I knew I missed the last Wildflower Wednesday, hosted by Gail at Clay and Limestone, but didn't remember October was my last post. Since it is snowing today, I took some photos out the door, and made a decision to highlight a plant I don't think I have before.
I like the colors of the garden better in other seasons, but enjoy them this time of year as well. The cup plant still has some seeds for the birds.
The plant I am featuring is the tallest in this photo.
I am thinking this was the second or third season for the Pale Indian Plantain, which I was pleased to get from a friend at a plant/seed share for the Facebook group, Gardening with Nature in Mind. I don't remember if it bloomed last year, but did read that they take a couple seasons to grow large enough to bloom. When I went to get a link for information at the Lady Bird Johnson site, I saw that it prefers a moist site. This site is not particularly moist, but is not dry, either. The seed heads on the round headed bush clover are looking good.
I did a search to see if birds eat the pale Indian plantain seeds. I found an article that mentioned the seeds can pass through birds and mammals and remain viable to grow. I am not sharing the link, because the article was about using the plants for medicinal uses.
Two of my photos did not load, so I am not positive if my dates are going to be correct for the photos of the pale Indian plantain from last season.
Heather Holm mentioned in this post that the stems make good nesting material for many native bees and wasps. When it is time to clean up the garden this spring, I will leave about 10 inches of stems in the ground, and may make bundles of stems. The pale Indian plantain is the light stemmed plant near the seat of the bicycle and to the left of the Amsonia hubrichtti. This photo is from May.
This photo is from June. I see a penstemon of some kind blooming here.
Here is some interesting information I found at the Missouri Department of Conservation:
"Pale Indian plantain is not in the plantain family, it is in the daisy or sunflower family. The word “Indian” in the common names of plants often essentially means “false,” designating a North American plant that somehow resembles an unrelated plant European settlers knew from the Old World. Exceptions are the names “Indian paintbrush” and “Indian pipe,” in which the plants were named for fancifully resembling objects used by Native Americans."
This photo is from July.
It continued to bloom in August, drawing bees, wasps, and butterflies.
I believe this is from August.
I think the September photo is one that did not load. This is either October or November. The plant looks great in all seasons!
Our schools are closed today due to the snow. They say parts of our city could get more than others. We are not getting a lot here yet, but that could change. I hope all is well with you and your gardens.
I like the colors of the garden better in other seasons, but enjoy them this time of year as well. The cup plant still has some seeds for the birds.
The plant I am featuring is the tallest in this photo.
I am thinking this was the second or third season for the Pale Indian Plantain, which I was pleased to get from a friend at a plant/seed share for the Facebook group, Gardening with Nature in Mind. I don't remember if it bloomed last year, but did read that they take a couple seasons to grow large enough to bloom. When I went to get a link for information at the Lady Bird Johnson site, I saw that it prefers a moist site. This site is not particularly moist, but is not dry, either. The seed heads on the round headed bush clover are looking good.
I did a search to see if birds eat the pale Indian plantain seeds. I found an article that mentioned the seeds can pass through birds and mammals and remain viable to grow. I am not sharing the link, because the article was about using the plants for medicinal uses.
Two of my photos did not load, so I am not positive if my dates are going to be correct for the photos of the pale Indian plantain from last season.
Heather Holm mentioned in this post that the stems make good nesting material for many native bees and wasps. When it is time to clean up the garden this spring, I will leave about 10 inches of stems in the ground, and may make bundles of stems. The pale Indian plantain is the light stemmed plant near the seat of the bicycle and to the left of the Amsonia hubrichtti. This photo is from May.
This photo is from June. I see a penstemon of some kind blooming here.
Here is some interesting information I found at the Missouri Department of Conservation:
"Pale Indian plantain is not in the plantain family, it is in the daisy or sunflower family. The word “Indian” in the common names of plants often essentially means “false,” designating a North American plant that somehow resembles an unrelated plant European settlers knew from the Old World. Exceptions are the names “Indian paintbrush” and “Indian pipe,” in which the plants were named for fancifully resembling objects used by Native Americans."
This photo is from July.
It continued to bloom in August, drawing bees, wasps, and butterflies.
I believe this is from August.
I think the September photo is one that did not load. This is either October or November. The plant looks great in all seasons!
Our schools are closed today due to the snow. They say parts of our city could get more than others. We are not getting a lot here yet, but that could change. I hope all is well with you and your gardens.
It's nifty to see this plant through the seasons. I really like it, but I don't have it growing in my garden. There are some beautiful stands of it growing at the Arboretum. They're very dramatic in mid- to late summer as your beautiful photos illustrate, not to mention the wildlife value. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi, Sue! Wow, you are getting much more snow than we are this winter. I've enjoyed seeing all your photos of your winter garden on Facebook. It's nice to see this plant during different seasons--I can see what a bee and butterfly magnet it is.
ReplyDeleteThat look back to the Summer flowers is very refreshing to this gardener's soul on this cold January day! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI believe you sent me seeds from this beauty! So excited to see if they germinate and grow in my garden. Thank you. I agree with what Lea said, I might have to spend some time in my photo archives, in the meantime your photos make me smile. xogail
ReplyDeleteI see this plant growing in undeveloped areas of our neighborhood. It looks nice in your garden setting too. I may try to find some seeds when I walk our neighborhood to grow in our garden. Thanks for sharing the details of the plant through the seasons.
ReplyDeleteYour Indian and our Cape.
ReplyDeleteCape chestnut is a tree with glorious pink flowers ... but not a chestnut in sight.
You always have the most abundant variety of plants!! This was a fun post!
ReplyDelete