September 2013 GBBD: I love the rough and tumble wildflowers of early Autumn!

 

It's rough and tumble wildflower time in my garden. The take care of themselves Autumn beauties are beginning to shine.

Verbesina virginica

Rough and tumble wildflowers are simple wildflowers most with no known pedigree, that bloom their hearts out and require the easiest of care.

Helenium autumnale

 Some even resent fertile, rich soil and many aren't even on a list to be hybridized, even if they should be!

unknown Solidago

Familiarity has never bred contempt when it comes to wildflowers. In fact, the more I see them, the more I appreciate their charms.

Vernonia altissima

But, they are so much more than pretty faces. 

Salvia azurea

Each one of these darlings provides more pollen and nectar return on investment than many other flowers combined.

Conoclinium coelestinum

My rough and tumble natives are landing pads of deliciousness for butterflies, bees, wasps and moths.

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae

Common plants like the Ex-asters bloom just in time for the late arriving pollinators which are making a mad dash to collect as much nectar and pollen for their last brood.

Coreopsis tripteris

Rough and tumble wildflowers are late blooming magnets for all kinds of insects, including some insects that are themselves food for spiders, birds and other insect eating critters.

Lobelia cardinalis

The provide food for migrating birds and they all make me smile.

Physostegia virginiana

 I have a special place in my heart for these wild and rough looking beauties that are often found growing in meadows, prairies and roadside ditches. I appreciate plants that haven't had their best characteristics bred out of them. They're beautiful, they're doing the job nature intended them to do, make a lot of nectar and pollen and bloom for a long time, exactly when the critters need both.

Lobelia siphilitica

They're perfect for this time of year, perfect for the resident critters and perfect for this garden.

xoxogail


It's September 15 and you know what that means! Garden bloggers all over the blogasphere are celebrating Bloom Day. You can see more gardens then you can imagine in one day if you stop by Carol's blog, May Dreams Gardens to take the linky magic carpet ride.

First flower is Ex-aster S patens

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.

My Favorite Pollinator!

To be honest it's my favorite right this minute. But, it's definitely in my favorite pollinator family~Bees!

Some homeowners think this big beautiful bee is a pain in their siding! I truly can't blame them. Carpenter bees love wood and any unpainted wood is very attractive to them! Including the stained posts on my carport!

There's so much I can tell you all about them. Instead, I'll tell you three things that you might not know and suggest you take a look at a post I wrote last year for more information.  Just click on this Carpenter Bees.

They typically visit flowers that are large, open-faced with abundant nectar and pollen, day-bloomers, pale or saturated in color, and that have a fresh odor, anthers specialized for pollen collection by bees, and corollas with strong walls.

Not a pollinator of salvias this Carpenter bee is covered with garlic pollen

They are cheaters in the pollination game when it comes to some flowers. They cannot climb into the flowers of salvias and instead break open the sides to get at the nectar and consequently are not salvia pollinators.

and the final thing, I will share with you is this~

My Carpenter Bees have never, ever, ever had to deal with pesticides. I hung a pottery Red-bellied woodpecker on their favorite of my carport stained pillars and they have moved on! Just like magic!

xoxogail

Flowers from top down!
Lobelia siphilitica 
Pentas lanceolata 
Caryopteris × clandonensis 'First Choice'
Phlox glaberrima (blooming almost non-stop)
Salvia azurea
Coreopsis cultivar

The ceramic bird is by artist Steve Thorstenson.   You can find his work at Montana Birdworks


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.

What's In Your Garden

For Pollinators?

Lindera benzoin aka Spicebush the host plant for Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly

Back in January, in the midst of more snowfalls then we had seen in years, the garden catalogs starting arriving and my plant lust began anew. I gently stopped myself from ordering all manner of plants with the following questions:

• Will they survive the difficult conditions at Clay and Limestone?
• Is this plant a nectar or pollen source for pollinators?
• Is it a host plant for pollinators?
• Is this plant available locally, therefore, more likely to survive the extremes of the Central Basin?
• Will this plant add to the diversity of my pollinator friendly garden?
• Is there a native plant that makes more sense then that seductive exotic?

That's not to imply that all the plants in my garden meet the above criteria. Some small trees, shrubs and perennials are planted just because I like them. For instance, Bat faced cuphea was planted in containers near the front door. No way, would an iffy, albeit beautiful exotic, take up valuable garden space that's reserved for natives. I was doubly delighted to discover that it was visited the Bumbles, smaller bees and a few hummers.

A bat faced cuphea with a visitor

Now, that it's officially spring at Clay and Limestone and the local nurseries are beginning to stock that seductive plant material, it's time to assess 'real' garden needs! In a garden like mine, with shallow, nearly neutral clay soil over limestone bedrock, plant real estate is valuable!

Tommies drew the eye and honeybees!

My plan is simply to:

Provide plenty of nectar and pollen rich plants

• Primarily from my garden region.
• A range of shapes and sizes to attract hummers, butterfly, a variety of bees, flies,
• long bloom season
• evening blooming and scented flowers for moths and bats

Provide host plants

• Sedges and grasses for skippers
• Fennels, dills, parsley for the swallowtails
• milkweeds for the monarchs
• asters for pollinating beetles

Container plants

• Aromatic herbs~coriander, catnip, mint, parsley, lavender, fennel and dill
• annuals~marigold, phlox, bachelor's button, zinnia, cosmos, salvia
• perennials~bee balm, columbine, iris, coneflower, lobelia, delphinium, summer phloxes, salvia

Yes, that's a pollinator visiting witch hazel 'Diane'

So what is on my list?

• Asclepias verticillata (adaptable and tough native, it's a food and host plant with good fall color)
• Helianthus 'Lemon Queen'~reports she can take a bit more shade
• Lobelia siphilitica~see photo!
• Sedges~
• Native grasses
• Opuntia~for visiting bats
• Herbs~rosemary, dill, fennel and borage
• Annuals when they are available ~sweet alyssum, cleome, Calliopsis, Coreopsis tinctoria, salvias (Scarlet sage, Blue anise sage, Autumn sage and Pineapple sage), lantana, sunflowers and zinnias ( I scatter seeds, but, sometimes planting them is better!
• Native shrubs~Lindera benzoin, ilex, illicium and vaccinium (blueberries)

Lobelia siphilitica with bee

Tell me please~What's in your garden or on your shopping list for pollinators?

xxoogail

PS Of course, you already know what I am going to say. If you want to attract pollinators~Never, never, never, ever, use pesticides in your garden.

This post is part of a series on native pollinators in the garden~ Earlier posts and their links are listed below for your convenience.

Part I~Now Is The Time To Bee-gin Thinking About Bees ( here)
This Is The Place To Bee ( here)
If You Could Plant Only One Plant In Your Garden~Don't (here)
Must Bee The Season of The Witch (here)
Go Bare In Your Garden (here)
We can't All be pretty Pollinators (here)
Eye, Eye Skipper, Big Eyed Pollinators (here)

Other bee posts you might want to read~
Count Yourself Lucky To Have Hoverflies (here)
Bumblebee Hotel (here)
Still Taking Care Of Bzzness (here)
My Sweet Embraceable You (here)

This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone Copyright 2011.This work protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.