Erigeron philadelphicus for National Wildflower Week

Common fleabane is a biennial/short lived perennial that blooms from April through July in my Middle Tennessee garden. It is native throughout much of the US and Canada and is often seen growing in open fields, grassy ares/lawns and the edges of woodlands. While it prefers a moist soil it will adapt to almost any soil type and sets seeds with abandon; thus this Asteraceae family member is often seen as a weed instead of the ecologically valuable pollinator plant that it is.

 the flowers are sometimes a lovely pink

The pollen or nectar of the flowers attracts many kinds of insects, including long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, skippers, beetles, Carpenter bees, Nomadine Cuckoo bees, Green Metallic bees and other Halictine bees, Eumenine wasps, Tachinid flies, and Thick-Head flies. Caterpillars of the Lynx Flower Moth eat the flowers and seed capsules.(source)

 A crab spider hiding in plain sight is ample evidence that pollinators and other insects visit Fleabane.

Each daisy-like flowerhead has 100-300 ray florets that surround a dense head of disk florets

You can let Fleabane naturalize in your lawn or plant it in your garden. Not one to be afraid of colonizing plants, I let this rough and tumble wildflower seed in the lawnette along with Lyreleaf sage, Danthonia spicata and Entireleaf Western Daisy. 

Go ahead, give it a try, you'll make the bees and other pollinators happy and you can always deadhead it before it sets seeds.  Bonus~you'll get more blooms!

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.

National Wildflower Week: Eastern Columbine

Beloved of hummingbirds and bumblebees, Aquilegia canadensis's flower lanterns are a must have for any wildlife gardener in the Eastern United States.

Red or Eastern Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis L.)

I discovered them in my garden the Spring after we moved here and they have been stars ever since. They're native to the Central Basin where I garden, but, I've always thought of them as a gift of the floral arranger who once lived here.

Eastern Columbine's bloom period overlaps with Golden ragwort and Phlox pilosa and I dubbed them the Happy Trinity of Clay and Limestone. In my metaphorical mindset, the trio is like a Mirepoix (cuisine)/holy trinity of ingredients and spices that when mixed together make the gardens colorful and tasty each spring. They're my garden's Spring flavor base and it gets even more delicious as Spring progresses. (Happy Flower Trinity)

 I love the way it intermingles with the pinks and purples throughout the garden, not to all tastes, but a delicious presentation none the less. With any successful garden recipe there are always plants that provide additional flavor and I will tweak the recipe a little each year, adding new ingredients, adjusting others, but, only when it will help the overall presentation and tastiness! (from an earlier post)

Aquilegia canadensis occurs naturally in rich rocky woods, north-facing slopes, cliffs, ledges, pastures, bogs, fens, roadside banks and good garden soil! They're easy peasy and if you want more let them go to seed...The seedheads are equally delightful! You'll know they are ripe when the it splits open and shiny black pearls spill out. Collect and plant them where ever you want more lanterns to light up your garden.

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.

Wordless Wednesday for National Wildflower Week: Tradescantia virginiana

 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.

Hydrophyllum appendiculatum in Celebration of National Wildflower Week

Appendaged waterleaf/Great waterleaf is a biennial plant about 1–2½' tall that I wish made a bigger impact in my garden. It's found a damp space and every year there is at least one plant, of which I am most  greatful.

It's a sweet flower and has common characteristic of the Hydrophylloideae family~a taprooted plant whose flowers have 5 petals and 5 stamens. The flowers of this plant are perfect. Of course they are lovely, but, in botany terms that means that each individual flower has both male and female structures (stamens and carpels). The lovely pale purple flowers are very like a Phacelia bipinnatifida, a wonderful early bloomer that is adored by pollinators. (Bees love Purple Phacelia and so do I)

Western gardeners have many Hydrophylloideae family members to choose among. So check them out!

I wish I had gotten a photo of the many little bees that visit it for pollen and nectar. There are flowering plants every year, so it is getting pollinated. Besides the little bees, bumbles, wasps, flies, beetles, skippers and butterflies stop by!

Flowering: April -July.
Habitat: Moist rich woods, slopes, base of bluffs, woodland borders, near woodland paths, thickets.
Native: Middle Tennessee and many Eastern states in the U.S.

Now get your wildflower on and share a favorite or two for National Wildflower Week!
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.