Search This Blog

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Wildflower Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Welcome to my Wildflower Wednesday post, to see what wildflowers are blooming elsewhere, join hostess Gail at Clay and Limestone.

The awesome native Fringecups are blooming, Tellima grandiflora, relatives of Heucheras, except they seed themselves around and require no care or watering-



I'm excited by a new wildflower blooming in my garden, Monarda punctata, Spotted Bee Balm.  It is quite gawdy-

Some other plants I grew from seed last year that are blooming are some Lupines, there are some that come up in stands of purple flowers here and there in vacant fields.   



California native shrub Ceanothus 'Victoria', which experienced severe die-back this last winter-
But part survived to bloom again-



Most successful in self-sowing of some California annuals I tried growing last year, is Limnanthes douglasii, Poached Egg Plant or Meadowfoam, which covers the hills in California-


The dependable PNW native fruiting shrub Salal is blooming, I love the little bell-shaped flowers-


Thimbleberries are also blooming-


Stinging Nettle is also blooming, which has many health benefits as a tea or other preparation, believed by some to benefit hair loss, or some brave souls deliberately hit themselves with the plant to reap benefits from the serotonin and acetylcholine, I can't understand this because getting stung is quite uncomfortable and takes hours to wear off-

Thanks for joining me, I enjoy the native flowers that take care of themselves.   Hannah

©Weeding on the Wild Side, all rights reserved.

15 comments:

  1. You have so many beauties! That Salal is lovely--I also like the bell shape of the flower.
    And the Ceanothus--so pretty, I'm glad it survived to bloom some more!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Tina, I will have to do a good job this year of picking the Salal and Oregon Holly Grape berries. I was sad about the Ceanothus but at least part of it survived, I'm afraid it will be rather lop-sided. Maybe I should cover it some in winter.

      Delete
  2. strange to think of lupins as a wildflower. To me that is a farmer's crop, but they are lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Diana, we may be speaking of different plants with the same common name, or close, I don't think the lupines that grow in the USA are edible.

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You have so many interesting different natives! The poached egg plant really is an eye-catcher; what a lovely way to cover a hillside.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Rose, I have my little patch that has come back 2 years, very thickly, but some I sowed other places didn't do much yet. I am interested in them since they start growing in the fall when a lot of bad weeds also sprout, and they can really blanket the ground and shut them out, but I need to do a better job of spreading them.

      Delete
  5. Hannah, lots of very pretty flowers to look at - the tellima is in bloom in my garden as well. I never had the success you've had with the poached egg plant - so charming in that nice clump. Looks like it would be an excellent weaver with those delicate leaves and stems.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Barbara, the Tellima is kind of more a foliage plant, the flowers are kind of dainty. I really enjoy the poached egg plant, the other wildflowers bloomed last year but didn't seem to reseed. I admire your Virginia Bluebells, I'm trying to grow them but they had a lot of slug damage and didn't bloom this spring. They are well adapted to our wet/dry seasons, though.

      Delete
  6. The color on the lupine is gorgeous. It's so nice to see all the native plants blooming in your garden now. The poached egg is a fun one too, such a sweet combination of white and yellow. I know Salal from the florist uses of it but this is the first I've seen of the blooms.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks, Shirley, I really like the poached egg blooms, the colors and little striations. Once I picked Salal in my mother's woods and sold some to a florist, just to see how that would work out, but a lot of work for not that much money. Both Salal and Oregon Holly Grape have dark purple-black fruits strong in flavor, so when I cook them I usually mix them with some other berries that are milder, like blackberries.

    ReplyDelete
  8. So many lovely flowers. I especially love the poached egg flower. I think I'll try sowing some native wildflowers this fall. My spring sowing didn't do well because of the heatwaves.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Evan, I got annual and perennial wildflower seed mix packets from the Theodore Payne Foundation last year, and grew some annuals and the Lupines under lights, which grew and I planted them outside, and they flowered, but I see no plants this year as self-sown progeny except a California poppy. I also direct sowed the seed mixes in the fall. None of the fall direct-sown ones seemed to come up, I don't know why, so they were a disappointment. I may try again sometime. The Poached Egg plants were sown under lights the previous year, and bloomed, then did manage to self-sow and have returned a couple of years, so they are my big success, with the Lupines.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hannah you have so many lovely and unusual wildflowers!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What pretty flowers, wonderful photos, especially like Ceanothus!

    ReplyDelete