Passionate Purple

I had planned to head out to the garden to piddle, but instead I sat down to import images from my camera. Wow, I opened the first image of Dalea purpera. An outstanding landscape form from a native Kansas plant. Check these images out and go get some!

Dalea purperea-Purple Praire Clover with Nasella tenuissima and Perovskia atriplicifolia

 Petals appear from the bottom first.

 With Achillea millefolium 'Terra Cotta'

 Grouped with Nasella tenuissama

Natives gone wild?

Fine Foliage

Mighty fine! That's my usual words when I stub my toe or mash my finger. No this review is not of my vocabulary but the show of foliage texture in the garden. The day after Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, Pam at Digging hosts a foliage followup meme. This month along with the grand show of flowers we see an equal showing by foliage texture. Above we see Rhus thyphina 'Bailtiger', Tiger Eyes Sumac intertwined with the spring blooms. Also in the background Cedrus atlantica, Blue Atlas Cedar.

Helichrysum italicum, Ornamental curry contrasts with Iris siberica 'caesars brothers' seed heads and foilage, along with the before mentioned Cedrus.

 Nearby the Foeniculum vulgare, Bronze Fennel provides some foreground texure.

Triple play of Ascelpias incarnata, swamp milkweed, Rhus, and Panicum virgatum 'Dallas Blues'

Baptisia australis,False Blue Indigo, contrasting with Amsonia hubrichtii and Limun perenne.

 Dalea purpurea, purple prairie clover with Nasella tenuisima, Mexican feather grass.

In closure Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea', Golden Pennywort with Festuca, Blue Fesce, Perilla frutescens var. crispa

Bloom Day June 2013

After a cool spring with normal rainfall coming at needed times, this June has been spectacular for the health of the garden. I'm sure this week of extended temperatures and warm harvest winds will take a toll on the the looks of the garden. But lets be positive shan't we. Wow, loved this spring.
As always Carol with May Dream Gardens is hosting this monthly bloom day meme.

 Broad view of hell strip along street. Achillea 'Coronation Gold', Salvia farinacea, Echinacea purpurea, Delphinium carolinianum, Veronia altissima, and Nepeta 'Walkers Low'.

 Corner Hell Stip with Nasella tenuisima, Ascelpias tuberosa, Festuca, Echinacea pupurea, Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster', Alchillea m.'Terra Cotta', and Gallardia.

And of course one of my favorites every year Verbascum thapsus, common Mullien.

Natif Princesse

Delphinium carolinianum - Prairie Larkspur

This post title is written in French meaning Native Princess. To me this plant which was recovered from a vacant industrial plot has cast a magical spell on me. Maybe it's because of limiited success with Delphiniums, which have always died under my hands. Maybe because it seduces me with her spring beauty only to fade away for  6 months and reappear the following spring.  Whatever it is, this prairie plant is my favorite this spring. Enjoy.

Wildflower Wednesday May 2012

 The third Wednesday of the month brings us the Wildflower Wednesday meme. Gail at Clay and Limestone shares this day on her blogsite. Go there and share you natives with others who strive to bring more natives into our gardens.

 Callirhoe alcaeoides - Pale Poppy Mallow. I scavenged these beauties above in  a vacant industrial lot next to my work, a former Kansas prairie. Initially they were just a small rosette such as the photo below.

 Rhus typhina 'Bailtiger'-Tiger Eyes Sumac. This variety was originally found as a mutation in a cultivated nursery from R. typhina ‘Laciniata’. Although not native to Kansas this variety grows under the same growing conditions as the native varieties seen throughout our native areas. This plant was added to my hell strip last fall.

 Rumex crispus  L-Curly Dock. Ok, most people would classify it as a weed. (especially one of my neighbors), its the tall plant in the back ground. I wrestling with this one because it really likes this fertile area and has reached 5'. My original reasoning was to use the maroon seed heads as winter interest against the tawny foliage of the tall switchgrass.One probably would have done the trick, but like a glutton I dug three. ha. Found in the same lot.

Future gladness. Present gladness. Delphinium carolinianum  Walt.  subsp. virescens  (Nutt. ) Brooks-Prairie Larkspur. I wrote a blog post about this one last spring. Recovery and Recovery II. And yes I will try to recover some seed. Can't wait for this one to flower. And last but not least....the Milkweed!

Ascelpias incarnta-Swamp Milkweed

A Pink Bloom Day-May 2013

 Spring has finally arrived fully in this part of the flint hills of Kansas . After many days of ice, cold rain, snow and cool windy conditions recently, it has been unusual to actually see some warm weather. Pinks and blues are predominate in the garden. Also this spring brings a few new trial plants to the native praire garden which I'll discuss or cuss in future posts.

 Rock Soapwort-Saponaria ocymoides stands out below on the corner hell strip. I first noticed Soapwort when I lived in Colorado Springs and spottied it trailing over a retaining wall near Garden of the Gods. Originally this plant was started from seed and this is it's third spring. As you can see part of the plant never reaches the street as many people rub it off when they turn too sharp (free pruning). The blue blooms belong to Salvia x sylvestris 'Rapsody in Blue'. The light pink bloom belongs to Fragrant Persian Stonecress-Aethionema schistosum. This plant was started over three years ago from a 2" pot purchased from High Country Gardens (which I was happy to see regrouping and open once again).

 In part of the cottage garden Salvia nemorosa(?) blooms with Candytuft-Iberis sepervirens and is bordered by Achillea foilage, Stachys b. Lambs Ear, aand Artemisia (Powis Castle).

Image below: Salvia 'Rapsody in Blue', and Persian Stonecress-Aethionema schistosum with Mexican Feathergrass-Nasella tenuissima.

Closing with Iris siberica 'Caesar's Brother'

Around the Watering Hole

I'm having a hard time getting these images posted on Blogger, not sure why. I've been trying to capture these birds on my camera all spring and winter. The populations of migrating songbirds have been plentiful. I've been going through about 20 pounds of black sunflower seed a week, and the Hackberry tree has been full of these Cedar Waxwings which are gorging on the berries and then flying to the water tank.  Our newly painted metal lawn chairs which are baby blue are now striped with purple stains from above.

Let's Rock!