WiseAcre Gardens

Hawkweed - Vetch

 Today’s special is two for one.

Devil’s Paintbrush - Orange Hawkweed

Hieracium aurantiacum

 I love the name Devil’s Paintbrush. Makes me want to go paint the town red.

 My lawn should be filled with these but the mad mower has been busy. But they can be seen almost everywhere you go in the area.

Both the Hawkweeds and the Vetch were found along the Backwoods Road in the Town of Colton.

Yellow Hawkweed

Hieracium pratense

 King Devil

The second double is Vetch.

Crown Vetch 

 Coronilla varia

It took this photo to make me see thru this ‘flower’. Note how you can look through the center. It’s really an umbrel of multiple flowers.

Cow Vetch

Vicia cracca

Vetches are members of the pea family and are legumes. Once used as cattle fodder these plants are common alien wildflowers that have made most fields their home. If you ever tried to weed Vetch out of a garden you’ll know just how persistant it can be. It keeps comming back if you leave any root at all and it’s almost impossible to get all the root. But if you don’t keep yanking it out it will soon create a tangled colony that will claim independence.
 

It might be alien but these moths don’t seem to mind.
 

 A couple of May wildflowers revisited

Wild Strawberries

 How about a wild strawberry fly? Well that’s all you’re going to get. I’m eating the berries myself.
 Was it over a month already? Back on May 16 I found wild strawberries in bloom. Today I found the Strawberries only a day or two away from being at their peak ripeness. They were pretty sweet already but not yet drooling ripe.

Too bad they’re so small - no wonder these strawberries need a short cake. Not that any would ever make it home. The best container to use when picking is my mouth.

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 Red Baneberry

 It’s been just over a month since the Red Baneberry was in full bloom. While some berries are still green others are close to being ripe. Both of these berry clusters are from the same spot but different plants.

And well not actually roadside they are only a few feet off my driveway. (You didn’t think I’d drive back to the spot the flower photos were taken with the price of gas these days - did you?)

Golden Alexanders

Zizia aurea

 I spotted the Golden Alexanders for the first time this season. They’re blooming at the same time as the Wintercress so spotting them is a little tough if you want to keep your eyes on the road at 60 mph.

 The alexanders are not as plentiful since they prefer wetter ground than the Wintercress but can easily be found in roadside ditches. It’s a member of the Parsley Family but no one seems willing to say it’s edible.

 Slow down a little and you’ll see the difference between the flowers of both species. You’ll notice the Golden Alexanders’ flowers are set in umbrels just before you end up in the ditch.

  MINE! MINE! ALL MINE!

 An Alien Wildflower Identified as Taraxacum officinale met an untimely death today in a motor vehicle accident involving a hit and run driver. When caught the driver stated that the dandelion was headed for greener pastures and had to swerve in order to hit it. It was determined a case of self defense and no charges were made. Local lawn enthusiasts hailed the drivers quick reaction noting Taraxacum officinale moves at incredible speed.

The body was left in place as a warning to any others thinking of sneaking into the lawn.