In the late summer, yards and ditches are filled with various types of lilies. Sometimes you notice a field with some lilies and other flowers, which at one time had surrounded a farm house, but has long been abandoned and the house was either torn down or fell down, leaving only a few indicators that something more once stood there.
Lilies in the Summer Sun
Another ‘escapee’ from home gardens is the Deptford Pink, which some consider to be an invasive plant and is found in all but three states of the United States. A native of England, and it gets its name from a town in the south of England, Deptford, in a case of mistaken identity. The plant was given its English name by the 17th century herbalist Thomas Johnson, who found and described the similar Maiden Pink in Deptford in 1633. As the first name given to a plant is generally the one botanists stick to, the town near London is ‘famous’ for a species that has not grown there in historical times, and possibly not at all.
And while Deptford Pink, with tiny blossoms only about a third of an inch across, seems to be thriving in North American (although this year with the raining summer, most of them in my lawn are getting mowed off), the native European wildflower has been rapidly decreasing in Britain, now classified as vulnerable and protected in its natural habitat.
Deptford Pink Who Shouldn’t Be a Deptford
After being grazed off by deer this spring, I was surprised to see any hollyhocks blooming this summer but a few re-sprouted and they are providing a display of pinks and reds blossoms.
Surviving Hollyhocks
Normally you see flowers from the outside and not down inside a blossom like a bee would see as they gather nectar.
Inside the Iris Blossom
A number of mothers will receive flowers from their children today and moms will love us even if we bring them a bouquet of dandelions! Some years we would walk down to the woods and look for wildflowers and there are many varieties open right now, even some bleeding hearts in the yard.
Hearts Full of Love for Moms
Although not native here, the Siberian Squill has become an invasive plant after brought to this country as an ornamental flower. Its very hardy and cold tolerant traits as well as being untouched by voles and deer has allowed it to infest large areas, even if it is a pretty blue flower.
Blue Taking Over
The Glory-of-the-Snow are not a wildflower, but they are ‘wild’ since they escaped about 150 feet from where I originally had them planted and now a cluster of blue is in the woods. It was a pleasant surprise to see when only a few varieties of flowers are open yet but I hope it doesn’t snow on the Glory-of-the-snow.
The ‘Wild’ Glory-of-the-Snow
“On the Fifth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Five Golden Rings.” Since I don’t wear much jewelry, instead of golden rings I would like to see golden flowers like sunflowers. The birds would like more sunflower seeds on this -11ºF morning so it would be better to have rings of yellow petals around the sunflower seed head. The sun even had a ring around it yesterday from the ice crystals in the air so memories of a warmer day is preferred.
Five Yellow Rings
With the temperature getting down to 16 last night, I think the last lonely hollyhock blossom got rather stiff since the pail of water outside had two inches of ice in it. I rather be seeing the first blossom of the year and not the last one.
End of the Blossoms
I wonder if the insects and hummingbirds see something like firework burst when they enter the hollyhock blossom.
Flower Burst
