It was Fathers Day, so the Showy Lady’s Slipper that are the Minnesota State Flower are beginning to bloom. They will bloom about two weeks, give or take, depending on wind, the rain and the temperatures.
I got a heads up from Phyllis a faithful blog reader and friend and from my cousin Geraldine. We found these blooming in a ditch about eight miles south of us.
One of these evenings we will head out to see how the rare white ones did this year. Last year they were deer food before they even opened. I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed that the deer have not found them this year.
These Lady’s Slippers are part of the Orchid Family and are native to Minnesota throughout the entire state except for the southwestern part of the state..it must be too rocky there. They like wet swamps and moist woods that get some sun. It is a very slow growing plant and from seed to bloom can take 15 to 20 years.
Our Yellow Lady’s Slippers on the back drive have begun blooming too, I will get a photo or two or ten tomorrow:)
You sound cheerful this morning. How are you. Hope you had a good weekend. Pretty Ladies Slipper. Unique.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful...they really do look like little slippers..
ReplyDeleteThey are so very lovely! I hope you get a chance to photograph the white ones before they are deer snacks.
ReplyDeleteThey are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI'm picturing you tromping through ditches, searching for the elusive Lady's slipper....They are lovely:)
ReplyDeleteThey are just delightful!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful flower and great picture of them. It is absolutely my favorite flower. A sad story here. Forty plus years ago I bought some (legally) from a old guy who had a wilflower nursery in Grand or Park Rapids. I built an artificial blog. Nurtured them for 30 years and had eventually about 25 blooming plants. When we moved I brought them with me and made an error in thebuilding of a new artificial bog
ReplyDelete(they drowned). Half died. Then the neighbors "domestic" rabbits escaped and killed the reast. They are very expense to replace.
I've never seen a real lady's slipper. How pretty they are.
ReplyDeleteDarn deer. We once planted 200 christmas trees on our land in upper Michigan only to have the deer eat the young tops year after year. We never did get any trees to grow.
Those are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful.....
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these photos! I used to see lady's slippers when we had our cabin; they are a treasure.
ReplyDeleteThey are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLovely.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! We don't have the orchid lady slippers here. Sure wish we did.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots of the Lady Slipper. My mom used to find them in the ditches and she'd get so excited.
ReplyDeleteThey are so beautiful! I hope the white ones made it and you will find them. I just love to see your pictures and think about what your life is like...
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely gorgeous!!
ReplyDeleteAren't they pretty! Love Em! I got pictures today at Dave's, but mine little shoots you gave me last year didn't do anything. I feel so bad! Looks like rain the next couple of days! "card playing weather"!
ReplyDeleteWell I shouldn't go backwards on the blogs, but I always do. <°)}}><
ReplyDeletewe had a tiny little pick lady slipper that we saw in the woods where I grew up in the Puget Sound/ Casacade Mtn aread.
ReplyDeleteYour flower is absolutely gorgeous