See April Flowers in the blog for photos of many more April beauties!
April Flowers
Some flowers are wild, occurring naturally in wildlands. They may or may not be “native”, but they have not been purposely planted or seeded unless an area has undergone environmental restoration using those plants.
Photo @lisabforce
Some flowers are “cultivars”, a group of plants that have been manipulated by humans for certain desirable characteristics (decorative or useful).
For example, there is one species of tomato, Solanum lycopersicum, but thousands of tomato cultivars. Fun Fact Alert: There are about 13,000 cultivars of daffodils.
As you might expect, bees and butterflies tend to prefer the pollen and nectar of native plants more than non-natives. Plus, native plants are more suited to your particular climate and soil so they are hardier and easier to grow.
I wander’d lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch’d in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
– From “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth
See May Flowers in the blog for photos of many more May-Spectacular!
May Flowers: Mothers’ Day Spectacular
Peonies are the quintessential Mothers’ Day flowers. My mom had rows of these growing under the apple tree, just behind my swing set. Peonies bloom prolifically in the spring and some varieties bloom into the summer. They last longer as cut flowers than they do as outdoor blooms, especially if it’s hot outside.
See “Organic Gardening” under the “Food & Gardening” tab for a secret about how to have fresh peonies in your home all summer and fall, long after they’ve stopped blooming outdoors.
Rhododendrons are prolific in the wild as well as cultivated in gardens. They are non-deciduous (evergreen) and bloom in a stunning array of colors beginning in the spring. They are great cut flowers too.
Photo @lisabforce
Lilacs are found in the wild in the western US, and are also widely cultivated.
Lilacs smell like mom to me. She passed away years ago, but whenever I bury my face in a lilac bush, she’s there. Hi Mom!
June Flowers
See June Flowers, Take 1 and June Flowers, Take 2 in the blog for more photos.
June bursts into bloom just in time to provide food and habitat for the denizens of summer. The Wiggins Lily pictured below was growing wild at our campsite on the crazy-beautiful Umpqua River in southwestern Oregon.
Photo @lisabforce
July and August Flowers
This month’s flower feature is Texas Violet Sage. Salvia farinacea is native to Texas and New Mexico where it is found on plains and low hills in limestone soils. It’s a hot-summer hero, providing nectar to hungry pollinators after other flowers have faded.
This Texas native is not fussy about soil and needs only moderate water. It’s a perennial, so plant it once and you and the bees are happy for decades. Plus, a bonus for those of us who are fortunate enough to live in the urban-wildland interface: Deer do not eat it. Ever. Not even a nibble! Plant in full sun.
The Common Zinna is an annual, so it will produce seeds when it dies back, but the same plant will not regrown the following year. Growing zinnia from seed, though is quite easy, and worth the explosion of color in late summer. The foliage consists of lush oval leaves on stalks up to 4′ high.
Flowers are orange, pink, red, yellow or white and bloom in spring, summer, and fall. Zinnias do best in hot dry summer areas and prefers full sun and well draining soil. Zinnia are great for dressing up entryways, walkways and containers. Cutting the mature flowers encourages even more blooms.
September and October Flowers
Flowers and shrubs that bloom in autumn are particularly important to pollinators as they prepare for winter. Summer honeybees have a lifespan of only 4 to 8 weeks, but winter-ready bees have a different physiology. They are fatter and have a lifespan of 4 to 6 months. In order to get through the cool months, winter bees need a secure hive and plenty of honey to eat when temperatures are below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Red Larkspur (Delphinium nudicaule), foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), butterfly bush (Buddleia) and even some dahlias which are not normally on the pollinator friendly list provide much needed nutrients in autumn to bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
Red Larkspur (Delphinium nudicaule, also known as crimson or orange larkspur and canyon delphinium, sends up long thin stems with few leaves and bears the distinctively shaped and appropriately named larkspur flowers. Note the “spur” on the back end of the blossoms.
Larkspur grow wild and are also widely cultivated for specific size and color. Pictured here is wildflower version produced entirely by nature. Larkspur is native to the low elevation canyons, foothills, and slopes of California and Oregon. The flowers attract hummingbirds. The root of the plant has been historically used as a medicinal narcotic, chiefly by the Mendocino Native Americans.
Buddleia are flowering shrubs that produce colorful flowers in late summer and fall. Commonly known as butterfly bush, the flowers have a honey-like fragrance and are rich in nectar, making them highly attractive to butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, bees, and other beneficial insects.
The common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) evolved to lure a specific pollinator: the bumblebee which is attracted to shades of purple more than any other color. The sturdy tubular flower mouths encourage bumblebees to close their wings as they enter. Deeper in, where the nectar resides, the flower narrows forcing the bees to squeeze in to reach the the nectar while also getting dusted with pollen.
There are 42 known species of dahlia plus many more sub-species. Many dahlia (Asteraceae) varieties are simply too lush with too many overlapping petals for pollinators to access the pollen and nectar in the center of the flower. But the open-centered dahlias, typically classified as singles, collarettes, and anenomes are open and easily accessible to pollinators once the flower blooms.
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Open-Faced Dahlias known as Singles, Collarettes, and Anemones Help Sustain Pollinators -
Foxglove are Designed by Nature to Attract Long-Tounged Bees Like Garden Bumblebees -
Honeybee Feasting on Buddleia in Autumn in Southern Oregon
