Tag: flowers

Volunteer: Clematis pitcheri

On By CarynIn Flora, Garden

My husband spotted something unusual coming up out of our crossvine, inverted pitcher-like purple flowers that were very different than the crossvine’s peachy-orange vessel flowers. The iNaturalist app gave us the category “clematis and leather flowers”. Searching leatherflowers, the purple leather flower, Clematis pitcheri, was a visual match. We certainly didn’t plant it, but it is quite welcome!

Photo description: two purple leather flowers coming up between crossvine leaves

For those curious, the flower is quite robust, and the curling tips feel very much like leather (as a leather worker, I feel confident in that assessment.) I did not dissect a bloom, but if it continues to do well and produces more than just three flowers, that will be a future project.

Petals fall

On By CarynIn Garden

The crossvine flowers are starting to fall away. The profusion of blooms was truly spectacular this Spring. Unlike azaleas, the crossvine will bloom again, several times, before next Winter.

Crossvine flowers fallen to the ground
Crossvine in bloom
Bee visiting the stem after the bloom has fallen

Henbit explosion

On By CarynIn chickens

Yup, spring. And a wetter spring than we’ve had in a few of years. We have a bumper crop of henbit, with its pretty purple carpet, in our meadow as well as throughout the countryside and town lawns (the ones that go natural, at least).

Henbit in the morning light in the meadow

It was easy to pick a handful (for at least the past two years it wasn’t), and offer a snack bouquet to the chickens.

Chickens considering a henbit bouquet

This is the time that I get a little wistful that my hens can’t free range the meadow, but I haven’t done a metal sweep of the whole meadow, oh, and there is the plethora of predators. There’s that. Everything likes to eat chickens.

… Flowers?

On By CarynIn Garden

Not that it has been warm here, but my paperwhites (Narcissus) bloomed outside on Christmas day.

Bee visiting my paperwhites

And just to balance, the dandelions are also blooming.

Dandelion bloom in late December

Scarlet gilia

On By CarynIn Flora

Aren’t these pretty? The app PlantSnap identifies these as Scarlet gilia. Here is an interesting article on the Scarlet Gilia, which is native to the western US. I’ve spread native wild flower seeds, but this one wasn’t in the mix. Bonus flower!

The hummingbirds love them, which I love, because I am terrible about remembering to change hummingbird food every three days, and after reading that the black mold kills hummingbirds, I don’t even bother making sugar water anymore. I plant flowers the hummingbirds like instead. Win win.

We ordered some Scarlet gilia seed too, since this plant is doing well. We are all about planting native species that don’t need lots of specialty care and attention!