The yard
Two weeks ago I wouldn’t have thought I’d be watering my hardy native perennials. Most of the plants seemed to be tolerating the extreme heat well, but when the Monarda fistulosa blooms began turning brown only a few days after blooming, I gave in and turned on the sprinkler.
On June 24, there were two Great Spangled Fritillaries in the yard nectaring on Echinacea purpurea. This morning there was another (or one of the two I saw three days ago), also nectaring on the coneflower.
What’s blooming
Flowers, wild and not
- Alcea sp.
- Aquilegia sp. (just barely!)
- Asclepias syriaca
- Asclepias tuberosa
- Blephilia ciliata
- Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’
- Coreopsis verticillata (unknown variety)
- Echinacea paradoxa
- Echinacea purpurea
- Erysimum capitatum
- Glandularia canadensis
- Monarda fistulosa
- Monarda sp. (red ornamental variety)
- Oenothera speciosa (pink)
- Penstemon digitalis
- Pontederia cordata
- Pycnanthemum tenuifolium
- Senna marilandica
- Talinum calycinum
- Tradescantia sp.
- feral petunia
Shrubs
- Hibiscus syriacus
Grasses
- Chasmanthium latifolium
- Elymus (virginicus? hystrix?)
- Panicum virgatum
Getting ready to bloom
The button bush has six buds on it (I had resigned myself to waiting another year for it to bloom). Joe Pye has buds, as do Swamp and Purples Milkweeds.