Friday, May 10, 2013

National Wildflower Week 2013


This week is National Wildflower Week and I would have missed it if it were not for Shirley's recent post at Rock-Oak-Deer. In celebration of National Wildflower Week, here is a look at some of the wildflowers and other native plants blooming in my garden this week. 


Bluebonnets continue to bloom in my decomposed granite pathways. Behind the Bluebonnets are the yellow flowers of Four Nerve Daisies. On the opposite side of the pathway are the purple flowers of Gulf Coast Penstemon and the red flowers of Autumn Sage.


Purple flowers of Mealycup Sage surround the pink flowers of Husker Red Penstemon. Husker Red is a red leafed cultivar of a native penstemon.


More Gulf Coast Penstemon form a backdrop for Four Nerve Daisy. In the right background is an American Basket Flower that is getting ready to bloom.


In the parkway area between the street and sidewalk, the Snake Herb has greened up. This is a fast growing groundcover for hot, dry areas.


If you look close, there are purple flowers on the stems. I found out last year that this plant has seed pods that are much like the dreaded Mexican Petunia. When the dry seedpods get wet, they explode and seeds fly everywhere. I am thinking about the future of this plant in my garden.


A little farther down the parkway are more Bluebonnets. The plants grow very well in the decomposed granite here. The flowers are few now and the seed pods are maturing.


Winecup, Prairie Verbena, and more Four Nerve Daisies grow near Yucca glauca.


The bright yellow flowers of Missouri Primrose open in late afternoon and close the following morning.


Chocolate Daisy fills the air with a chocolaty perfume scent in the mornings.


Lanceleaf Coreopsis blooms after surviving a bout with a beetle that I think is the same one Sheryl described at Window on a Texas Wildscape.


More Husker Red and Mealycup. Black Sampson Coneflower will begin blooming soon. The tufts of green are Gayfeather which will not bloom until the fall.


Shrubby Purple Skullcap is quickly becoming a favorite.


Eastern Red Columbine is a welcome spring blooming wildflower. 



Blackfoot Daisy blooms from spring through fall. 


The unique flowers of Green Milkweed. Plants in the milkweed family are the sole host plants for monarch caterpillars. I saw just one monarch butterfly laying eggs on the milkweed plants this spring and it does not appear that any survived.


This is one of the descendants of an annual Gaura that I collected from a nearby field a few years ago.

Texas Betony grows at the base of False Indigo. Near the Texas Betony are Gregg's Mistflower and Heartleaf Skullcap, neither of which are blooming yet.

Looking up, here are the flowers that cover the False Indigo.


These are the flowers of Pale-Leaf Yucca.


So there you have it, a look at some of the wildflowers blooming in my garden during this National Wildflower Week. Some of these flowers will wrap up their blooming in the next few weeks and others will continue blooming through the end of the growing season. Still, others will not even begin blooming until later in the season. With a little planning or a lot of luck, as is the case with my garden, you can have an ever changing palette of wildflower color all year long.

10 comments:

  1. The wildflowers in your prairie are looking beautiful this week. The year round color is a combination of your excellent plan and a bit of help from the weather too.

    We have a plan in place for our annual trek to Plano next weekend so I'll send you an email soon.

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    1. I will be around next weekend if you want to drop by. The backyard is under construction as I am topping off the decomposed granite pathways and adding one to the side yard. You are used to your own construction zones so it should not be an issue.

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  2. Gorgeous! You must have had rain last winter. Our bluebonnets shriveled in a 3 month gap between showers...

    I love Antelope Horns. They look like UFO wildflowers.

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    1. Our winter and spring were rather dry, but the rains must have been well timed to keep the bluebonnets going. I think the milkweed flowers are the most unusual in my garden.

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  3. Too bad I didn't know about this wildflower week until just now. This comment may be too late. Anyway, this guide to flower visitors will continue to be useful as long as there are wildflowers blooming.

    A wildflower week is a good time to observe pollinators as well as flowers. There wouldn't be one without the other. A guide to flower visitors should be helpful.
    http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beginners-guide-to-pollinators-and-other-flower-visitors-beatriz-moisset/1115214111?ean=9781300824534&itm=1&usri=9781300824534

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  4. I am so taken by your penstemon, garden cultivars doesn't look so good! Do you keep husker red in full sun and dry? I've never thought of it as a drought tolerant plant but I shall plant some in my garden...
    I love the Bluebonnets, and your garden in general looks really beautiful.
    When I saw the flowers of that groundcover I thought of ruellia humilis. They are of the acanthus family and they have this kind of catapult inside the seedpod that is activated by the heat. I you have an acanthus you know what I mean, at 3.00 p.m. in summer it sounds like a war! :-)
    Alberto

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    1. Altroverde, husker red penstemon grows well in sun and they are drought tolerant. I don't give them any more water than any of the other plants get. Snakeherb is Dyschoriste linearis. I read somewhere that it is related to Ruellia, which also has exploding seedpods.

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  5. Everytime I look at pictures of your garden it makes me feel so happy...relaxed....I breathe differently. I absolutely love all of your color ...texture...how everything works together. It is a happy place! You and your family must love living on such a healthy and alive piece of land!

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    1. Thanks xericstyle. The first thing I do when I come home from work is walk around the garden. It relaxes me and puts me in a better mood.

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  6. I'm glad I scrolled down to see all your lovely blooms! I tried growing a green milkweed once, but it didn't do well. I'm thinking it's not native to our area. I love that bloom!

    How cool that one of your photos is being used for that project to help people learn more about bees!

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