Thursday, April 28, 2011

Some Wildflowers

I noticed that Gail, from Clay and Limestone and some other bloggers are celebrating wild and native flowers all week, and not just having Wildflower Wednesday, which I missed.  I have posted some of these beauties already, but wanted to be part of the party.

These lily of the valley plants are descendants of those planted by my mother-in-law over 30 years ago.  When I did a search to see if they are wildflowers, I saw there is a wild version, but this isn't it.  I took it upon myself to keep them in, since they have persevered all these years.


The ginger that used to be shaded by the silver maple is doing fine so far.  I dug some out to give to our son, just in case the hot summer sun is too much for them.


I hadn't checked for blooms yet, but saw lots of buds and a few blooms when I dug some up.  You don't see them unless you look for them.  They are cute little things.


I hope the Geum, 'Prairie Smoke' gets more blooms than this.  I have another one or two, also, but forgot to check the others.


I tried to do a search to see if this verbena is a wild one.  It was given to me by a friend who lives in the country.  It survived the winter, unlike the 'Homestead' I've planted a few times.  It looks to be spreading more, too.  I grew something like it a long time ago in another garden.  I hope I can keep it under control.


I got this sweet rocket from my friend who gave me the trilium and rudbeckia.  I want to let it bloom, so I hope it makes it after that.
 

Some of the pasque flowers are forming their fuzzy seed heads while still showing some blooms.


The trillium looks like it likes its new spot.  I hope it has enough room.  I'm thinking it dies back in the summer.  If not, it's going to be covered over with helenium, rudbeckia, and coneflowers.


I remember other bloggers referring to trilliums, but didn't know they grew around here.  How cool to have one for my plant collection!


I've loved Virginia bluebells for awhile, and am happy to have had these for a couple years.


 The Rudbeckia,  'Goldquelle' that I got by knocking on a stranger's door and asking for a start is growing.  At some point, it will be taller than the Virginia Waterleaf, which has done well, and not reseeded, as I have kept it deadheaded so it can't produce seeds.


 The Rudbeckia, 'Golden Glow' I got from the friend I saw this weekend is the plant that is a bit wilted on the right side of the photo.  I think it will come out of it.  This dirt will not be showing once the false baptisia and  globe thistle join the rudbeckia in getting tall and filling out.


I included this photo of leadplant in case anyone just planted some last year, and think it may not have survived the winter.  I used to wonder that each spring, too, but now, I just wait until it is ready to start growing again.  Maybe this will be the year I make some tea from it.


I love butter and eggs, but they are far too aggressive for our small property.  These have lived in this tub for 4 or 5 years, now, and do well.  I've had to weed the violets out of them, though.


I let a few violets grow in the vegetable garden and in some pots.


I have some more native and wild plants coming up.  Maybe some will be blooming for the next Wildflower Wednesday.  I think the rabbits are eating the woodland phlox like they did last year.  I saw a bunny today.  It will not be getting into my veggie garden, though! 

I'm going over to Gail's blog to link up.  You can go there to see who else has posts about wild or native plants.

18 comments:

  1. Love these native and wild plants!

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  2. A visit to your garden is always a treat, Sue! You have such a huge variety of plants and it's clear you love them all :)

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  3. Sue, I love that you've preserved some of your mother-in-law's lily of the valley plants. When I see those delicate white flowers, it takes me right back to my childhood.

    Trilliums are at the top of my list when it comes to favorite wild flowers. We are lucky to have a natural area on the side of our house where many of them grow. They are just starting to pop out of the leaves.

    Happy day to you, Sue. donna

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  4. Very nice share Sue, I like what you have for some of these blooms.My neighbor has more of the woodland flowers.

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  5. The last few years have found me trying to incorporate more natives into my landscape. I just finished landscaping around my pond with xeric natives (including a few false baptisias too). I can hardly wait to see how they do. .and very glad that God created beautiful flowers that don't need to be babied! Enjoyed seeing your run-down!

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  6. nice post, I always tell myself to prepare for Wildflower Wednesday, but never seem to prepare in time.

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  7. Sorry, not sure what wildflower really means.
    I always think if it lives in the woods or any unkept place then it's wild.
    Oh, so much to learn.
    Glad to see your garden is so full of life.

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  8. Glad you have some Virginia Bluebell, Sue. I love that plant...I have 3 of them. I just added a Pasque Flower and although I thought I had accidentally eliminated my Lily of the Valley's, I've noticed they are coming up again--after 2 yrs. without seeing more than 1 or 2 tiny plants. There are a bunch of them in an area of the garden I don't even remember planting them;-) Do you know what variety of Trillium you have? I have been learning about Trillium and have acquired several varieties in the last yr or two. That one kind of looks like my Trillium '" but that plant never actually bloomed for me this year. The white flower looks pretty! I have really enjoyed getting to know more about native plants and have found my shady back garden to be a good place for many of them. It's nice to see they do well for you, too. Even the violets;-)---Which I also thought I eliminated (on purpose!)...and, they are back, after 2 yrs without seeing them! I'll let them stay this time. They're natives, right? I just don't like the plants that are really strong-willed and take over my yard. We will probably have to do battle again in the future, but, that's life.

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  9. ...oops, forgot to mention the type of Trillium I was referring to: It's called 'Bent Trillium', or 'Trillium flexipes'. I recognize it by the larger leaves. Ring a bell?!

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  10. You do have quite the collection of wildflowers. Have you ever tried to grow more Pasque flowers from the seeds? I was wondering about keeping someof my seed heads to try them. I love the Bluebells and would like to add some of them in my Woodland garden bed. They would be right at home there.Trilliums are so beautiful with there white blooms.

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  11. You can grow so many of the wonderful prairie plants that some of us dream of!! I try some times and a few times have succeeded, but not with Prairie Smoke! How cool that Trillium grows in your part of the world~I am always glad when you post for Wildflower Wednesday. gail

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  12. You've posted about some of my very favorites, including Lily of the Valley and Trillium. :) You are a couple weeks ahead of me -- mine haven't made an appearance yet. Several other people have posted about Wild Ginger -- I'm definitely intrigued by it! Nice post!

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  13. You have a nice variety of wildflowers and natives, Sue. Much more than I do--I'll have more in the summer than I do know. I had to laugh at you knocking on someone's door to get a start of a Rudbeckia--now that's a dedicated gardener:)

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  14. The lilies are a keeper !
    Thinking about ginger and trilium...should put them on my list.

    Now about Larry...let me talk to him, I'll straighten him out.
    My DH has a handsome baby brother who would love you.
    ...just thinking out load.

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  15. Sue nice post. I too love to receive Pass-A-long plants from friends and relatives. I have sedums from my mother, flags and Black eyed Susan's from my aunt. What type of plants/flowers are butter and eggs?

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  16. Thank you for mentioning the Leadplant. I was wondering what was going on with mine and was hesitating throwing it out. Now I will hold on and be patient.

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  17. Sue thank you for stopping by and describing the appearance of the butter and eggs. They have got to be really pretty being that they resemble snapdragons.

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  18. Pretty soon you'll have to do another header photo. Your place is coming along so nicely Sue. I was catching up and the bike flowr basket is beautiful. I love all the color popping up there. You have been a busy girl. Congrats on the article. Hope you're having a good day.

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I welcome comments and questions from anyone, including those who do it anonymously. Some people find my posts by doing searches, and I like hearing from them. I guess spammers won't even read this message, but I will delete spam as soon as I see it.