Flower for the Day What's growing now? 7-13-26

> > Here are some flowers that are surviving if not flourishing in our ongoing heat. The frequent rain is helping. > > Here’s a surprise oriental lily. Another final lily. >  > > Multiple black-eyed susan >  > > Coreopsis >  > > Cleome >  > > Cone flower >  > > and abundant elegant zinnias in many colors. >  > > We are blessed. > > And here is a classic poem which asks what is beyond the bounds of what you can see. > > The Infinite > > This solitary hill has always been dear to me > And this hedge, which prevents me from seeing most of > The endless horizon. > But when I sit and gaze, I imagine, in my thoughts > Endless spaces beyond the hedge, > An all encompassing silence and a deeply profound quiet, > To the point that my heart is almost overwhelmed. > And when I hear the wind rustling through the trees > I compare its voice to the infinite silence. > And eternity occurs to me, and all the ages past, > And the present time, and its sound. > Amidst this immensity my thought drowns: > And to flounder in this sea is sweet to me. > > Giacomo Leopardi > > >

Flower for the Day What's growing now? 7-13-26

Here are some flowers that are surviving if not flourishing in our ongoing heat. The frequent rain is helping. Here’s a surprise oriental lily. Another final lily.  Multiple black-eyed susan  Coreopsis  Cleome  Cone flower  and abundant elegant zinnias in many colors.  We are blessed. And here is a classic poem which asks what is beyond the bounds of what you can see. The Infinite This solitary hill has always been dear to me And this hedge, which prevents me from seeing most of The endless horizon. But when I sit and gaze, I imagine, in my thoughts Endless spaces beyond the hedge, An all encompassing silence and a deeply profound quiet, To the point that my heart is almost overwhelmed. And when I hear the wind rustling through the trees I compare its voice to the infinite silence. And eternity occurs to me, and all the ages past, And the present time, and its sound. Amidst this immensity my thought drowns: And to flounder in this sea is sweet to me. Giacomo Leopardi

Flower for the Day American Wood Sage

> > At the edge of the woods west of the meadow grows American wood sage (Teucrium canadense) in abundance. > Commonly known as American or Canada germander it is a perennial herb in the mint family (Lamiaceae). It is a robust > native which grows in clumps with a fibrous root system, and upright squarish stems with opposite leaves. The terminal inflorescence has scentless flowers which bloom from the bottom of the raceme upward. > >  > > There are numerous pale lilac-pink lipped flowers with large shelf like lower lips. >  > > For those with a need to know the genus name is related to Teucus, the first King of Troy. Try that on your neighbor. > > > > Here is an unrelated poem by a friend. > > Wave Theory > > > Channel Lake, Illinois > > Without fail, through the dawn > > and the long summer days, > > a myriad of waves cross > > and re-cross Channel Lake. > > They fall apart, regroup, > > intersect and pay respect > > to superiors along the way. > > Together they capture and refract > > morning, noon, and night. > > Observing this complex dance, > > this perceived chaos, I ask > > what confluence of wave > > upon wave upon wave > > produced my family and me? > > Doug Twells

Flower for the Day American Wood Sage

At the edge of the woods west of the meadow grows American wood sage (Teucrium canadense) in abundance. Commonly known as American or Canada germander it is a perennial herb in the mint family (Lamiaceae). It is a robust native which grows in clumps with a fibrous root system, and upright squarish stems with opposite leaves. The terminal inflorescence has scentless flowers which bloom from the bottom of the raceme upward.  There are numerous pale lilac-pink lipped flowers with large shelf like lower lips.  For those with a need to know the genus name is related to Teucus, the first King of Troy. Try that on your neighbor. Here is an unrelated poem by a friend. Wave Theory Channel Lake, Illinois Without fail, through the dawn and the long summer days, a myriad of waves cross and re-cross Channel Lake. They fall apart, regroup, intersect and pay respect to superiors along the way. Together they capture and refract morning, noon, and night. Observing this complex dance, this perceived chaos, I ask what confluence of wave upon wave upon wave produced my family and me? Doug Twells

Flower for the Day Last of the Oriental Lilies 7-1-26

Do you believe that half of the year is gone - in a blink - an Augenblick. Here are the last of the oriental lilies (Lilium). You may remember that in distinction to asiatic lilies, the orientals bloom later on tall sturdy stems featuring massive, heavily scented downward facing flowers. They are a feast for the eyes. These lilies survived the Odocoileus virginianus (white-tailed deer) because of their geographic placement in the center of areas with multiple flowers surrounding it.      And here is tiger lily which is distinct from its day lily namesake (also known as a ditch lily). Jan started this process in the 1970’s and we have multiple stands of both.  The Tiger-Lily ….. O thou wast from life’s weltering ore Breathed by enchanting mind before Man was in his own shape. Far, far Thou seemest as the evening star! Yet movest me like that lone light Fetched through the ages of the night Into this breathing garden--close; Or like the things that no man knows In a child's eyes; or like, for one Watching a seaward--sinking sun, Beyond cold wastes of water pale The dim communion of a sail. Ah! though I know not what thou art, Yet in the fastness of my heart How shall I tell what lies unwrought Into the figured films of thought, Uncoloured yet by sharp or sweet, Or what forge of transforming heat Threatens this world of use and fact Wherewith the busy brain is packed? Thou art of me, O Flower of Flame, What is not uttered, has no name, The springing of a want unmated, A joy no fallen hour has dated. Some of my mystery thou holdest, Secretly, splendidly unfoldest. Robert Lawrence Binyon

Flower for the Day Field Coreopsis 6-30-26

> > This time of year the garden flowers appear. My favorite for depth of color is field or plains coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria). Its leaves are pinnately-divided, glabrous and tend to thin at the top of the plant where numerous flower heads sit atop slender stems. >  > > The flower heads are brilliant yellow with notched tips and profound maroon disc florets. There is no deeper and pleasing color. >  > Grow Wild and Free > > Grow wild and free > Let your spirit be > taken by the wind > Run fast and far > Let your spirit soar > skyward without end > Find a space in the soil > Spread your roots without toil > amongst the tangled weeds > Sow your seeds down deep > Where the wind can’t sweep you seeds > Away with the breeze > Mia Verità >

Flower for the Day Field Coreopsis 6-30-26

This time of year the garden flowers appear. My favorite for depth of color is field or plains coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria). Its leaves are pinnately-divided, glabrous and tend to thin at the top of the plant where numerous flower heads sit atop slender stems.  The flower heads are brilliant yellow with notched tips and profound maroon disc florets. There is no deeper and pleasing color.  Grow Wild and Free Grow wild and free Let your spirit be taken by the wind Run fast and far Let your spirit soar skyward without end Find a space in the soil Spread your roots without toil amongst the tangled weeds Sow your seeds down deep Where the wind can’t sweep you seeds Away with the breeze Mia Verità

Flower for the Day 6-29-26 Blackberry Lily

> > When our neighbor Russel Kraus sold his house and grounds to the Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park > foundation he gave us some of his blackberry lilies (Iris domestica). It is known for its fanlike leaf cluster, its orange, > red-spotted flowers and its namesake seed pods which split open in the fall revealing clusters of black shiny seeds resembling blackberries. >  >  > > Blackberry Lily Haiku > > Unfurling petals > > Like rays of golden sunshine. > > Burst open and bright. > > Sarah J. Flackett > >

Flower for the Day 6-29-26 Blackberry Lily

When our neighbor Russel Kraus sold his house and grounds to the Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park foundation he gave us some of his blackberry lilies (Iris domestica). It is known for its fanlike leaf cluster, its orange, red-spotted flowers and its namesake seed pods which split open in the fall revealing clusters of black shiny seeds resembling blackberries.   Blackberry Lily Haiku Unfurling petals Like rays of golden sunshine. Burst open and bright. Sarah J. Flackett

Flower for the Day Daylily 6-25-26

> > This year has been catastrophic for our day lilies (Hemerocallis). The plants are entirely healthy but the deer each evening have eaten the fresh buds before they could bloom. Out of multiple stands of daylily there are very few blooms > and as you may know they only bloom for a day. > Here are a few of the flowers that made their brief appearance. The flowers have three similar petals and three sepals, collectively called tepals. The centermost part of the flower, called the throat, may be a different color than the more distal areas of the tepals. Each flower has six stamens joined to the perianth tube, each with a two-lobed anther The unequal stamen filaments are curved upward. >  > > On the right is the classic ditch-lily found along our rural highways. Its one of the flowers with which I > started my gardens. >  > > Below is a more classic day lily which was in the front garden when we moved into our house in 1978. >  > > Lilies > I have been thinking > about living > like the lilies > that blow in the fields. > > They rise and fall > in the edge of the wind, > and have no shelter > from the tongues of the cattle, > > and have no closets or cupboards, > and have no legs. > Still I would like to be > as wonderful > > as the old idea. > But if I were a lily > I think I would wait all day > for the green face > > of the hummingbird > to touch me. > What I mean is, > could I forget myself > > even in those feathery fields? > When Van Gogh > preached to the poor > of coarse he wanted to save someone-- > > most of all himself. > He wasn't a lily, > and wandering through the bright fields > only gave him more ideas > > it would take his life to solve. > I think I will always be lonely > in this world, where the cattle > graze like a black and white river-- > > where the vanishing lilies > melt, without protest, on their tongues-- > where the hummingbird, whenever there is a fuss, > just rises and floats away. > > Mary Oliver >