Flower for the Day Showy Milkweed 6-1-22

Three years ago I put in some Showy Milkweed (Asclepius speciosa). The plants grow on sturdy stalks. the leaves are wide, blue-green and hairy, growing opposite each other. The first year their were no blooms. The second year there were a few evanescent clusters of buds which were not at all showy. Asclepius is the only food source for monarch butterflies. That second year there were two monarch butterfly chrysalis's.  I love watching the newly born monarchs dry their wings and then fly away.

This year the plants are maturing beautifully with many clusters. 

And then this week the blossoms began to appear and they were definitely SHOWY.

There were two monarch caterpillars but they disappeared. I'll be looking for more.

                                    Monarch Butterfly

                                      In summer,

           dancing Monarchs mate             joining             great grandparent memories             of nesting         under a brighter sun,         in warmer climes.          Orange brush foot union consummated,        the queen's destiny unfolds        her purpose known, yet unknown,        she searches        for a perfect bed,        only the finest of milkweed leaves        for her precious pearls.        Carefully she lays        her eggs here and there,        resting under many a milkweed leaf.        Wait,wait, and then they hatch         baby caterpillars,        larvae programmed         to mature, molt, and        sport yellow black stripes,        they are vegans         born to nibble        on their cradle,         never to stray,         sworn to monophagy,        forever loyal,         progeny of Monarchs.         And then,       the feast is over       it's time to weave       a silky chrysalis,       a place for        metamorphosis.         A mysterious transformation.         A butterfly awakes,         Hangs out to dry,         Stretches fresh wings,         And flies away. 

                 Janice - Ontheland -2015

Flower for the Day Wallflower 5-31-22

This colorful wallflower (Erysimum allionii) is a perennial that grows in clay and rocky soils. It is an old flower which began producing cardiac glycosides in the  Pliocene period (2.33–5.2 million years ago). It is native to North America.

Wallflowers Hide In Shadows

What you do not see    Wallflowers hide in shadows    Mirror of unseen.     Christine A Kysely,

Flower for the Day Virginia Spiderwort 5-27-22

Virginia spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana) is a showy perennial that is thriving in the gnome garden.

The blossoms are delicate beauty.

And it also comes in purple.

        Spiderwort

each blue flower lives half a day

then becomes a purple tear

 

each purple tear vanishes

into the river

 

on this bright spring afternoon

our way is lined with blue

 

paddle gently   such blossoms

will not come again

 

and breathe    breathe all you can

  Lola Haskins

Flower for the Day Peony II 5-26-22

My peonies come in many colors. I like the plain white for its gravitas. The rain increases the weight of the flower

the stems bend sending the blossoms to the ground. The cut flowers are showy and have a heavy perfume scent.

 

And the ants cannot be far behind.

                               Peonies

This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
                                to break my heart
                               as the sun rises,
      as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

                               and they open–
                               pools of lace,
                               white and pink–
             and all day the black ants climb over them,

              boring their deep and mysterious holes
                                 into the curls,
                         craving the sweet sap,
                                 taking it away

                 to their dark, underground cities–
                                  and all day
                          under the shifty wind,
                as in a dance to the great wedding,

                the flowers bend their bright bodies,
                   and tip their fragrance to the air,
                                     and rise,
                          their red stems holding

                all that dampness and recklessness
                             gladly and lightly,
                    and there it is again–
                  beauty the brave, the exemplary,

                             blazing open.
            Do you love this world?
        Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
     Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,
                                     and softly,
                   and exclaiming of their dearness,
            fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

      with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
                                 their eagerness
    to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
                                nothing, forever?
                                     Mary Oliver     

Flower for the Day White Amaryllis 5-25-22

This amaryllis never bloomed indoors despite being brought out of the dark in February. I gave up and transplanted it to the side yard. Then  it resurrected itself, 

and bloomed white. Maybe the color rubbed off the nearby  azaleas.

It almost looks like an Easter lily.

Flower for the Day Iris II 5-20-22

Here is another set of iris. This is not a great year for iris. Even though they look great the have been lasting only

a couple of days.

And my favorite for depth of color.

                my lips opened but

                my tongue laid still inside

                blushing iris

                        Samantha Wrenn

Flower for the Day Iris I 5-18-22

Iris is the Greek word for rainbow. I do not have to speak for my iris. Here are some of them.

                                     cresting of waves

 
                                     a dance in the wind

                                      my garden's delight

                                     shanna baldwin moore

Flower for the Day Creeping Thyme 5-17-22

As you know I like garden infrastructure that blooms. We have creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum) growing between the stepping stones in the gnome garden. It is in the mint family. It forms into a nice flowering carpet.

         

the flowers of creeping thyme are small–

beneath them red ants trundle oddments

to worlds I cannot see

        Kristy Karkow

Flower for the Day Peony 5-16-22

This is a wondrous time of the gardening year. Something new blooms daily - no fanfare - they just appear.

Here is my all time favorite peony (Paeonia) - the deepest red ever.

And a regal gold corolla.

          When the peonies bloomed,

  

          It seemed as though were
          

         No flowers around them.

                  – Kiitsu

Don's Blog Grand Finale 5-12-22

It is amazing how quickly the triplets fledged. I approached and one was on 

the edge of the nest. I took a silent image and all three exploded out of the nest.

 

They all made it safely to the ground where they hopped out of sight. They'll definitely have a story to tell tonight.

It really only took a couple of weeks but was great fun. Robins do not re-use their nests so we'll see how to utilize 

this artistic engineering masterpiece.