At the beginning of August, before the summer drought sunk its ragged, unclipped talons deep into the soil, flowers on the taller-than-me stalks of Silphium perfoliatum started to open. The cup plant gets its common name from the way pairs of leaves join at the base, enveloping the stalk to create a cup. The daisy-like […]
Tag: native perennials
Flower Friday – Canada Mayapple
Colonies of Canada Mayapple – Podophyllum peltatum – can be found in the woods across the eastern part of North America, from Ontario and Quebec down to north Texas. They spread both by seed and by underground rhizomes, and I’m lucky enough to have a few small colonies on my property. The low, wide leaves […]
Truly Drought Tolerant
This morning, it’s raining…YAAY!!! We’ve been without for about six or seven weeks so I’m really happy that trees and shrubs, in particular, will be able to drink up before frost arrives and the ground freezes, usually sometime this month. As you can imagine, without rain or supplemental watering most of the garden has been […]
A Yellow Time of Year
My yard will be awash in yellow for the next few weeks, surpassing May, with its scores of daffodils, and even June, before its thousands of dandelions turn to fluff. It’s the season for goldenrod, now starting to bloom around the yard edges and in every unmowed ditch or corner, and more ostentatious yet, a […]
A Few Fading (cone)Flowers
Echinacea do not go gentle into that good night.They fade, thinking perhaps their petals are tree leaves. Maples? Oaks? Shades of pink, orange, tired looking old looking purple…before crinkly brittle brown edges appear, spread, engulf…fall.