Flower for the Day Wild Foxglove Beardtongue 6-17-21

Wild foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon cobaea) grows on hillsides and rocky outcrops. It grows one to two feet tall. The flowers have 5 lobes, with two large lobes on top and three small lobes on the bottom. 

The flowers have a structure reminiscent of a ribcage inside.

Foxglove Haiku

Perfect harmony
Foxgloves open their flowers
Bees cross pollinate

CJ Gregory

Flower for the Day Giant Larkspur 6-16-21

Giant larkspur (Consolida ajacis) is a delphinium in the ranunculus family. The flower stalk (raceme) can be four feet tall. Each flower consists of five petal-like sepals which grow together to form a hollow pocket with a spur at the end, which gives the plant its name, usually more or less dark blue. Within the sepals are four true petals, small, inconspicuous, and commonly the same color as the sepals. The  long spur of the upper sepal encloses the nectar-containing spurs of the two upper petals. In concert with many others it is quite impressive.

 Larkspur Haiku 

spring sunset
the narrowing road
turns to larkspur

Richard St. Clair

Flower for the Day Asiatic Lily 6-11-21

Each year I put in more lily bulbs. In comparison to oriental lilies (Lillium oriental) the asiatic lilies (Lillium asiatic) bloom earlier, have no fragrance, are shorter, and have smaller flowers. Here are some of the asiatic lilies that have bloomed in the last few days.

                                                                                                        Lily Haiku

Outside I saw a

lily under the moonlight

—dancing with fireflies
chadrona

Flower for the Day Yellow Flag Iris 6-11-21

This iris in the shady side yard bloomed after the last 'last' iris. It has been a phenomenal year for iris.

This is yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus) and is also called water flag, dragon flower and pale yellow iris.

It is a perennial with erect leaves and bright yellow blossoms.

It spreads easily by rhizome and seeds. In some areas it is invasive but not here in the heartland. Perhaps this will be the last iris this year.

Iris Haiku

Tottering

Amid the grass…

An iris blooms  

ISSA

Flower for the Day Indian Blanket Flower 6-8-21

This year the circumstances were right to grow Indian blanket flower (Gaillardia pulchella) from seed. The seeds were planted last fall and 

have come up better than ever. It is also called fire wheel and sundance. 

The pinwheel blooms are  vividly colored with red, orange and yellow and is surrounded by 10 to 20 fleurons lingulate three lobes. 

The central disc florets of the flower head tend to be more red-violet, with the outer ray florets being yellow. 

Gaillardia Haiku

Showy flower heads

Colorful woven blankets

Bright gaillardia

C G Gregory

Flower for the Day Poppies 6-4-21

In the wildflower garden we have two different kinds of poppy. The common poppy (Palaver rhoes), an annual, is an eye catching red. It is also called corn poppy, corn rose, field poppy, Flanders poppy, and red poppy.

It lasts more than a week in the garden. As a cut flower it lasts about a day and the petals start falling off. 

I guess its sensitive.

We also have California poppy (Eschscholzia californica). Also called golden poppy, California sunlight,  and cup of gold

it is also in the Papvaeraceae family.

"A Poppy Blooms" by Katsushika Hokusai

I write, erase, rewrite

Erase again, and then

A poppy blooms.

Flower for the Day Poppies 6-4-21

In the wildflower garden we have two different kinds of poppy. The common poppy (Palaver rhoes), an annual, is an eye catching red. It is also called corn poppy, corn rose, field poppy, Flanders poppy, and red poppy.

It lasts more than a week in the garden. As a cut flower it lasts about a day and the petals start falling off. 

I guess its sensitive.

We also have California poppy (Eschscholzia californica). Also called golden poppy, California sunlight,  and cup of gold

it is also in the Papvaeraceae family.

"A Poppy Blooms" 

I write, erase, rewrite

Erase again, and then

A poppy blooms.

                                                                                                Katsushika Hokusai

Flower for the Day Dutch Iris 6-3-21

This delicate iris has been the  last one to bloom for the last few years. After some identification help from a friend it turns to to be a Dutch iris (Iris hollandica). It has ethereal orchid like flowers and silky petals. It comes from bulbs rather than the rhizomes of German bearded iris. It is a hybrid iris developed from species native to Portugal, Spain and North Africa. Two varieties of Iris xiphium from Spain and from Portugal, were crossed with Iris tingitana. This was carried out by a Dutch bulb firm 'Van Tubergen' in the 19th century.

'White Iris Haiku'

what the spirit needs

starry nights and blooms of white

wash over moods of blue

Shauna McClure on March 30, 2011 at 2:27 pm

Flower for the Day Mayapple 6-2-21

Mayapple (Podophyllum pefltatum) is an herbaceous perennial woodland native. It is very active this year in our woods.

Its common names are American mandrake, wild mandrake and ground lemon. They are called 'witches umbrellas'.

The plants produce stems from an underground creeping rhizome. The flower grows from the stem bifurcation.

The flower has eight petals and matures slowly into a fleshy fruit in 1-2 months.

The plant produces podophyllum which can be used to treat warts.

"Mandrakes" 

"Down in the shady woodland

Where fern fronds are uncurled

A host of green umbrellas

Are swiftly now unfurled.

Do they shelter fair people

From sudden pelting showers

Or are the leaves but sunshades

To shield the waxen flowers?"

Minnie Wait

Flower for the Day Peony 6-1-21

Its been a strange year for my peonies (Paeonia, the only genus in the Family Paeoniiaceae). My favorite red did not bloom this year. My favorite double got fully beaten down by the rain. But my field peonies have done well. The peony is named after Paeon (also spelled Paean), a student of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. In Greek mythology, when Asclepius became jealous of his pupil, Zeus saved Paeon from the wrath of Asclepius by turning him into the peony flower.

This compact flower does well floating in a flat vase in water.

And this pink one also floats well.

For some reason this year I found their scent overpowering. So it goes.

 

Peonies

by Jeanne Lohmann

Grandma called them pineys, and I didn't know why.

They smelled so good, the full lush petals

crowded thick, the whole flower heavy on its stem,

the leaves dark and rich and green as shade in Chatauqua Woods

where each spring I hunted for violets. What could there be

to pine for on this earth? Now I think maybe it was Missouri

she missed, and maybe that was what somebody she knew

called peonies there, before she traveled to Ohio,

a sixteen-year-old bride whose children came on as fast

as field crops and housework. Her flowers saved her,

the way they came up year after year and with only a bit of care

lived tender and pretty, each kind surprising,

keeping its own sweet secret: lily-of-the-valley, iris,

the feathery-leaved cosmos, lilacs in their white and purple curls,

flamboyant sweet peas and zinnias, the bright four o'clocks

and delphinium, blue as her eyes, and the soft peony flowers

edged deep pink. In her next life I want my grandmother

to walk slowly through the gardens in England and Kyoto.

I want to be there when she recognizes the flowers

and smiles, when she kneels and takes the pineys in her hands.

"Peonies" by Jeanne Lohmann, from Calls from a Lighted House. © Fithian Press, 2007.