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.

canada milkvetch

 

Seed pods of Canada Milkvetch are beginning to dry enough to spill the tiny seeds.  In the background is the ubiquitous white asters that grow everywhere among native wildflowers at this time of the year.

song sparrow feederwatch

 

Song Sparrows Melospiza melodia live year around in the area around this pond, hiding their nests in grasses, weeds, or small trees. 

Song Sparrows flit through dense, vegetation or low branches, staying low and forage secretively.  They eat insects in the summer; in winter they switch to seeds and fruit they glean from standing plants.  

They will also visit bird feeders.  I notice them especially on 'count days' for FeederWatch.

seed harvest

 

Birds are already pecking out the sunflower seeds (top) and goldenrod flowers are releasing each seed with pappus, a tuft of hair that helps it disperse in breezes (bottom).

evening primrose

The flowers of Evening Primrose Oenothera biennis close in the daytime when sunlight would heat them, and open later when dusk falls.

This plant is food for several butterfly and moth species larvae.

The seed pods that form along the stem are an interesting shape and structure, especially when dried.

Oenothera species are 'roadside' plants -- they grow well in disturbed soil like along railways, roads, and waste areas.

velvetleaf

Many plants, which bloom and fruit in the warm growing season, stand bravely throughout the winter to ensure its seeds are fully distributed.  This fruit capsule opened as it dried out in Autumn, and seeds have been coaxed out by the breeze.  Now, it stands despite snow and hoarfrost.

Velvetleaf Abutilon theophrasti blooms in late summer with orange-yellow flowers on stems and leaves that really look and feel like they are cloaked in velvet. There were a few growing in the riparian buffer around the pond, but we pulled them because this plant is not native.  It can form dense monocultures in place of native plants, suck large quantities of water and nutrients from the soil, and can inhibit germination of other plants.

This in one of the plants that probably spreads from nearby crop fields, and that we try to keep out of the pond area.

seed heads

 

I have been wandering the riparian buffer and clipping some of the wildflower seed heads to distribute them around the pond. Some native wildflowers exist here already, and we want to spread desirable plants throughout the buffer. 

The clipping process is "a few for spreading to make new plants, most left for the birds." 

Even after the seeds are gone, the structure of the plant is interesting!

bur marigold

Even while fading and going to seed, the Bur Marigolds Bidens cernua nod as their seed load gets heavier.  They are called 'Nodding Bur Marigold' for good reason.  That makes them sound benign but their middle name 'bur' refers to the hard angled seeds with 4 barbed hooks that give them a free ride on passing animals or people to where they might sprout anew.

protecting native plants

You might see me pulling weeds, snipping tree sprouts, or clipping seed heads in the riparian buffer surrounding our pond.  This is necessary to protect the pollinators, birds, and critters that depend on the native plants and the clean water in the pond.  Fortunately, we have a wonderful variety of native wildflowers close to the pond that have been thriving and propagating for several years.

Unfortunately, the builder brought in soil during the last 12 months to finish the area beyond the native plantings. That soil contained a plentiful seed bank of invasive or harmful species. We now have a bothersome crop of knapweed, velvetleaf (shown above), mustard, ragweed, lambs quarter, crabgrass, dock, amaranth, spurge, and thistles surrounding the pond.  They are competing with the desirable native plants like milkweed, aster, lobelia, boneset, chamomile, clover, daisy, echinacea, golden alexander, meadow rue, bee balm, penstemon, ironweed, mountain mint, vervain, silene, sunflower, and others. 

To protect them, you will see me pulling, snipping, and clipping.

swamp milkweed blooming

Last summer, a few Milkweed plants were blooming on the wetland surrounding the pond.

This is Swamp
Milkweed Asclepias incarnata; it thrives in wet soil, and we encourage it here for the pollinators who thrive on the flowers' nectar.

It usually blooms pink, on two foot tall stems. There are some white blooms also.

This fall, we will try to coax the seeds of these plants to sprout new plants for more blooms in future seasons.

full bloom thistle

The Musk Thistle Carduus nutans I've been watching since May is now blooming.  The plant is more than 5 feet tall and branched out regally to stand above the other flowers near it.
Several blooms, each opening in their own time, reveal deep magenta color at first.  (See 6/7/2020 and 6/17/2020.) Then, as the flower head ripens, it seems pale lavender. The plant flowers over a seven- to nine-week period, and begins to disseminate seed about two weeks after it first blooms. 
Note: This is a non-native invasive plant that can compete with native wildflowers, so we will try to control the seeds.

alfalfa

Alfalfa Medicago sativa is another forage crop grown around the world. But it escaped and now commonly sprouts along roads and degraded or disturbed areas.  Also called lucerne or purple medic, Alfalfa adds its deep purple blooms to the wildflower palette around the pond.  Known for the remarkable productivity and quality of its herbage, the plant is also valued in soil improvement and is grown as a green manure.  We are glad it is present here to add its color and value to the pond area.

thistle

We have been watching this thistle plant, while removing the other "field" thistles from the wetland area.  Probably 'Musk Thistle' Carduus nutans, or ‘Plumeless Thistle’ Carduus acanthoides, the seed germinated last summer.  It over wintered as a rosette protected by leaf litter and a cover of snow.

We noticed this rosette among the ground clutter after the snow melted.  Through May, it resumed vegetative growth.  It is growing tall now, and branching out to produce numerous large flower heads.
This particular plant is just a lot of green now, hiding among more green.

But when it finally blossoms, you will not be able to miss the deep purple magenta flowers!

After blooming and setting seed the whole plant will die, thereby completing the life cycle.
But this plant can produce 120,000 seeds that could germinate this season and form little rosettes to wait out winter.  Rather than allow this species to spread and become a nuisance in the pond area, DNR recommends control before flowering.  We will enjoy the beginning of flowering and try to cut off development of any seeds.

early meadow rue

Early Meadow Rue Thalictrum dioicum is also called Quicksilver Weed.  The small flowers will open into fuzzy clusters.  The foliage is a pleasing blue-green color.  This specimen is coming up among other plants hiding beneath the young trees.  Early Meadow Rue often likes moist partly shaded areas, so this one will thrive in the position it has chosen near the pond. 

I believe that plants actually move to where they can optimally survive.  If a seed falls in suitable habitat for the plant to thrive and reproduce, then it does so.  If the seed falls in a less-than-perfect place, then it withers. This way, plants move from generation to generation, even as the climate changes.

pussywillow bloom

Yellow Goats Beard

The seed head of the Yellow Goats Beard Tragopogon dubius is a fluffy ball 3-1/2 inches across. The elongated seeds stand stiffly forming a ball.  Each seed has brown hairs at the top forming a tiny 'umbrella' plume; when ripe, the seeds release at the bottom and breezes help the plume carry them to next season's growing site.  This is one of Mother Nature's methods for seed dispersal.

Yellow Goats Beard blossom