Wildflowers in the Garden
I’ve got to get out and wander the ‘wild’ areas again. My soul needs to reconnect to the nature surrounding me. I’ve been too busy and have neglected one of my favorite pass-times over the last couple years.
I’m going Wildflower Hunting.
It’s time to add another trophy to the garden. I have the mount all set. My ‘bog’ area is waiting for the first emergence of the hibernating Marsh Marigold. It’s easy prey. They’ve established a huge colony nearby and they have no defense against my shovel.
They’re going to like their new home and I’ll be rewarded with some early spring color. I don’t just dig things up. I make sure I provide my wild friends with growing conditions they need. Often their new home is better suited since I attempt to save those that I find growing in borderline conditions.
Sometimes I find something rare (locally) and endangered. This Grass of Parnassus was found on a ‘trail’ through some cedar woods. The seep they were growing in was soon to become part of a tractor path through an area being clear cut. The original colony is now long gone. Those I saved are still doing well over 10 years later. If I had to pick a favorite flower these would be it.
Another ‘save’ was the Bloodroot I took from a hedgerow/brushline that was being cut. The sun exposure they were going to get after the cutting was sure to doom them.
Some wildflowers don’t need saving. Jewelweed will make itself at home. So much so that I’m constantly pulling it out of the bog garden.
Others get a bad rap. I’ll always have room for Goldenrod. I do have to watch it since it does have an aggressive nature. But it’s not the allergy monster many think it is. The blame there goes to Ragweed.
I better stop – this is getting a bit long now. But these are a few of my favorite things
14 Responses
Leave a Comment
Comment Feed
You might want to see my response to the stuff people throw in the box
Subscribe in a reader
February 24th, 2008 at 11:44 am
These are all new to me. I’ve never heard of any of them. I really like the Bloodroot–the leaves are as pretty as the flowers. Also, I’m not familiar with a couple of words–seep, hedgerow, etc. I’ll have to look them up. When I started reading blogs from England and Canada, I had to look up terms like allotment, (knew what the word meant but not in garden terms) lanark, hundredweight, and so on. I’m sure folks must have to look up some of the regional terms I use too! Happy GTS,
Aiyana.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Great post.
I am going to make it a point this year to learn more about the wildflowers in my area. There is a lot of them.
I love that you saved wildflowers from the path of a tractor.
You’re a hero.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Hi Wiseacre,
Thats a cracking bog garden you have got goin on there, not sure about the shady cowboys lurking in the background.
Like you I really like the Grass of Parnassus, very different flowers, well worth saving.
Yes it is ok to keep saying you like my pictures as this tells me I’m on the right course…
Cheers Mark
February 24th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Every spring i go through the question… do i mow all these beautiful wildflowers down and have the nice green lawn, or let them stay through spring….
I’d like to say my love of the wildflowers wins, but i think it’s my laziness that actually saves them…
February 24th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
My jewelweed did not do well last year. I’m hoping masses of it return to the woods this year. I have some goldenrod but none of the others.
February 24th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
I enjoyed this post – light hearted and educational. Those are some subtly lovely wildflowers you have in your area. The other man’s grass is always greener.
Also, you profile shows our common traits – especially the Monty Python reference!
Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier and leaving you comments. I’ll be back for a deeper look when life allows.
BG
February 24th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
The Grass of Parnassus is lovely. the striation in the petals is especially appealing to me.
February 24th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Some of those plants are new to me too but if your in New York we should have some of those plants here in Ontario … we definitely have the Golden Rod, bloodroot and Jewelweed.
I was accidentally growing golden rod in my garden. I left it there because it was pretty but it grew too fast and spread so I removed it. The bumble bees and I think the moths and butterflies loved it.
The Grass of Parnassus is beautiful. How does it grow? Does it reseed itself or spread by root and rhizomes?
I think we have Marsh Marigold but we probably call it something else. How cool that you have a bog nearby. Is it actually on your land?
February 25th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Wow, you hit upon a good topic this go around, didn’t ya Mate.
Tell me, aren’t some wildflowers protected and against the law to dig up?
Like many, I too, plan to get a book and start learning how to ID flowers, sounds like a fun spring/summer/fall exercise. Of course, winter flowers would be my best bet as I’m snowshoeing and/or falling down so much.
As always, thanks for sharing!
February 25th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Canoeing sounds like a great way to see and discover flowers. I’ll bring my snorkel equipment and that should take care of falling out of the canoe.
Now as for driving south — falling out of the car — come on, Luv, I’d have to be bloody drunk to fall out of a moving car and sorry, I don’t drink and drive!! And why would I go south — I love the winter’s in northern NY, why else would I choose to live here!!
Stay cool my friend, stay cool!
February 26th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Thanks for stopping by and making me laugh wiseacre .. if I don’t laugh, all this snow is going to make me CRY !
I love the look of the Bloodroot and have seen the pictures of Double Bloodroot .. awesome !
I have cultivated types of Goldenrod in my garden and I do like them for the Autumn show ..
Your choices are making me so jealous .. you have room to indulge your plant cravings .. I don’t .. DAMN ! .. uh .. DARN ! hahaha
March 3rd, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Hi Wiseacre, I arrived here via your comment at Kerri’s geography post.
It looks like the tractor path construction was beneficial to your garden, at least! I knew Bloodroot, Jewel Weed and goldenrod from Illinois but the Grass of Parnassas is a new one to me, too.
One of my Illinois gardens had a generations-old bottle dump in one corner and each winter’s freeze and thaw cycles brought a harvest of glass to the surface, Although the ground doesn’t freeze in Austin, alternating flood and drought cycles sometimes bring rocks to the surface.
Your wife may not like it, but your lawn would be approved by the garden writer Allen Lacy!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
March 3rd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Wildflower hunting is a passion of mine too. Did you notice those harebells with the yellow lilies in my spring garden pic? Yep, there’s a huge bank of them not far from here and I ‘rescued’ a few of them. They seem to like it here. Aren’t those Marsh Marigolds gorgeous? We have a wonderful expanse of them on the edge of our woods. I’m doing a series of wildflower posts, but it’s slow going. I found some other beauties in those same woods last spring. One of the best things though was hearing the woodpeckers in the trees.
March 3rd, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I think Poke Cherry is also called Pokeweed here. I had trouble identifying the various berries. Do you know a good source for that? I think we also have choke cherry. It’s been a while since I did that research.
So you’re saying my ‘meadowsweet’ is misnamed? I do appreciate corrections because I’m just relying on pics I find on wildflower websites, and sometimes they’re not the best. I have a few wildflower ID books, but still don’t always get the names right.
My e-mail is embedded in my name in the comment so you can reply that way if you like. It’s hard to put all the questions I sometimes have in a comment!
We had glorious sunshine and 50 something temps today. A small taste of spring!