Tuesday, June 21, 2011

ABC Meme - W for Wildflowers & Wildflower Wednesday!

Wildflower Wednesday
initiated by Gail at Clay and Limestone!
Click her link above to visit -
Her meme works well with ABC Wednesday's "W" week!

and

ABC Wednesday Challenge is in its 8th round. Wouldn't you like to see what other people are posting (besides me!)?? Click on the logo above.

Wildflowers, as designated here, would be those you'd find on a prairie.
So, with that in mind, we'll see what I found in Mr. Shady's prairie !
Most photos will enlarge with a "Click!"



Okay! I'm sorry. I'm going to apologize ahead of time... In order to try to make my photos larger, I "stretched" them while creating the post. This process has changed their visual acuity. I'm sorry... I won't do it again! :-(



Common Milkweed (center)
surrounded by Purple Coneflower Echinacea purpurea
and tall Gray-headed Coneflower Ratibida pinnata
(sunflower family)behind.

Gray-headed Coneflower begins to blossom.

These photos have been taken at various times over the past three years, using either of two digital cameras.

Predominately Purple Coneflower Echinacia purpurea

Oh! Look out for the Wild Parsnip Pastinaca sativa! Tall plants with yellow "dill like" flowers.
They are nasty! Touch one when it's blooming and you may wish you hadn't!!! Non-native.

Purple Coneflower with white Daisy Fleabane

Poor quality photo, but I think this is
Common St. John's-Wort Hypericum perforatum
-- does it also look as though there's some
Yellow Sweet Clover Melilotus officinalis?


Butterfly Milkweed Asclepias tuberose with Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta (sunflower family) and Daisy Fleabane Erigerone strigosus (small white flowers with yellow centers)


Great Spangled Fritillary (butterfly) on a Pale Purple Coneflower
(a sad specimen) Echinacea pallida (Aster family)!

Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa
(mint family) also called horsemint or bee balm
Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta with
(white) Daisy Fleabane Erigeron strigosus (Aster family)

Common Milkweed Asclepias syriaca

Deptford Pink Dianthus armeria (Pink family)

Queen Anne's Lace Daucus carota (parsley family)
also called Wild carrot.
This was introduced from Europe and is often considered a weed.

A close-up of an unusually colorful one!

Snagged again!!! (One way to broadcast seed!)

Showy Partridge Pea Chamaecrista fasciculata;
also Cassia chamaecrista

Great Spangled Fritillary (butterfly) on Thistle

Yes, it's a thistle... but isn't it pretty?
Pasture Thistle Cirsium discolor (Aster family)

Do you think this is Maximilian Sunflower?
Helianthus maximiliani

Black Swallowtail approaching Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea (Aster family)

Tall Cinquefoil Potentilla arguta (Rose family)


Great Spangled Fritillary - looks like it's making the rounds!

Monarch enters the competition

Would you argue with this fellow?
Me, neither!

Don't know how the Wild Rose sneaked into the prairie.
This photo was taken July 5, 2009. Wonder if they're still there?

Wild Prairie Rose

Rosa pratincola
The Iowa Legislature designated the Wild Rose as the official state flower in 1897. It was chosen for the honor because it was one of the decorations used on the silver service which the state presented to the battleship USS Iowa that same year. Although no particular species of the flower was designated by the Legislature, the Wild Prairie Rose (Rosa Pratincola) is most often cited as the official flower. Wild roses are found throughout the state and bloom from June through late summer. The flower, in varying shades of pink, is set off by many yellow stamens in the center. (Information taken from this site.)


Prairie Smoke - Geum triflorum
(two photos below)
This is in front of our house.
It was a gift from my Aunt MEA, gardener extraordinaire! :-)

Her original plant was dug from a prairie area alongside the road, quite a number of years ago!

That's All Folks!
Not a bit of shade here, today! ;-)

27 comments:

Unknown said...

I think wildflowers are my favorite kinds. So pretty!

Roger Owen Green said...

wonderful wealth of wildflowers
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Shirley said...

Wow Shady… brilliant! I did enjoy this :-) Having your own prairie too… fantastic :-D

Favs today are the Wild Bergmont, Priarie Rose and your Cirsium (I’ve got the darker rivulare 'Atropurpureum'). Now, I’m going to consider adding these plants to my garden… thank-you! Enjoy the rest of your week :-D

Rosemary said...

Shady Loved all the wildflowers my fav Queen Annes lace and any daisy.....

ShySongbird said...

I do love seeing Mr Shady's prairie, what a wonderful job he is doing there! Such a wealth of wild flowers... and you have the Deptford Pink, that is extremely rare here, I have never seen it!!

How lovely to have the Cone Flower growing wild, it doesn't here.

I love the butterflies too especially the beautiful Monarch.

Shady Gardener said...

Life with Kaishon, Thanks for your visit. I agree, for the most part. :-)

Hi Shirl, Thanks for your enthusiastic reply! :-) I hope you're able to find all these plants easily.

Rosemary, do you grow Shasta Daisies? I helped some friends create a garden about 3 Springs ago. Their daughter's Shasta Daisy seeds spread "rampantly" this year!

Hi Shy, Thanks for your visit. Our purple coneflower is Very Good at reseeding itself here. Deptford Pink isn't terribly easy to find, but it's growing out there! :-)

Gail said...

Wow...a fantastic post filled with my favorites! Bees, wildflowers and butterfly. I am so glad you are Wildflower Wednesdaying and have your other fav memems. xxoogail ps Love the closeup of coneflower and bee.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Shady!
What a pretty collection. And, I had to giggle at the 'snagged again' shot. Seeds hitchhike home on my dog all the time. It makes him nuts that I have to groom him before he can leave the trailhead. Happy WW!

Unknown said...

Lovely pictures. Those flowers are gorgeous.

http://carabossesbedchamber.blogspot.com/2011/06/abc-wednesday-challenge_22.html

Shady Gardener said...

Whoa! I Walked by Roger. What's With That? Thanks for your visit! ;-)

Hi Gail! Your Wildflower Wednesday is a good idea! Even better - Once-per-month. :-)

Hi Kate! Better those crazy seeds that the wood ticks that want to call me "home!" I sympathize about combing them from your dog. ouch!

Randy Emmitt said...

Shady,

never seen Queen Anne's Lace other than all white, very cool. It is blooming everywhere here this year! Enjoyed the wild roses there are always fun to find.

Chubskulit Rose said...

THe prairie smoke is my favorite.

Would love you to peek at my ABC. You are welcome to come by anytime, have a nice day!

Shady Gardener said...

Librarysnake... It was nice to have you visit today. I had to visit you first before I replied. (Just wondering if your library had snakes! lol)

Hi Randy, It was a pleasant surprise for me, too!!

chubskulit I'm glad it's your favorite. I love it, too! :-)

Rose said...

Beautiful wildflowers, Shady! There's nothing like a field of coneflowers to make me happy, and the butterflies are just the icing on the cake. I think the state of Iowa made an excellent choice in choosing as their state flower the Prairie Rose:)

Kay L. Davies said...

Looks like I'll have to get some purple echinacea if I want butterflies (and honeybees).
The wild rose is also the official flower of the province of Alberta.
I love thistles. Most of my ancestors were Scottish.
The milkweed flower is beautiful when it's fresh, not very attractive when it wilts.
And I love those wild dianthus!
What a wonderful W post. Thank you!
— K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

troutbirder said...

Thats a great collection of native prarie wildflowers. Its one reason why I look forward a lot to late summer and fall for my prairie walks. I like those wild roses can grow anyplace on the prarie but seem to like "edges" best. :)

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Rose, YOU are the wild Illinois Rose! ;-) I have many good memories associated with growing up and enjoying an abundance of those flowers. I agree with you about a field of coneflower (and butterflies).

Thank you for visiting, Kay. I'd love to claim a direct lineage from Scotland! Only have a trickle... ;-) I didn't realize we shared the Wild Rose.

troutbirder, I'm always glad for your visits. Are you seeing fewer wild roses in Minnesota?? We used to see so many as I was growing up...

GRACE PETERSON said...

I had to admit defeat with the Geum. It won't grow for me. I LOVE your photos of it. I love all your photos for that matter. What an abundant assortment of wildflowers you have in your neck of the woods.

Love your new blog look too.

Sue Catmint said...

wondrously wonderful wildflowers on wednesdays and other days too. Lovely post, and it's fun to try playing around with photos even if sometimes the result is not what you planned.

Shady Gardener said...

Grace, I'm going to try to leave a comment - for the Third time!! Thanks for visiting and thanks for liking the "new look." ;-)

Hi Catmint! :-)

Chloe m said...

I loved that photo of your sock, that happens to me all the time. Sometimes I just throw my socks in the garden if I am too lazy to pick all the seeds off.
I love wild roses, they make awesome potpourri and the smell is incomparable to the domestic roses grown nowadays.

Chloe m said...

Oops....I meant garbage, not garden. Ha .

Nutty Gnome said...

What a great wildflower area, I love it! I'm quite envious of it too :)

Thanks for your concern Shady - I'm still around, but very,very busy sorting out for a huge party in our garden next month .....new posts will come and I hope you'll like what I've been up to ! ;-D

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Rosey, You made me "sit up straight!" when I read you threw the socks in the garden!! ;-) I could see perhaps throwing extremely muddy ones in the garden... ha! Garbage makes sense - and next time that happens - I'm going to do the same! Have a great day!

Hi Liz, What's the party?? I'm "all ears!" :-)

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Wow, you sure found a great selection of wildflowers! I think the one you asked about is helipsis helianthoides, false sunflower. I have some posted from my garden today. The maximus has large leaves.

I just transplanted some of my prairie smoke geum into my new planting area this evening. I bought some other native plants for this area, and one of them is the rudbeckia maxima. I hope they all grow well.

Corner Gardener Sue said...

I wonder how spready wild monarda is. Earl Gray is my favorite tea, and I would love to see what the tea from the plant would taste like.

Shady Gardener said...

Sue, YOU make me smile!! You've been such a "gung-ho" gardener these past few years!! YOU GO, Girl! ha!