Wildflower Wednesday (ok, Saturday) in Purple and Yellow

This time of year the wildflowers that jump out at me are of course all the different Goldenrod varieties that are blooming now.  There are about 60 species of Goldenrod, Solidago native to North America.  Pair that gorgeous yellow with some of the purple blooms are are gracing us with their presence to complement the yellows.   This is along the road as I go into town.  A field of Solidago with Ironweed, Vernonia noveboracensis creating a dreamy mixture of golden yellows and bold purples.

I stopped the car and walked over to the edge of this road to try and get a great photo as evening fell.  I was worried that there wouldn't be enough light.   For your viewing pleasure.... purple Vernonia and yellow Solidago growing wild along the roadside.

This year I was able to buy some Vernonia noveboracensis at the native plant sale.  Mine isn't quite this tall yet, we shall see over the next few years if it is happy where I planted it.

This wonderful example in nature makes me smile, it is a happy happenstance.  

While mine are small, I will enjoy these big and bold natives.  

Another purple and yellow combination a little closer to home are some Liatris and Chamaecrista fasciculata or Partridge Pea.  This is just outside our back gate of the neighborhood.

Here is a closer view of  the Partridge Pea, a favorite of the Cloudless Sulphur butterfly.

The pollinators are happy with these bright yellow blooms.  I am happy to say I have a number of varieties of Solidago in my yard.  Thanks to Ellen, this is not a Solidago but a Chrysopsis mariana, Golden Aster.  Thanks!!!

Also appearing in my yard is Liatris, (happy dance!!) I bought some that are in the backyard gardens, they bloom in the late spring/early summer.  These natives bloom in the fall.  Hoping they reseed and spread in this rather hostile dry area by the street.  

I wanted to include a new little bloom.  This sweet little flower's common name is Wart-removing Herb.  Such a icky name for a cute little flower.   It is Murdannia keisak.  It is growing in a damp area in the turf.

Doesn't this remind you of a Spiderwort?  One of the links says it is similar to a miniature Spiderwort.

I stumbled across another purple/yellow combo this afternoon while enjoying my woodland garden in the backyard.  Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica and another Solidago.  Wonderful!!

Thanks to Gail at Clay and Limestone for hosting another Wildflower Wednesday.  Stop by and see some of the other natives across the country and around the world.

©Copyright 2013 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

August? Really? Almost the End of August! What???

We are in the yard every day, checking on progress, on growth, on little friends.   This little guy was hiding on an oak leaf  I was about to remove from my Abelia bush.  Both of us were a little surprised.  

I was torn between removing the dead twig and getting a picture of this little anole who kept trying to hide from me.

Continuing with the walk through the yard I am happy to find more Blue lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica growing in the low untended part of the yard.   This is an area where many of the wildflowers I have shared over the past couple years have been growing.    Leaving it wild will ensure that these wildflowers will continue to appear in my garden.

In the tended area of the garden the Blackberry lilies, Belamcanda chinesis, are starting to show their seedpods.  It is shown here with Phlox paniculata 'Robert Poore' from Racquel at Perennial Garden Lover.  She shared this Phlox with me before we moved and it has been a shining star in the garden.  

The Toadlily, Tricyrtis formosana 'Gilt Edge' I bought earlier this summer is happy in its location.  It is starting to bloom, I love these crazy blooms.  I will be looking for other varieties of Toadlily in future years.  Some are more polka dotted than others.

This beauty is growing on the underside of the Fringe Tree, Chionanthus retusus, in my front garden.  Crawling under the tree and behind some of the Lantana made it a little hard to get a great photo of this bloom....but I kept at it!  Looking at the picture below I see dog hair, it is everywhere! hahaa

Hard not to love this bloom.  Can't wait for more blooms to open, it is full of buds right now.

I had one in the back garden the first year we moved here.  It was planted on the north side of an oak tree.  Unfortunately somebody lives there...there is a hole and no Toadlily.  Not sure whose hole it is, but this will not be a place I plant again.   In the meanwhile I will enjoy this one.  

This is the time of year that some trees are blooming.  One that is really making a big show is Goldenrain Tree in Uptown.  In front of the old library there are a number of these trees planted.  The library has moved and this building is now the Veteran's Center.  I love how these trees have last year's seed pods and this year's flowers.  You may remember my posting of this tree, Koelreuteria bipinnata

It is easy to see why the common name is Goldenrain Tree.

The bees were having a good time going from flower to flower.

In the early evening light the pink of the seedpods stand out nicely against the bright yellow blooms. 

And for all you tree fans out there, Tuesday's Trees will be coming back.  I went through many of my photos to gather the tree pictures together.  I have a few that I can move forward with some more posts.  This coming Tuesday, Persimmon.  See you then!

©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

A Quick Look At Wildflowers, It is Wednesday

Every so often I am able to get a post done in time to join Gail's Wildflower Wednesday.  I went out a couple different times today to get some very current photos of natives blooming my garden.  I love plants that have a long bloom time....really gives a long lasting impact in the garden.  Two long blooming plants in my garden are Helenium autumnale 'Mardi Gras'.

And Lonicera sempervirens Coral Honeysuckle-  I was looking for some of the berries on the honeysuckle but couldn't find any.  Some birds have been enjoying them I suppose.  It is fun to watch the hummingbirds on this flower!

I shared Aralia spinosa Devil's Walking Stick with you in my last post.... today I was able to get a closer picture of the blooms.  For those who don't know this plant, it gets quite tall-- 10 -15 feet and the single stem is riddled with big thorns.  A plant to admire from a distance!

In the lower part of our yard I have four Clethra alnifolia 'Vanilla Spice' shrubs.   This shrub flowers through out the month of July and into August.  The fragrance carries on the breezes, a feast for the senses. If you don't have one in your garden, get one!!

A new plant in the wet part of the yard, in the garden bed that the tree from the last post missed as it fell, is Lobelia speciosa 'Cardinal Flower'.  It is my hope this bold red beauty will spread, reseed, and multiple!!

Just about to open is the Swamp Milkweed that I started in milk cartons over the winter...Winter Sowing!  Asclepias incarnata will be putting on a show later this month and into August.   Stay tuned!

I wanted to share this little violet I got this summer, Viola walteri 'Silver Gem'.  Surprisingly this is a native to the Appalachian Piedmont.  What a cute tiny little plant.  I have it at the base of my deck steps so I can see and appreciate it.

 I was happy to see it blooming tonight.  The shade is provided by a Castor Bean plant.  When it gets a little bigger I will share some pictures.  Do want to show you how little this violet is--

Please head over to Gail's blog and see some of the other wildflower postings -- such a wide range of beautiful blooms.


©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

If a Tree Falls......

....in the yard and you are calling to report a power outage, do you hear the thud?  Earlier last week we saw there was a dead tree hung up in the branches of the tree next to it.  The trees are on the adjoining property, in the thick summer undergrowth of any one of poison ivy or smilax or raspberry briars, not the ideal place walk.   Since it was hung up in another tree we were unsure of how to get it down without hitting the Magnolias.  

The tree broke off its trunk during a storm sometime ago.... we aren't really sure.  Wednesday night with another storm, it twisted, broke the branches of the supporting tree and fell.  It fell in the perfect place!!   The tree was about 40- 50 feet long, about 30 feet of it in our yard.

It missed all three Magnolias, missed a transplanted dogwood, missed all the daylilies, and missed the wax myrtle up the hill.  

You can see the rotted stump in the woods.  The rot came from the ground up.

Charlie got the chain saw out yesterday and cleared the tree out of our yard.  The fallen tree can remain in the property next door for the critters to enjoy.
I walked around the yard on Thursday to assess the damage and see if there was any poison ivy in the area where the tree fell.  Have all sorts of blooms--- here is a volunteer Great Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica.  The rains have caused it to fall over.  Hoping it will reseed and there will be lots next year!

A purchased Lobelia  speciosa, Cardinal Lobelia is blooming now in the bed with the daylilies and Magnolias.  The hummingbirds like it.

Another new plant that is finally blooming-- Heliotrope amplexicaule 'Azure Skies'.  Hoping this one will be happy enough to come back.  I have some areas in my back garden that plants don't like.   Have been watering this area more and have amended the soil with each new plant added.

Lots of foliage under the Edgeworthia chrysantha.  I planted Caladiums, Japanese Painted ferns, and the Corydalis I just bought.  It is a nice shady area, the ferns and Caladium are happy...crossing my fingers for the newly added Corydalis.

Clematis 'Prince Charles' is blooming again!  

A super long blooming daylily is Hemerocallis 'Strawberry Candy'.  It has been blooming since mid-May!

Finally I have a bloom on my Resurrection Lily!! Lycoris radiata has been in the ground for more than two years and it finally had a bloom!  

Love these long anthers!!

In the woods next to our property is a large stand of Aralia spinosa, Devil's Walking Stick.  Love seeing all the pollinators all over the blooms.   There was constant motion from so many wasps, bees, and butterflies.  

Speaking of plants that attract pollinators, Lantana camara 'Miss Huff' is a magnet!!  

Long-tailed Skipper Urbanus proteus (thanks Randy!!)

Hoary Edges, Achalarus lyciades

All these were taken in the span of a couple minutes.

Dark form Eastern  Tiger Swallowtail, Pterourus glaucus

So many butterflies and moths!!

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

I have been trying to get caught up reading all your blog posts.  At this point in time I have 100 posts in my Google Reader.....working my way through !!!!  Have made some headway--- there were almost 200!



©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.