Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Sunday Afternoon Prairie Walk

Almost Wordless Wednesday!
Do you know what is in these photos?
(click on them... some of them get a lot larger!)
(I'll provide the answers after the weekend)
(left to right): a and b









c and d













e and f












g and h










i and j











k and l














m and n













o and p









q and r








s










Here's the code to match the plants! (This is absolutely the last time I'm doing this!!!)
a) Rudbeckia hirta (Compositeae) Black-eyed Susan and Daisy Fleabane and b) Asclepias tuberosa - Butterfly Milkweed, one Black-eyed Susan and Daisy Fleabane; c) Desmanthus illinoensis (bundle flower, Illinois bundle weed, prairie bundleflower) and d) close-up of same; e) Coreopsis tinctoria - Plains Coreopsis and f) an array of Black-eyed Susan, Purple Coneflower and a "gaggle" of Gray-headed coneflower about to erupt!; g) Purple Coneflower about to erupt! and lots of Daisy Fleabane and h) Schizchyrium scoparium - Little Blue Stem (I hope I remembered that correctly!); i) Great Spangled Fritillary (butterfly) on Echinacea pallida - Pale Purple Coneflower and j) Echinacea purpurea - Purple Coneflower; k Ratibida pinnata - Gray-Headed Coneflower and l) Asclepias syriaca - Common Milkweed; m) Dianthus armeria - Deptford Pink and n) Dalea Purpurea - Purple prairie Clover; o) Rudbeckia hirta - Black-eyed Susan and p) skippers (butterflies) on Trifolium repens - White clover; q) Daucus carota (Umbelliferae) - Queen Anne's Lace and r) has me stumped. I've located a couple of different flowers that might fit, (note the saw-toothed, opposite leaves) however this blossom has a double row of petals (help!); s) Monarda fistulosaor - Wild Bergamot or Purple Bee Balm.


Last Sunday (July 6), I asked if I could help cut thistles in the prairie that my husband has developed and worked on for a number of years. Of course, after about an hour's work, we were able walk around (and I could take photographs!). I wish I could have gotten out there again this week, as so many of the plants were just on the verge of "exploding!"

We leave tomorrow for a wonderful family reunion that may encompass 75 or more people (and our own "kids" and their families won't even be able to attend.) Looking forward to it!

Nothing shady about any of this! ;-) If you want to see more of my prairie posts, click on the "prairie" label at the bottom of the blog.

12 comments:

Gail said...

Well some of my favorite meadow and prairie flowers are in your photos! See you soon.

gail

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Enjoy your trip! You found some neat little & big jewels out there. I recognize most of them & grow a few of them. I have no clue what c & d are.

Elizabeth Joy said...

Hi,
I like your prairie flowers. We might be able to come see some in person. Can you give me a few pointers on must see sites in your states? We are going to make a cross country trip. I think we could go through the northern part of your state if there were something an 8 year old frog lover, his wildflower mother and the rest of the family might enjoy. What do you recommend in your state or neighboring states?

Thanks!

Elizabeth Joy

Bramblemoon Farm said...

Wow, beautiful flowers! I would love to do this with our property. You are inspiring me:)

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Shady,
I have to admit that some of these are baffling to me, but I did see a lot of Coneflowers, Rudbeckias, Clover, Buttefly Weed (?), Queen Anne's Lace and whatever that is in 'e' I would like to have! I'm w/MMD on 'c' and 'd,' though my initial reaction was some kind of sumac (shudder...).

Have fun at your reunion this weekend! We so rarely get anywhere because our work schedules are so rarely the same, so we only get about 1 weekend in 3 together, and that's usually spent working in the garden! Great post, Shady ... you're challenging us now, hehe.

troutbirder said...

Love all the prairie flowers and next month will be even better. All my oak trees make them difficult to grow but I try. For those interested "Hayden Prairie" south of Lime Springs in northeastern Iowa is about 500 plus acres of "virgin" prairie.
troutbirder

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Gail, This post took me forever to do... I was having trouble getting my photos and the letters to stay where they should. Then, it took me another "forever" to label them at the bottom of the post today. (That's the last time!) ha. (?)

MMD, c and d were new to me, too.(It's a good one for you, being from Illinois!) Illinois Bundleweed or Bundle Flower. My husband has purposely planted these in the past few years.

Elizabeth Joy, There are many good things to see in Iowa! When do you leave? I'll try to do my homework quickly!!

Brenda Jean, Thanks for visiting again. This is inspiring, isn't it? He puts a lot of time out there! :-)

IVG, Look up the coreopsis tinctoria (Plains Coreopsis). It may be a reseeding annual... I read it very quickly. No sumac (my shudders go to the Wild Parsley - of which we have PLENTY! If you touch it when it's blooming, it can be worse than poison ivy!). Don't let me challenge you, IVG. I probably won't do this type of project again... toooo time consuming! :-) (we had a Wonderful reunion, by the way!!!)

Troutbirder, Thanks for the hint about Hayden Prairie of Lime Springs! I'm sure we should take a trip there!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Shady,
I think I can maybe help you out with 'r' ... now that I look at it again (hard to tell for sure from the small pic), I think it's some kind of Heliopsis, though the double row of petals baffles me a bit. It looks very much like the 'Yellow Thug Heliopsis' that we're currently (still and forever) trying to eradicate from the garden. The leaves are a perfect match, as is the growth habit. If this was something in your garden, I'd recommend pulling it all and burning it, no matter how pretty the yellow flowers are! But in a prairie setting, it looks right at home.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderfully interesting post, Shady! I thoroughly enjoyed my prairie tour... a welcome change from the New England scene ~ great photos!

Shady Gardener said...

IVG, You are probably "right on the button!" Early on, my husband purchased a large package of "wildflowers." (This vs Native Wildflowers) ;-) For several years we had dianthus, gaillardia, etc. All beautiful, but.... lol


GA, I'm glad you enjoyed this tour, and I'm glad you were here to visit! The prairie really is beautiful. I need to be out there to witness the explosion of color, right now! However, I so enjoy your New England posts! :-)

The Diva said...

Pretty prairie walk. Thanks for taking us along.~~Dee

Shady Gardener said...

Dee, Glad to have you! ;-) I'm amazed at the beauty of a prairie and I'm very proud of my husband and the effort he's made!