Friday, August 6, 2010

Wildflowers: August 06, 2010

I am behind on Wildflowers, what with tree coffins and wood carving and sweet corn coming out my ears.  
Swamp Milkweed or Asclepias incarnata a native plant is in full bloom.  Milkweeds are the only host plant for the Monarch Butterflies.  In our area there are five different kind of Milkweed.  The Monarchs are few and far between around here even though the food is plentiful.

The Prairie Onion or Wild Onion or Allium stellatum is a native plant in the Lily family.  Pioneers probably used this plant in their cooking.

Yellow Water Lily also called a Bullhead Lily or Nuphar variegatum is a native plant.  It is the only yellow pond lily in Minnesota.  The flowers open only on a sunny day. 

Tansy or Tanacetum vulgare is a non native. It has little button like disk flowers, a very cheerful plant that grows quite nicely.  Far Guy has a personal war going on with this plant at the moment..he has been weeding it out of the wildflower gardens. 
 Butter and Eggs or Toadflax or  Linaria vulgaris is another non native plant.  It is quite invasive too, if it wasn't a favorite plant of the Hummingbird Moth..I would try to get rid of it.

Yellow Wood Sorrel or Oxalis stricta is a lovely little native plant with three heart shaped leaflets.  It has tiny bright flowers, and produces lots of seeds for the birds.

Field Sow Thistle or perennial Sow Thistle..of the genus Sonchus and questionable species can grow two to four feet tall.  It might be a noxious weed. I thought it was lovely, but than I enjoy most yellow flowers.

Stiff Goldenrod or Solidago rigida is a native plant and it is common in our area in the ditches and the open prairie. Goldenrods blooming always signal the coming of fall for me,  we already have cooler nights.

Well I am caught up with wildflowers for a day or two.  The mosquitoes have been just terrible, there was finally a decent hatch of  Dragon Flies...it is about time they showed up.  The miserable mosquitoes have been holding Chance and I hostage in the evenings, and on evenings when the wind is blowing hard enough to keep the skeeters at bay it is really difficult to get photographs that don't end up blurry:)

11 comments:

Lynda said...

I guess I have been following your blog between 1 and 2 years now - - probably closer to the first. Your profile explains your love and knowledge of flowers. Have you written a post about how you started a career in flowers and other plants? Has it always been a love of yours?

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

The mosaic shots of the wildflowers is just stunning. My "wilds" across the road have cooked in these triple digit temps. Wildflowers are always beautiful....until they evade you domestic flower gardens. I soooo understand Far Guy.

I enjoy watchin' the dragonflies catch bugs and it fascinates me to watch the barn swallows gather at dusk to swoop the insects. It's a sight to behold.

God bless you dear Connie and have a great weekend...we're off to Branson....been tryin' to go since January. :o)

Patsy said...

Thanks for the info on the lovely wild flowers. We seam to have more dragonflies this year.
Patsy

DayPhoto said...

Glad the dragonflies have shown up for you. I am seeing more around here also. (And damsel flies)

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/

Linda said...

I love seeing what's blooming your way.....I battle with tansy all the time too but I think I've conquered it.

LadyFi said...

Darn mozzies - they are a nuisance here too, but not holding us hostage yet...

Love all those wildflowers!

lisa said...

You always think of the wild flowers as an obnoxious weed and you forget how pretty they actually can be.

L. D. said...

I have seen people plant the golden rod in their gardens. It is beautiful. Common tansy doesn't do well down here for some reason.

Pamela said...

AY YI YI... oxalis is the bane of our garden. quick close my eyes.
Ours is the variety that has more colorful greenery (reddish tinge, etc)

Lanny said...

I saw a hummingbird moth here at the farm once, it was quite a site, I see the larvae a lot though. I guess I should stay up later, maybe I would see more of the moth.

Rita said...

Love to see the wildflowers!! Dragonflies can eat a lot of mosquitoes, that's for sure. :)