Besides the garden flowers, there are wildflowers that bloom in our meadow, since we don't cut the grass and weeds, we just mow some trails. At this time of year it looks bright yellow with Goldenrod, the most common wildflower of August.
There are actually several different species of Goldenrod, but looking across the meadow it just looks yellow! Still lots of Queen Anne's Lace around too.
These are the bright yellow blooms of the tall Elecampane, the wildflower with the largest leaf I know of, about 6-8" wide, and 18" long. We just have a small patch of these where it tends to remain wetter in the spring.
And for the first year our Cup Plant has bloomed. Nearly 6 feet tall, it's out in the meadow, even though I did plant it there among the Goldenrod.
It's known as Cup Plant because the large opposite leaves join across the stem, forming a small cup that holds water.
I also found a Nodding Thistle, a species I haven't seen around here before, and easy to tell among the thistles because it has a single flower that 'nods'.
A lot of thistles are really beautiful if you look at the flowers closely, instead of the spiky leaves!
This is one I don't want in the meadow, the Burdock, but I haven't eradicated it all yet. Even though the small flower is quite pretty, the burs it generates are terrible for the dog.
And this is another I don't really like, even though the blooms are pretty. It's Spotted Knapweed, and has been described as 'the super villain of weeds'. It is highly invasive, and can take over pastures in particular. It's a rough, tough plant, which is hard to walk through as well. But it's certainly spreading around here.
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The goldenrods are particularly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteGreat series. It's interesting that Goldenrod is sold as a nursery plant in Europe.
ReplyDeleteI still hear people blaming Goldenrod for their late-summer allergies ... when it is not from that at all, but from the stealthy green-camoflagued Ragweed which is the culprit for many of us !!
ReplyDeleteA nice display of wildflowers!
ReplyDeletelove too see sunny fields of goldenrod!! And the thistle is beautiful. sadly around here we seem to have a bunch of that wild/poisonous parsnip taking over entire fields!
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Knapweed which is native here doesn't generally cause too much of a problem and is a great source of nectar for many insects. Goldenrod, on the other hand, is grown in gardens as a flower.
ReplyDeletePretty collection of wildflowers. I love the colors of the thistle and goldenrod. Enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteI am very allergic to goldenrod, but I didn't sneeze once looking at the pictures. :-)
ReplyDeleteSpectacular indeed, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat examples of wildflowers that come back and are seeded naturally in a meadow that is not in use. Unfortunately the bad weeds get in there too.
ReplyDeleteNice capture of the wild flowers.
ReplyDeleteI have planted two kinds of goldenrod in the yard... showy and I am blanking on the other.. Great for the pollinators ... Michelle
ReplyDeleteActually most folks are not allergic to goldenrod but instead to other plants that pollinate when they bloom so they mistakenly think it is the goldenrod. Pass that along to DJan in case they need to look into it more, goldenrod is usually not the bad guy, which is good news, but the real culprits are harder to see and eradicate which is the bad news.
ReplyDeleteWonderful! I love thistles, they're fascinating plants.
ReplyDeleteLovely captures! Nature is quite the artist!
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