Fireweed--that plant which traditionally takes over in waste areas.
I beleive this is a stand of wild larkspur. I didn't wade through the knee high vegetation to view it close up. I tried the zoom on the new camera but it didn't magnify as much as I expected.
This is obviously a member of the umbelliferae family, although I don't know which name to give it. It resembles the angelica I've seen in the Maritimes, but could be a sturdy water parsnip. I need to unearth my wildflower book and see if I can be more positive.
A clump of lupin.
These asters are very like the New England asters which cover roadsides and wild areas on the east coast and westward into Ohio. The color was actually a deeper lavender than shows in the photo.
This was a bit of a tended area near a lake in Yellowstone National Park. There was a paved parking lot as it is apparently a popular turn-out for tourists. The prime season for the mountain wildflowers is past. They are at their prettiest in mid July. Many of the plants are recognizable as forms of those found in New England. I've noticed that plants which would bloom in succession over the longer spring and summer season there, bloom here mostly at the same time. The cold mountain nights and the short summer at high altitudes brings the various plants into a rush of blossoms, acres of color. One of the lovliest is the wild cranesbill in varied shades of pink and magenta. They had mostly gone to seed and I didn't photograph the beaky little pods. Stands of goldenrod echoed the bright sunshine and there were a few sprawling bushes of wild roses along the tracks, dusty and crinkled, but so sweet. Their scent was a joy.
I am always surprised at how much in common our two countries have ref. wild flowers. We don't have wild lupins, or indeed wild larkspur or asters (those are "cottage garden" plants here), but we have masses of umbelliferae and different cranesbills. I have taken SO many photos of wild flowers this summer, but will just keep the one blog going now - it is going to take forever to load up all the old links etc on it as it is.
ReplyDeleteMorning! I love wildflowers and my favorite is Butterfly Weed which usually blooms in July and August. I haven't seen any in bloom this year.
ReplyDeleteWildflowers have always intrigued me, and I agree that many have become garden "cultivars." I could not grow any lupins in my New England garden--nor the butterfly weed--they didn't seem to like my soil or situation.
ReplyDeletewe have some of the fireweed growing around our cabin, but I never knew what it was called before.
ReplyDeleteand as a matter of fact, I am a mug girl most days myself! I set the table for pictures and then said, hey, honey, let's have tea for real here! lol!
it was so relaxing I just about feel asleep at the table!
I think plant 3 is what we call Cow Parsley and plant 1 grows everywhere over here too especially on railway banks.
ReplyDeleteA wild flower can be natural to its environment or merely a seed scattered by the wind or dropped from a bird, from who knowa where but why is a weed a weed ... when it is also, merely a plant/flower in the wrong place?
Answer ....
The wrong place is your garden ... not on a hill top? lol
I love weeds and wild flowers.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteDont they say a weed is just a wildflower we haven't found a use for yet.
thats what I tell my wife anyway when she is tyring to get me to improve my weeding skills....
It is interesting that so many "garden flowers" are hybrids of those growing naturally on the roadsides--they've been enlarged and fluffed and painted with different colors.
ReplyDelete