Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Taking Liberties with Wildflower Wednesday

It's October, so some foliage and spent blooms made it into the post for this month's wildflower Wednesday, hosted by Gail, blogger at Clay and Limestone the fourth Wednesday of the month.

A few of the plants, such as this Black-eyed susan, have some new blooms joining the seedheads.


The New England asters are almost finished blooming, but I'm glad there is still some color.


Mexican hats have a nice long bloom time.  The Little bluestem plants, such as the one on the right, are looking pretty for fall.


The Riddell's goldenrod still has color.


Someone online told me that deadheading Gray-head coneflowers does not cause them to bloom more.  I did not deadhead the ones in the front here, but can you see the yellow in the background?  I did deadhead those, I think, in late August or early September, and they are still blooming.


The birds have been enjoying the coneflower seeds.  I think the blooms here are a kind of Boltonia.


I know I show Short toothed mountain mint a lot, but please bear with me, because it is one of my favorites.


I am glad I planted several more Amsonia hubrichtii plants around the yard, and am enjoying them as they begin to put on their fall colors.


Poppy mallows are fun ground cover plants that spread around, but do not root where the stems land.


I love Rattlesnake master!  (The buds in the background on the right are Illinois bundleflower.)


Joe-pye weed is looking quite fluffy.


Illinois bundleflower seed heads and leaves look very pretty to me.  I've mentioned this is the first season I've grown them.


You can see the seeds now.


The Wild quinine are looking kind of lacy to me.  This is another favorite plant of mine and the bees.


I'm not sure what kind of pollinator this is on the Grayhead coneflower bloom.


The Sweet black-eyed susans are pretty much finished blooming, but there are a few left.  That's a spent Liatris pycnostachya 'Eureka' lying down behind the susan.  The 'Eureka' was written by hand on the tag when I got it, and I hadn't noticed that, so I thought it was the native kind.  That's happened before with other kinds of plants, too.



The Beautyberries are showing off their color.


This Wild senna plant is showing off some pretty foliage and beautiful brown seed pods.  The Grayhead coneflowers are the blooms on the left.


I may have harvested these seeds from the Cup plant after taking this photo.  I didn't let it go to seed last year, but decided to be brave and hope they don't seed too far and wide next year.  Birds, you better be eating them!


I hope you are able to be outdoors some this fall, wherever you live.  I know some of you are in one of your favorite times of year, when the temperatures aren't so hot.  I also hope you have a number of plants that are native to your area, along with pollinators to enjoy as they enjoy the blooms.

15 comments:

  1. I always enjoy visiting your blog. Autumn is such a lovely time of the year.
    Happy Wildflower Wednesday!
    Lea

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  2. You have so much going on in your garden still! Lot's quieter here. I'm doing lots of cutting back at this point.

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  3. You have such a lovely busy garden. There's always something to draw attention. The birds and pollinators must consider it a garden buffet for sure. Your pictures bring out the best of the garden and the commentary of each one is definitely a learning experience for this un knowledgeable flower guy. Thanks for always giving us an entertaining as well as informational post of your garden. ***** Have a great fall garden enjoyment day.

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  4. You have such a wide assortment of natives that I never read about on any other blog. The seedheads on the Illinois bundleflower are the coolest thing!

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  5. I just love the Illinois Bundleflower...I'm so glad people are growing it in their gardens now...you never used to see it anywhere by along roadsides!

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  6. Wow Sue, your bloom seed heads and fall colors are wonderful! You have so many interesting things that you grow in your gardens.

    It is STILL hot and humid down here. I am so ready for cooler temps and we need rain too.

    Happy Autumn to you ~ FlowerLady

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  7. I'm with Scott, I love Illinois Bundle Flower~The seed head is also wonderful. Sue, your garden looks delightful and has a lot more bloom than mine does right now! Happy WW! gail

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  8. You have so many plants I've never heard of! What an amazing show of colors and textures!

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  9. I love the seedheads on the Illinois bundleflower! This is a plant I'd never heard of before you started showing it on your posts this year, Sue. I am definitely going to have to check this one out!

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  10. Hi Sue,
    The Wild Quinine and Mountain Mint are especially beautiful this time of year. I'm always amazed at how many kinds of flowers you have. I hope you're enjoying the cooler weather.
    Sally

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  11. Beautiful garden and flowers :)

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  12. Your corner is beautiful in its fading glory with all those seed heads and yellow blooms for the birds and pollinators. My garden is one of those in a hotter climate that is just peaking. It's different timing but we will be posting seedheads and faded flowers in a few weeks.

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  13. Your many native plants are such a treat to see. I once tried to grow Illinois Bundleflower unsuccessfully. Pycnanthemum and Wild Quinine are on my list to try this next year, so I hope they will grow for me. But you are right, the natives from your own area always have an advantage.

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  14. Don't you just love that amsonia in the fall? We finally had some frost, and that's when it really starts to turn golden. I've been seeing more and more of that mountain mint, I think I might need to find a spot for it.

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  15. That Illinois Bundleflower is pretty special! I remember seeing it on your blog earlier in the summer. Rattlesnake Master is fun too, isn't it? I can see why you're a fan of the Mountain Mint, and the pollinators love it! What are your thoughts about Boltonia? I planted some Boltonia seeds the other day and am curious to see how they fare next spring/summer. My understanding is that the butterflies love it like they do the Asters?

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