Late Summer Wildflowers

We had a wonderful drive down to Misty Meadows Market in Conn yesterday, the big new Mennonite-run store where you can buy all the foodstuffs you'd want including piles of fresh vegetables.  We take the backroads, so the drive is as enjoyable as the store!

But before I share that with you I do want to go back and document the late summer (almost early fall) wildflowers around here.  These are the plants that many would call 'weeds' and mow down because they think it looks messy, but they help make my life interesting.  In fact four of the little patches of wildness on my walks have been mowed down this summer, severely limiting my ability to see these plants.  

I do want these plants documented for future reference, but it is a picture heavy post, so just skip over it if you want and come back tomorrow.

We really did have a great time yesterday and I have lots of photos to share.  These Scottish Shorthorns on a farm near our previous home in the valley were very curious and friendly.

It's the Goldenrod that pushed me to write this post.  I've always seen it as the first real plant of fall, and once the fields turn yellow I know that the weeks of cooler temperatures are here and the leaves will begin to turn colour.  Our former back yard meadow was full of it.  It marks August more than any other plant for me.

This is a Mock Strawberry, with both leaves and flowers very similar to Wild Strawberry - except for the bright yellow flowers (and a tiny fruit that is very gritty).

Sweet Peas blooming in a nearby ditch.

Common St. John'swort, often used to treat depression.

This is the only Sweet Clover I've seen this year thanks to the mowing of a couple of patches.  Usuaully it's 4-6 feet tall!

Common Mallow, this one a pale mauve in colour.

Bull Thistle, one of our two common thistles.

Red Clover, a plant said to have a lot of medicinal benefits.

This Spotted Knapweed is definitely one of the prettier flowers among all these, but it's a tough invasice plant too.

Creeping Charlie, often a weed that spread (creeps) across our lawns, but I think this is the first time I've seen one in bloom.

The seedheads of Goat's Beard, like giant dandelion puffs.

Joe-Pye weed, sometimes called Queen of the Meadow, an interesting plant with leaves in whorls around the stem.  Do you ever wonder where these plant names come from?!

Daisy Fleabane, like a daisy but with very fine tiny petals.

Queen Anne's Lace, perhaps the most common August wildflower until the Goldenrods come into bloom, but there is still lots around.

And finally the Chicory, a beautiful blue but a tough 'weed', in bloom now for several weeks, and I think the most beautiful picture among all of these.

Hope at least some of you enjoyed these!