Wildflower Wednesday: Entireleaf Western Daisy

Some plants are charming and Entireleaf Western Daisy is one of them. 

It captured my heart many years ago when I found it by chance flowering its head off in the way back freedom lawn. What I mean by chance, is that we went out of town for several weeks and came home to see the entire lawn in bloom. Salvia lyrata, Sedges, Downy Woodmint and the cutest little Daisy were having a blooming party.

 

 I was enchanted. It did take me a few weeks to figure out the Daisy was Astranthium integrifolium, a winter annual native to the Central Basin, Cumberland Plateau and the Ohio/Tennessee Valley. I garden in the Central Basin, which is also known as the Nashville Basin. It's a hot, muggy place to garden and this little Daisy seems to love it.

 

 

We mowed around it all summer and it bloomed its head off. Small pollinators visited and it eventually set seed and dropped them during the hot summer months. The seeds germinated over the fall and winter and bloomed the following April.

Some years Western Daisy is more prolific than others. In a good year there will be flowers in every garden bed and dancing with the Lyreleaf sage and Sedges in the freedom lawn. Bloom this year has been so-so. I blame the summer and fall drought for fewer seeds germinating. But, I have a plan, first I will transplant some of the blooming plants and latter, once it has been pollinated, I will collect seed and scatter it where I want to see more blooms.

Some I collected in a container

Here's what works for me: I place a soil filled container near the blooming flowers to catch falling seeds. I leave the container in the garden until the following late winter or early spring and then plant those seedlings when the ground is no longer frozen.

rosette in late winter

Winter annuals are hardy and can tolerate cold weather and snow. I transplant on a warm late winter day making sure to give them a nice drink of water. Repeat yearly to increase your collection. Btw, this works well with lots of annual and biennial wildflowers. I use this technique with Blue-eyed Mary and Purple Phacelia.

note the drooping flower head before it opens

Eastern Western Daisy is a typical Asteraceae/composite. The blossom is made up of two types of flowers - ray florets and disc florets. The ray florets (6 to 25 of them) are usually lavender or white. The disc florets are yellow, with 5 lobes. It's a small plant measuring between 4 and up to 18 inches high and the flower heads are about an inch wide. The flowers are solitary at the end of each stem. My granddaughter loves to pick them.

 Astranthium integrifolium is also known as Entireleaf Western Daisy, Western Daisy, Eastern Western Daisy and Wild Daisy. What ever its name this is a charmer that ought to be in your central south garden.

 Although, most articles referencing Wild Daisy aren't filled with much information, they all more or less say the same thing- "It's a good gardening plant for attracting butterflies, since it's an early blooming nectar source.” That's high praise in my eyes. 

Western Daisy pairs beautifully with many garden plants. The pairing with Tradescantia 'Kate' and Salvia 'Black and Blue' in the above photos was completely serendipitous. I'll try to plan pretty pairings for next year with this fall's seeds and next winter's seedlings!

I love the hint of lavender on the petals

 

The only problem with some winter annuals is that they they aren't generally available at nurseries. I suspect that seed collection is a big issue.When it comes to Astranthium integrifolium/Entireleaf Western Daisy, unless you know me or are able to shop at GroWild you may be plumb out of luck trying to find it. That's a darn shame. Too many delightful wildflowers are unavailable.

I've been pretty lucky to find wildflowers on my property. Our house is 67 years old and this property used to be a forest before the post war building boom turned this wildflower rich land into a suburbs. The developers bulldozed their way through the trees making roads and kindly left some of the woodland undeveloped. Our acre is not without it's issues. It took a long time for me to accept the limitations and gifts of the shallow, clay soil that is as dry as concrete most summers and wet and sticky all winter. (here for more of the story).  Every wildflower I discover is celebrated and cherished. That's how I feel about my Eastern Western Daisies. 

xxoogail

The Particulars

Botanical name: Astranthium integrifolium

Family -Asteraceae

Common names: Entireleaf western daisy; Western Daisy; Eastern western Daisy

Range: It is native to the east-central part of the United States primarily the Cumberland Plateau and Ohio/Tennessee Valley. It is found in the States of Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Georgia, with isolated populations in Mississippi and West Virginia.

Source

Zones: 5 to 8

Habit - Annual, fibrous rooted

Stems -Usually one; erect to decumbent-ascending. 4 to 18 inches tall depending upon growing conditions.

Bloom time: It blooms in mid-spring to early summer.

Flower: Flower heads are usually borne one at a time, with white or bluish ray florets and yellow disc florets. The flower is about an inch wide.

Habitat: Rocky (limestone) banks and ridges, alluvial fields, stream banks and terraces, open juniper woods, glades, roadsides

Faunal Associations: The flowers are visited by butterflies, small bees, gnats, flies, pollen eating beetles.

Comments: Astranthium integrifolium is a perfect plant for freedom lawns. In the garden it mixes well with Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, Spiderwort and Salvia. I like to transplant seeling/rosettes into containers to mix with other wildflowers. "Astranthium is a small genus of about a dozen species primarily of Mexico, but three species have ranges within the United States - Astranthium integrifolium, Astranthium ciliatum (Comanche Western Daisy), and Astranthium robustum (which is endemic to Texas, and is known as the Texas Western Daisy.)" source

Thank you for stopping by and welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom or not; and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers. Please leave a comment when you add your url to Mr Linky.

 

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Winter annuals for a native plant garden!

Two of my favorites, Entireleaf Western Daisy and

Blue-eyed Mary are showing off their attractive rosette stage.  (A Passalong Plant:Blue-eyed Mary)

We have a tendency to think of winter as a dormant season with plants at rest, but there really is a great deal of growing going on all winter. Just take a walk in your garden and you'll see signs of active life! Mosses, fungi and lichens are alive and thriving and the weedy winter annuals are reminding you that weeding isn't too far away! (go toThe Fascinating World of Fungi for more on them)

Edible Auricularia auricula/Jelly Ear growing on dead hardwood branch (January)

The stars of this post, Blue-eyed Mary and Entire leaf Western Daisy have been germinating and developing underneath the leaf litter in my garden. They both are cool season growers, are tolerant of really cold weather (and snow) and, are excellent reseeders in most gardens. By the way, that's how other winter annuals like Chickweed, Henbit, etc. get a toe hold in our gardens.

Astranthium integrifolium/Entireleaf Western Daisy

Entireleaf Western Daisy starts blooming in April (and keeps on going most of the summer). Blue-eyed Mary is also an April bloomer, but, blooms only for about three weeks. If pollinated, they set seed that matures and drops onto the garden soil where it has several months of warm stratification (necessary) before it germinates. I find they both germinate best in situ and you need to be on top of  the BEM in order to  harvest ripe seed, (it needs to be planted immediately).

Here's what works for me: Place a soil filled container near them to catch falling seeds; leave the container in the garden until the following late winter or early spring and then plant those seedlings when the ground is no longer frozen. Repeat to increase your collection.

Collinsia verna/Blue-eyed Mary

The only problem with these wonderful winter annuals is that they they aren't generally available at nurseries. I suspect that seed collection is a big issue. They're also rather fragile, especially Blue-eyed Mary, and that's not an ideal selling point. I know that GroWild (call them) had a few Collinsia verna/Blue-eyed Mary for sale. When it comes to Astranthium integrifolium/Entireleaf Western Daisy, unless you know me and live in Middle Tennessee, you may be plumb out of luck trying to find it.

I am hopeful that there will be blooms to show you later this spring, in the mean time, here's a peek at what's to come.


Happy Spring my friends.
xoxoGail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Gardening memories and a celebration of late spring blooms

I finally got to meet one of my garden mentors, Dr Thomas Hemmerly. He was a hike leader at the annual Cedar Glade celebration at the Cedars of Lebanon state park a few weekend ago.

Dr Hemmerly in the blue hat

I first "met" Dr Hemmerly about twenty-five years ago in the pages of his book Wildflowers of the Central South. He introduced me to concepts that were important to know if I were to have any success at gardening in my yard. I learned about Middle Tennessee  microclimates and about the unique wildflowers that grew only in the cedar glades.  His book helped me figure out that my garden was a xeric oak-hickory forest plant community with areas of extremely shallow soil and exposed limestone. The shallow, nearly neutral clay soil is hard as concrete during our dry summers and wet and sticky during our rainy winters.

No wonder everything I planted had died!

I mulled over what I learned and found myself thinking this: "Gail, your garden isn't a failure, but, trying to make it something that it isn't is the true failure. Take a look at what's already growing here. Appreciate and celebrate what you have."

So I did. I decided to watch my yard throughout the growing season. I say yard because it really wasn't much of a garden back then.

False garlic early in May

 Early the next spring I noticed wildflowers everywhere.

Golden ragwort

There were Columbines, Trillium, Spring beauties, Toothwort, False Garlic, Golden Ragwort and Phlox divaricata.

In May, I found dozens of Penstemon calycosus growing in the wayback backyard in both the dry shade and in the the wet weather spring. I fell instantly in love and transplanted it everywhere!

It's a foundation plant for my spring garden and a food source for many pollinators.

Poverty Oatgrass/Danthonia spicata

In the lawn I noticed sedges, Poverty oatgrass and 

Lyre leafed sage/Salvia lyrata~a delightful wildflower that honeybees visit.

Lyre-leaf sage.

Blue-eyed grass

Also growing in the lawn were Blue-eyed grasses, Downy Woodmint, the cutest little panicums and a tiny daisy with lavender hints that wasn't even in my wildflower guide.

Astranthium integrifolium/Entireleaf western daisy

That sweet little daisy is Entireleaf Western Daisy a Middle Tennessee native (annual) that I have allowed to spread where ever it is happy.

it's perfect for a lawn

It's happy in sun or shade.

Green Dragon/Arisaema dracontium

Later that spring the old world irises that were planted by the former owner bloomed and the Green Dragon dramatically unfurled. Summer brought the Phlox paniculata into bloom and later that fall I noticed that the yard was a blue sea of native woodland asters with pops of golden colored Goldenrod.

Oenothera speciosa

With new eyes, it was easy to see that my difficult garden was a treasure. There was a forest of native trees,  thriving wildflowers and abundant wildlife. In other words, the makings of a perfect wildlife garden.

After months of struggling to figure out what was going on, I finally understood that plants have to be rugged to survive in my garden and that planting native wildflowers made sense. After all, they had evolved and adapted to our wet winters and dry summers.

Columbine/Aquilegia canadensis

It didn’t take me long to find just the right plants for my garden and it wasn’t long before I fell head over heels in love with wildflowers. You might say they became my passion.

Thank you Dr Hemmerly for all your help on my journey to the garden of my heart.

xoxogail

PS This is also my Garden Bloggers Bloom Day contribution. Please stop by Carol's blog, May Dreams Gardens, to see more flowering gardens then you can imagine.

Bluestar/Amsonia illustis

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Gardeners, Do Yourselves A Big Favor

Get the best wildflower book you can find for your part of the gardening world. You won't be sorry.

Phlox pilosa ( Polemoniaceae) and Aquilegia canadensis (Ranunculaceae)

Not only will you learn to identify wildflowers, but, the best wildflower books should also give you a good foundation in plant families,  a description of the plants characteristics and where the plant is found growing. 

Phlox family with it's characteristic fused and perfect five petals

I love wildflowers and love reading about them. So, when friends ask me to identify wildflowers they've seen in the woods or in someone's garden, it's a fun task.  Sometimes it's challenging, but, with a decent photo, my go to books, the internet and being able to place a plant in its family, it's not too difficult to find and id! 

The best wildflower books are chock full of important information and my favorite all around wildflower book has an excellent flower color key and an overview of the geographic regions/physiographic provinces that make up Tennessee.  It even lists plants that have naturalized in our regions, like Lunaria anua, which is a member of the Mustard family.  So are the toothworts~those beautiful spring ephemerals that  didn't last through our hot March weather.

Baptisia australis Bean/pea familywith standards, wings and keel

 I found out early on that I garden in the Central Basin province of Tennessee, with shallow, nearly neutral  clay soil.  Knowing this helps me understand why Frances/fairegarden, who gardens in the Ridge and Valley province and I have very different results with the same plants.  This is even true for my friend Paul's garden which is less than 10 miles from my house.  His garden is on one of the many ridges that surrounds Nashville, it's also on thin, rocky soil, but it can support acid loving plants that I  have to work hard to make happy.

Lily, Phlox, Buttercup, Waterleaf and Mustard family represented

Besides dazzling your family and friends while hiking in local natural areas, having a general knowledge of plant families can help to identify wildflowers that you see and might want to try growing in your garden.

Upper leaves are the standard, middle the wings and the bottom is the keel

That's how I was able to identify Partridge Pea/Chamaecrista fasciculata at Radnor Lake last summer. (here for its story) Partridge Pea is a fab Fabaceae with  characteristic flowers comprised of standards, wings and keels and distinctive compound pinnate leaves! 

Trillium grandiflorum is a member of the Lily Family

Naturally, plants don't always fit into a handy set of characteristics, that would be too easy, but,  getting to know the typical characteristics is a good start.  

Take a look at two Buttercup family members that are endemic to my garden.  All Buttercup family members have colorful sepals instead of petals. 

Enemion biternatum/False rue-anemone has 5 petal like sepals

False rue-anemone has the usual  five colored sepals instead of petals.  Usual is used because not all members have just 5 sepals.  (Sepals are usually part of the calyx).

Rue-anemone/Thalictrum thalictroides has five to ten showy white to pinkish sepals and can be easily confused with False rue-anemone. That's when knowing a plant's leaf shape really helps! (A photograph of all of the plant is helpful for comparisons in your plant books or an Online source.)

Western Daisy/Astranthium integrifolium is a native annual in the Asteraceae family

If you want to learn more about plant families start with a good wildflower book and head out into your own garden. You probably already know many and I am more than sure that you will be able to identify many more in a short period of time.

Monarda bradburiana of the Lamiaceae family

I am pretty sure that you have most of these families represented in your garden! Some of our best flowers are represented in these 8 families!

Ranunculaceae~5 colored sepals instead of petals, lobed leaves.  I always think run when I see ranunculaceae in a name and they do often run wild in a garden!  Columbine and the anemones are shown. Almost all are poisonous.

Fabaceae~Once you get to know this plant family with it's pea like flower, compound, or trifoliate or watermarked leaves and seed pod, you'll be able to spot the medic, clovers, lupines and vetches everywhere!


Polemoniaceae~The phlox family with five flat-petaled flowers with simple undivided flowers. (phlox and Jacobs Ladder)


Asteraceae~Probably the most prevalent family in my garden with ray or disk flowers that shout 'daisy'.


Lily family~Lilies, iris and other relatives (alliums, Iris native and exotic, Blue-eyed grass, etc) including the Genus Trillium with its stalked or stalkless three petaled flowers.

Brassicaceae~Fabulous plant family with 4 sepals, 4 petals and 6 stamens~Count 'em! Together the four petals form a cross which is the source of their other name Cruciferae.  Unfortunately, some of these plants are noxious weeds like Garlic Mustard/Alliari petiolata.  If you see it in your garden~get rid of it.

Lamiaceae~Leaves are simple and opposite,  with a square stem (usually) and 2 lipped corollas.  Bees adore these plants.

Hydrophylloideae-The waterleaf family is duking out with whether or not it should be placed in the Borage family.  I shall let the taxonomists figure this one out!  Suffice it to say these plants are sweet and much appreciated in my garden.  I love the description of this plant family from Thomas Elpel~"The flowers of this family often have a "dainty" appearance because the stamens frequently dangle so far out of the little blossoms. The flowers are typically small and often clustered together. The flower stalks often curl over, much like a scorpion tail." (source)

Phacelia bipinnatifida also known as Scorpionweed

Now have fun and don't make this an onerous task!

xxoogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone." She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.