More Mushrooms

The recent heavy rains have resulted in some
nice new mushrooms in the garden.
10-21-09

Blackberry Lily Seed Clusters

Blackberry lilies are really iris
(Belamcanda chinensis). The small orange flowers are followed
by pear shaped seed capsules which open to reveal seed clusters
which resemble blackberries. These remain on the stem for several months.
10-19-09

Perennial Sunflowers

These grow in the circle with
the gigantic Maximillian Sunflowers and have been
coming back strong for years. They used to reach 6
feet in height but lately have run out of energy when
they reach 3 feet.
10-16-09

Goldenrod

Solidago In the Aster Family.
Growing among the asters in the wildflower
garden is this stately goldenrod. The pollen
from this Fall blooming flower is unfairly thought
to be the major cause of hay fever. The more
probable culprit is the windblown pollen of ragweed
since goldenrod pollen is heavy and sticky and not
wind pollinated.
Goldenrod naturally contains rubber and Thomas
Edison produced a cultivar which contained as
much as 12% rubber. The tires on the Model T given to him by
his friend Henry Ford were made from goldenrod rubber.
10-15-09

Dahlia

This late blossom showed up last week from
a group of tubers that were planted in April.
10-12-09

Maximillian Sunflower

Helianthus maximilliani This
giant sunflower with smaller flowers is over nine feet tall.
It is three years old and despite its stout stem must be staked
because of its height. It took 2 years to establish. It is a Fall
bloomer as are so many in the Aster Family. There are many
blooms on each branch.
10-9-09

Bumble Bee on Celosia Bloom

Celosia - Amaranth Family. Also Cockscomb and Wooly
Flower. These red flowers have been blooming since August
and are just beginng to wind down. They are popular with
butterflies and bees which are currently swarming around them.

Bumble bees - Family Apodea, Genus Bomba These bumble
bees collect pollen in baskets of stiff hairs on their hind feet.
Their lip forms a long tube for sucking nectar from flowers
which is converted to honey in the bee's digestive tract.
10-8-09

Tomato from the Vegetable Garden

Solanum lycopersicum This herbaceous
plant which comes from a small yellow blossom is what
the deer were eating yesterday. I had been spraying
successfully with a commercial concoction containing
coyote urine but recent rains had diluted the concentration
making our last few tomatoes palatable to the deer.

Lycopersicum means wolf-peach. It is thought to originate
in the Peruvian highlands. It is in the nightshade family
which also includes potatoes, eggplant and belladona.
10-6-09

Flower Eaters for the Day 10-5-09

We find out "who's been eating my porridge",
or is it my flowers and tomatoes. This thundering
herd of white tail deer showed up this morning
after eating from the gardens with gusto. Then
they move on to check out the Frank Lloyd Wright
House (our neighbors).

Mushrooms in the Wildflower Garden

This time of year there are many types of
colorful mushrooms. These mushrooms
arose near different decayed tree stumps.
10-2-09