Tuesday, August 18, 2015

'Tall Yellow Flowers'

Frustrated birders refer to those small unidentified sparrows that flit through the bushes as 'Little Brown Jobbies'.  I refer to the large number of confusing varieties of flowers that form the backbone of our garden at this time of year as 'Tall Yellow Flowers'.


Every year I try to sort these flowers out as best I can, and each year I think the different ones we have become a little clearer to me (while in places they spread and take over the garden)!  This year I've pondered the internet again and tried to sort out the species we have.

The first ones are the tallest, and I've decided that they are Cut-leaved Coneflowers, Rudbeckia laciniata.  They are huge, 3 large patches of them at the back of the garden, nearly 8 feet tall, and in clumps 4 feet wide.  They reach far above the decorative fence I built at the back of the garden.

The second group we have around is the Grey-headed Coneflower, Ratibida pinnata.  It's almost as tall, but has a brown flower head rather than a green one, and much thinner, lacier leaves.

It also self-seeds ferociously, planting itself all around the garden if you let it.  I thought I had got rid of it this year, but here's one of the surreptitious plants, bursting into bloom above the fence.

The first year it invaded, I dug them all up and transplanted them to two back corners of the meadow.  Now it's self-seeding out there, among the much shorter Goldenrod, towering above everything else with its bright yellow blooms.

We've got some nice Brown-eyed Susans too, Rudbeckia hirta.  They are in full bloom now, but they do tend to stay confined and spread a little without self-seeding far.

They form a really nice patch, and are only about 2 feet tall.  These ones are right outside the back door by the patio.

And then we have the False Sunflowers, Heliopsis helianthoides.  These ones are just about over now, and have been blooming for about a month.  They're about 3-4 feet tall, and they do spread, taking over corners that get larger each year.

You can see them on the far left and far right of this picture, showing our main flower garden.  The two Coneflowers described above are the tall still-green plants at the back, about 3 weeks ago.

I know you don't care about Latin names, nor do I really, but I'm satisfied I finally know what the four different 'Tall Yellow Flower' species that we have are.


20 comments:

  1. A wonderful set of photos, thank for sharing!

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  2. I love all yellow flowers! I enjoyed seeing the Latin names they are important just like our first and last names it says who we are. Your gardens are lovely! :)

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  3. Oh I love gardens like yours!! The flowers are all beautiful.

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  4. I like that last photo. What a beautiful flower garden you have!!

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  5. I call all the unknown yellow flowers "UYF" for "unidentified yellow flowers." Whatever those flowers are, you captured them beautifully.

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  6. By golly, a gardener wants to know what is in theri space. Lovely shots and garden space.

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  7. You have a super flower garden. I have the same problem with some flower names; I always know what they are when I put them in but over the years I forget.

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  8. Golden Rod is a desirable garden flower in Europe, purchased at garden centres.

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  9. My kind of garden, sprinkled with just about everything. Kept beautifully with just a slight wild feeling, it's perfect!!

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  10. Nice! We identify wildflowers when we're on our hikes, and sometimes we resort to LWF or LYF to define them (little white flowers or little yellow flowers). You went to a lot of work to get these identified, and I think it's wonderful that you transplanted those coneflowers. :-)

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  11. You have done a great job of sorting out some very similar flowers. Maybe I should send you a photo of one of mine that has me puzzled!!

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  12. Glorious colours in your garden and meadows!

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  13. Haha you are so patient and persistent in sorting those "tall yellow flower". To be honest, I'd settle in calling them that :)

    Your garden is very beautiful. Nest & cheerful!

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  14. Hi There, We are on our way to the Tetons and Yellowstone... We're in Wyoming now. What a gorgeous state... You'll have to check my FB posts for some pictures so far.

    We've seen lots of different yellow flowers along our way across country... Yours are gorgeous...

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  15. All all very pretty to . Lovely gardens and photos . The brown centered flowers also look like what is commonly known as tiger eye flowers ! Thanks for sharing , Glad you figured out what they were . Have a good evening ! P.S Love the fence to !

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  16. your garden is my dream!!! I wish I had so much space, I'd have all the tall yellow flowers! ha.
    right now my much smaller one is also bursting with Brown Eyed Susan's. And the phlox is towering behind them. I planted another variety this year just to see what it would look like mixed in - a Marguerite Daisy - and it is lovely with them. But, it seems I got the pink variety instead of the yellow bloom and yellow centred one! opps. well, a pop of bright colour is not really a bad thing. :)

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  17. It's interesting to see all the varieties that you have. I am so jealous of the space you have to grow flowers. This is truly a labor of love and creativity.

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  18. Beautiful photos, and enjoy your writing. Didn't know this was so amazing. Learning Flower names in Hindi and English with pictures are very interesting.

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