smooth oxeye

Heliopsis helianthoides, also know as Smooth Oxeye, is flowering in the wildflower patch near the pond.  Smooth Oxeye has a long blooming period, with the first blooms appearing by early July lasting through September.  Goldenrod will flower later, but there are not many yellow blooms now.

bergamot

On June 24 Red Bee Balm Monarda didyma started to show her deep red buds.

On July 3, Red Bee Balm is in full red bloom alongside lavender Wild Bergamot and yellow Smooth Oxeye.  Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa, is a native wildflower with showy summer-blooming pink to lavender flowers. 

Bee Balm and bergamot are all in the Monarda genus of the mint family of plants. Sometimes they are referred to as Horsemint or Oswego Tea.

 

prairie smoke gone to seed

 

We added Prairie Smoke Geum triflorum to the riparian area around the pond last year. They survived the winter, and bloomed mid-May. 

Now each flower has transformed into clusters of feathery, wispy plumes that eventually will spread seeds as they wave in the breeze.

blue flag

 

Northern Blue Flag Iris versicolor has a deep blue to purple flower.  It is also called Harlequin Blueflag.

It grows on lake shores, swamps, pond edges, and wet meadows.

Blue Flag irises occur throughout the USA, in several varieties.  Some plants are located on the south shore of the pond, and are blooming now.

ox-eye daisy - invasive

 

Ox-eye Daisy Leuceanthemum vulgare is a perennial herbaceous species with a creeping root system. 

This daisy is not native to Minnesota, but imported as an pretty ornamental flower. 

It turned out to be an aggressive invasive species. Once established, it can spread rapidly by means of roots and seeds, and block sunshine for other native wildflowers.

prairie smoke

 

Prairie Smoke is flowering now.  Geum triflorum is an early bloomer; fertilized flowers are later followed by distinctive silvery-pink fluffy fruits with wispy seedheads or 'plumes' densely covered in fine hairs, making them resemble downy bird feathers or wisps of mauve smoke blowing in the wind.  

This native wildflower is also called Old Man's Beard, Old Man’s Whiskers, Purple Avens, Long-Plumed Avens, and Three-Flowered Avens, or Torchflower.

goldenrod and asters

vivipary = seed heads sprouting

This wildflower was finished blooming and was forming seeds. But its seed head sprouted green leaves!  Fascinated, I looked closer.  Some of new seeds were actually germinating and sprouting while still in the seed head. Usually, they wait until they are in the perfect place (soil, moisture, temperature, sunlight) to begin new growth.  Sometimes you see this while seeds are still inside the fruit, like a tomato or green pepper.  In plants, it is called vivipary (Latin for 'live birth') and involves seeds germinating before their determined time.  I first learned about this a few years ago when my grandson sent me a photo of a sunflower seed head that was doing the same thing.

senna

Wild Senna Cassia hebecarpa or Senna hebecarpa grows in the riparian area around our pond. The seeds may be eaten by wild turkeys, wandering through, and the flowers attract bumblebees who are looking for pollen. The plant also has "extra-floral nectaries" which are a nectar source separate from the flowers; they are adjacent to flower buds on the stems. Read more at 

https://xerces.org/blog/plants-for-pollinators-wild-senna.

blue lobelia and goldenrod

 

August wildflowers

In the middle of August, the birds that nested here near the pond are busy teaching their young to hunt. Or maybe they are hiding while they molt into new fresh feathers.  

Meanwhile, the late blooming native plants have grown tall and display their splendid blossoms.  

Ironweed Veronia fasciculata blooms purple and Swamp Milkweed Asclepias incarnata grows next to the pond.  They both attract pollinators, including bees and butterflies.

culver's root

Culver's Root Veronicastrum virginicum is found growing in wetlands and wet prairies.

The individual flowers are comprised of four fused petals up to a half an inch long. A main spike at the top of the plant is surrounded by several other spikes of flowers. The flowers bloom from the bottom of the spike up.  Culver's Root is not bothered much by leaf-chewing insects or mammalian herbivores. The seeds are too tiny to be of much interest to birds.  However, many varieties of insects visit the flowers to collect pollen or drink nectar. 

(above left)  Culver's Root just before it blooms.

(above right) A Black Wasp drinks nectar from the flowers while hunting for prey items; their bodies are covered in fine hairs that also collect pollen.

(below) A Bumble Bee with bulging pollen pockets stops for just a few more from this blooming Culvers Root.

smooth penstemon

Foxglove Beardtongue, Penstemon digitalis (also called Smooth Penstemon) has white flowers that bloom for a month or longer.

The tubular flowers attract long-tongued bees such as bumblebees and mason bees, as well as hummingbirds. This is one of the plants we are trying to encourage in the riparian area around the pond. 

Good for pollinators!

iris

 

Northern Blue Flag 

Iris versicolor, is blooming 

again near the pond.

This year each plant seems stronger and more colorful with the background of grass green.

These grow near the green/white striped leaves of Sweet Flag (Acorus).

trees

 
Flowers on Willow tree (above) and new cones on Tamarack tree (left).

wildflowers blooming

 

pussytoes 6-1

Pussytoes Antennaria neglecta spreads as a groundcover, with basal leaves surviving through winter close to the ground.

In springtime, flowers emerge on tall stalks and look like toes on kittens. 

The lower surface of each basal leaf is silvery white with dense matted hairs; the upper surface is gray-green and woolly. In summer, the old basal leaves shrivel up and disintegrate, leaving the short plant and root to hide in the surrounding vegetation until next Spring.

early purple ivy blooms

These lovely purple flowers are loved by bees. The early blooms help feed insects before a lot of other flowers open. This 'ground ivy' has a long history of medicinal use. It is usually evergreen throughout winter if covered by snow. Part of the mint family of plants, it is also aromatic.  

Some lawn owners know it as a pest, and call it 
creeping charlie, gill-over-the-ground, alehoof, 
tunhoof, catsfoot, field balm, or run-away-robin.
I admire the shape and texture of the leaves, and 
used them in a botanical design project.

nectar and pollen

Before June, dandelion flowers are one of a few important food source for pollinators, providing both nectar and pollen for bumblebees and honey bees. Other various insects like beetles, hoverflies and butterflies use the nectar as food. Some birds eat the seeds. 

strong stem

The strong stiff stems of Ironweed are known for proudly holding flowers, pollen, and nectar above the other native plants. Butterflies, bees, and other insects find Vernonia fasciculate, ‘Prairie' or ‘Common' Ironweed plants, a source of nourishment.  This plant also helps filter water that percolates back into the soil. That means less toxins in water that recharges the groundwater aquifers.

Ironweed is one of a few host plants for American Painted Lady butterfly. ‘Host plants’ are those that the butterfly lives on, lays eggs on, and their larvae are sustained by.

See also the post on 8-21-2020