In praise of coneflowers
It's rained a lot in the last week so I haven't got much done in the garden and I will need a herd of goats by the time it is dry enough to mow the little bits of grass. I've observed several monarchs and a black swallow tail butterfly (none of which obliged me by sitting still long enough for a photo) put a couple more insects down on the biodiversity list and on Saturday 10th we watched firefly fireworks in the garden at dusk.
My main joy this week has been the beginning of the coneflowers. Last year they were extensively nibbled by Japanese beetles but this year I have seen a lot less of those little menaces so I am hoping for a much better showing of my favourite blooms. I only have 2 types in the garden, Echinacea Purpura (I will soon know the name in the Anishinaabe language when 'Plants have so much to give us, all we have to do is ask' by Mary Siisip Geniusz, Wendy Makoons Geniusz, et al arrives, quite excited about that 😁) which is native to this region and 1 white variety which is pretty but much less strong.
I love them. I love the colour, form and the way they are such a magnet for bees and butterflies and I am fascinated by the different shapes the flowers take from bud to the final seed head. There are a few in different stages out at the moment so I'll try to get some decent photos.
 |
| Fully open shuttlecock with artfully posed red admiral |
 |
| Open but not quite there yet and some only just starting on the bottom left |
 |
| Stringy petal stage where each petal points forward, they will move as the bloom opens and eventually point backwards |
What's poppin' in the garden?
Pink dahlia is out and looking great
 |
| Pink dahlia, carefully saved from last year and looking great |
Orange dahlia is just starting
 |
| Orange dahlia |
Front borders are crackin'
 |
| Not too many gaps left this year |
 |
| Front pollinator garden |
Cosmos is poised to come out
So is blazing star
One of the day lilies round by the garage has condescended to flower this year, maybe the rest will follow suit
 |
| Daylily #1, the other has buds so fingers crossed |
Random, self sown lettuce is going rather magnificently to seed
Someone has defaced the birdbox
 |
| Seriously? The chickadees won't be having that, we'll have to replace the front |
Jobs for this week
Lawn mowing 😩 July 19 Only managed the back yard but it's a start
Sort out the peas July 16.
Sow kale and lettuce in their place July 20
Support tomatoes and birdhouse gourds July 16 and 17. Gourds doing really well but the tomatoes are very disappointing, must look up and see whether I accidentally bought bush form plants
Keep chopping back the wildflower meadow July 16
Buy compost
Pot on Sweet Joe Pye Weed and Culvers Root
Weed the patio July 17. Did this job in the rain and the weeds came out really easily, could do with a good brush though.
Oof, it had better stop raining long enough for me to get some of that done
Comments
Post a Comment