants to the compost pile.


Still, these cheery blooms put on such a display late summer through fall that I just don't have the heart to eradicate them completely--as if I could:)


Native plants aren't the only choice if you are planting a pollinator-friendly garden.  Volunteer dill in the vegetable garden has been a tasty treat for some very hungry caterpillars.


You know I couldn't write a post in July without just one more coneflower:)  If I had to choose one summer-blooming plant that attracted a host of pollinators, it would have to be purple coneflowers.  Butterflies and various bees including this very large bumble bee have been enjoying these flowers since they first began to bloom in late June.

Wildflower Wednesday is held the fourth Wednesday of every month, and anyone is welcome to join in.  Thanks to Gail for always being a great hostess and welcoming even those of us who are late to the party.

36 comments:

  1. Wildflower celebrations are good any day of the week! Glad you posted, love that you continue to learn about wildflowers. xogail

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    1. Thanks, Gail, for hosting this each month. Even if I don't always get a post up every month, I do enjoy seeing everyone else's. I learn more and more about wildflowers every year.

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  2. What a great collection of wildflowers/pollinator plants you have. I have tried to get Queen Anne's Lace going in my garden. It didn't take. Isn't that the way it goes? You don't get what you want. ha...

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    1. Lisa, we used to have a lot of Queen Anne's Lace growing around here, but Mr. P and his weedkiller eradicated it for the most part. So I was surprised to see this plant right in the middle of my butterfly garden this year. It's safe here, so I may have a lot of it next year:)

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  3. What a beautiful assortment of flowers!
    Have a great week!
    Lea

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    1. Thanks, Lea. This area really is a hodge-podge of all kinds of natives.

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  4. These yellow coneflowers are so funny, really, I can't stop smiling looking at the third photo (what a noble shape!).
    I'm surprised by the idea of buying Tansy. Here, in Poland, it's a common weed, sentenced to be exterminated from the garden rather than cherished.
    I need to plant more fluffy blooming plants, definitely :)

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    1. I've always liked these yellow coneflowers, too, Ekolandia. They really do sway in the breeze and seem like the perfect prairie flower. That's funny about tansy...I've seen other plants that people are cultivating that horrified me, because they're weeds here. I hope I don't regret the tansy, though:)

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  5. What a lovely WW post! Congratulations on the training--I'd love to attend one of your presentations. :) I used to have Hollyhocks for several years, but I finally gave up when they just didn't perform well anymore and they seemed to be so very damaged by the Japanese Beetles, too. Now, two new patches of Swamp Milkweed are in their place. I planted some dill in a pot, but I haven't seen any caterpillars on it yet. Great photos!

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    1. I really need to do a post about this program some time, Beth; it really was interesting, and I think it's going to really promote a lot more planting of natives. I'm sad to say that the caterpillars were nowhere to be found a few days later on the dill--I'm not sure, but I think the birds get them before they can get too big.

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  6. I just planted several gray-headed coneflower seedlings this spring. No blooms yet, and I do wonder if they will wait until next year to bloom. It's been a rather tough year for the garden with little rain, but the gray-headed coneflowers seem to be quite tolerant plants. It is hard to beat purple coneflowers for wildlife - mine are always covered with either bees or the birds!

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    1. My gray-headed coneflowers took a couple of years to show up, Indie, so be patient. That seems to be the way with a lot of my natives, even if I start with seedlings rather than seeds. My coneflowers are now being visited by the goldfinches!

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  7. I do love those coneflowers, as well as all your other flowers. I see we have several in common, including the Joe Pye weed that I, too, featured in my Wildflower Wednesday post.

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    1. Seeing all the Joe Pye weed on different posts makes me want to plant more, Dorothy. I really like the mass plantings of them and seeing all the bees attracted to them.

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  8. Oh, Rose, you cover some of my favourite wildflowers. I wish I had enough sun for Ratibida -- saying the name is almost as fun as growing it -- and I must say that Rudbeckia triloba's thuggish ways in sun make it a great black-eyed Susan for dry shade. I'm also fond of both Queen Anne's lace and tansy for wildflower bouquets. But the seeds, the seeds! Happy belated Wildflower Wednesday to you, too. Thanks for visiting our blog.

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    1. Helen, we live on a farm, so I have plenty of space...just not enough energy for a huge garden:) So I transplanted some of the Rudbeckia triloba around some of the outbuildings were I will be happy if it spreads and eliminates some of the weeds we have to trim. But it's sure not for everyone's garden!

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  9. Rose, your photos of wild flowers are very pretty. I love coneflower but I especially liked Asclepias Tuberosa, that is so bright. Never seen it here, I'd like to plant it in my garden as well.
    Have a nice day!

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    1. The Asclepias Tuberosa is a gorgeous orange, Nadezda, and has really interesting-looking seedheads. I'll have to get a photo when it develops these. It doesn't like wet feet, however, and I've lost a couple of plants when we had too much rain at one time.

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  10. You share some of my favorite flowers - R. triloba, A. tuberosa, R. pinnata. I also used to grow Hollyhocks, I love them, but the rust problem made it impossible.

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    1. I'm really sad about my hollyhocks, Jason, but I have yet to find a remedy for the rust.

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  11. A fantastic blog you wrote. I love what I see on you photo's. I tried so many times to grow the echinacea but they don't like the soil I have to garden in. The Aslepias is my favorite. They sell it overhere in many colors. But they also don't survive our wet and cold winter's. And I feel sorry that I don't have space enough to dig them out before winter arrives and save them somewhere in the house.
    Have a wonderful sunday Rose.

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    1. The echinaceas do very well for me, Marijke, because they are native here, so I'm lucky to have the right soil. The Ascelpias don't like wet feet, I know, because I've lost a couple during extremely wet springs.

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  12. Your garden must be a riot of colour, Rose! So beautiful.

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    1. It has been a riot of color the past month or so, Liz, and I've enjoyed it so much. But we're heading into the dog days of August when so many colorful blooms will fade away.

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  13. Your garden must be a riot of colour, Rose! So beautiful.

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  14. Oh how I loved this post. Your flowers are so beautiful. I can only imagine how lovely a sight they all must be in the wild profusion of color that makes up your garden. Thank you for sharing with me when I really can't garden where I now live. I do like tansy. There is something about it that really appeals to me. You have the very flowers growing that I too would grow if I could and once grew when I had the space and the lack of wildlife to eat what I now try to plants.

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    1. Most of these plants shown here are growing in one small area, Sally, except for the coneflowers, which grow about everywhere I have a flowerbed:) Glad you enjoyed this--I'm lucky that wildlife don't cause too many problems here, other than the voles, which are becoming a real annoyance.

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  15. I have a plant similar to Ratibida pinnata, but different at the same time. I think it's neat that the brown moves up the head. I have a small patch of Rudbeckia triloba and like its thin, airy stems. After reading your post, I wonder if I will regret its self-seeding habits. I also like Tansy and despite hearing that it can be aggressive, I'd love to have some in my garden. Does it spread underground or is it just a self-seeder?

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  16. Consider yourself warned about the Rudbeckia triloba, Jennifer:) I do like its appearance, though, and it provides some much-needed late summer and fall color. Maybe dead-heading it or pulling it all out before winter would stop some of its prolific tendencies, both of which I didn't do last year. As for the tansy, I think it spreads by rhizomes. I didn't know it was aggressive until I did a little research on it. I think it depends on the region whether it can be invasive or not. In our colder zones, we might not have to worry so much.

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  17. I love the grey headed coneflower Rose......love the drooping habit.
    I would love to grow these in my garden .

    Lovely display Rose......especially those with the insects attached :)

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    1. The coneflower is one of my favorites, too, Cheryl. It's a native prairie plant, but it took a couple of years to get established here. My garden is full of bees this year, especially bumblebees, but I don't always have the patience to get photos of them. Hope you are doing better.

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  18. Such lovely photo's you've shared here and really great news that your little butterfly garden, is now officially designated as a "Pollinator Pocket."

    Enjoy your weekend

    All the best Jan

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    1. Thanks, Jan. I even have a sign for the garden, but haven't had the time to put it up yet.

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  19. Love all your prairie flowers. I working hard to develop my own patch on a bank facing east. Most of my land is oak woods so its a challenge...:(

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  20. We have many of the same favorite natives - the Ratibida, Rudbeckia, Eupatorium, and Asclepias. So great to see the caterpillar. I've got lots of parsley and fennel, but have never seen a cat that big.

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  21. Hi Rose, I enjoyed seeing your blooms for WW. I love that fluffy joe pye you don't think is as pretty! I liked what you said about brown eyed susans not being for the faint of heart. I am not sure how I came by mine, but do need to give some away and add some to the compost pile. They look so weedy until they bloom. Then, they are a welcome source of color and nectar for the pollinators.

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