Meadow Wildflowers

New wildflowers have been popping open in the meadow quickly the past week or two.  Hot and sunny, it really feels like the middle of summer now; it's actually warm enough we could sit outside until late in the evening yesterday when a lot of family were here.

There's a patch of the real Brown-eyed Susans in one corner.

And lots of Queen Anne's Lace, named after Queen Anne of England, who ruled from 1702 - 1714.   My favourite view is from underneath.

We're glad to see quite a lot of Milkweed, and hoping for lots of Monarchs to come.

I even let a few Mullein grow in the garden if they get started there, but there are more in the meadow.

And the unusual Viper's Bugloss or Blueweed (an appropriate name!), which seems to prefer dry gravelly sites.

There's a fair bit of Goat's Beard, opening in the sun, and soon leaving behind these complex seedheads, like giant Dandelions, which blow away in a puff of wind.

Some of my favourites are the ones that produce burs, because we're far more likely to notice the burs in the fall than the flowers now.  This is the tiny Agrimony, which produces those little triangular burs already forming on the right here.  They'll cover my sox later on.

And this is the Rough Avens bloom, which you rarely notice - very small and it rarely lasts long.

But it eventually produces thousands of tiny singular burs from this round seedhead.  The short straight green bits on the end of each brown spike curl up as it dries, and form tiny hooks.  The bur disintegrates as you brush against it and each seed clings to your pants with its hook.

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