Early July Blooms in the Native Garden

0484

In early to Mid-July some of the more showy flowers come into bloom.  In early spring, the shorter plants, including the violets, Yellow Star Grass, Sand Phlox, and the woodland wildflowers, such as Great White Trillium, and Sharp Lobed Hepatica are blooming.  As the season progresses, it seems the plants that are in bloom are just a bit taller, on average, than the ones blooming just a few weeks before. 

In a walk around my yard, I snapped some photos of the garden worthy native plants showing off a rainbow of colors, and one of the brightest is always Orange Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa).  The intense orange flowers, are a magnet to butterflies, including the endangered Monarch butterfly, which rely on milkweeds to lay their eggs; Monarch caterpillars (larvae) will only eat the leaves of milkweed plants, without milkweed, there can be no Monarch butterflies.

0483

Orange Milkweed reaches a height and spread of approximately 18 inches, and blooms from the end of June until Mid-July.  The bright orange flowers can also appear in shades of yellow or reddish orange – uncommon.  In the photo above, the milkweed in planted in combination with Blue Mist Flower, which will be covered in blue fuzzy blooms come September (you read more about that plant <here>). Behind the milkweed is Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida), which provides nectar to butterflies and seed for Goldfinches and other seed eating birds.

0482

Here, Orange Milkweed is show in combination with Wild Quinine (Parthenium integrifolium)

In the meadow, the Orange Milkweed is also quit showy, but will go dormant, as the asters and goldenrods begin to grow taller, as their later bloom time approaches.

0503

Also in the meadow, is a purple tinged Big Bluestem grass (Andropogon gerardii).  This one has a bit more color than is typical, ‘Red October’ is a cultivar grown in the nursery trade specifically for this purple accent and its red fall color – I planted a specimen of ‘Red October’ in another part of the garden and will compare the two specimens for ornamental qualities. The specimen below is approximately three feet across in width.

0525

A great looking Big Bluestem grass in the backyard meadow

Another milkweed, just about to bloom, is the Red, or Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata):

0515

A closeup of the Red Milkweed blooms, just about to open

It’s another butterfly favorite, and as its common name indicates, can take wet soils, but will grow fine in typical well-drained garden soils, attaining heights of three to four feet on average.  Neither the Red or Orange Milkweeds spread aggressively, but may come up from seed if bare soil is near the parent plant.

0513

The Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), however, while a great attractor of butterflies, will spread by randomly by wandering underground roots, so while the flowers are sweet smelling, it would be best to plant a less aggressive milkweed in a small garden – the milkweed shown below is in the meadow, and is quite happy – as are the Monarch Butterflies that laid their eggs on this plant this spring!

0498

One of the prairie shrubs blooming around the 4th of July is the purple flowered Lead Plant (Amorpha canescens), with accents of bright orange anthers.  This 18 inch, to three foot tall, sprawling shrub is attractive even when not in flower – the grey finely divided leaves are a nice contrast to nearby flowers.

0546

0548

Leadplant shown in combination with Black-Eyed-Susan, Rudbeckia hirta.

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), is another shrub bloom at this time of year, and in this case the flowers look like exploding fireworks – one inch around.  This plant is typically found in wet soils, but seems to do fine in the garden with morning sun – hot sun and dry soil is not what this plant wants.  attaining heights of six to eight feet plus, it can be pruned if necessary, but it would be best to plant it where is can grow to its full size.

0509

0508

Buttonbush growing with the vining Wild Yam (Ipomoea pandurata) – soon to have three white morning glory like blooms.

Native shrubs such as the naturally occurring cultivar ‘Annabelle’ Hydrangea and the multi-stemmed Serviceberry shrub, shown below, mix well with other garden plants such as (from left to right) ‘Biokovo’ Geranium, variegated Pulmonaria, ‘Palace Purple’ Coral Bells, and Pink flowered Japanese Anemone.  At the base of the Serviceberry tree/shrub is growing Jack-in-the-Pulpit – which will have showy red fruit at the end to summer.

0537

The Illinois Rose (Rosa setigera) is a rambler and needs a trellis to grow on if planted in a small garden.  It can be cut back to the ground in spring, as the one below is, to keep it managable.  It’s quite nice when in bloom, has nice red/orange/yellow fall color, and its fruit (hips) are a valuable food source for over wintering birds.

0507

New Jersey Tea (Ceanonthus americanus), is a low shrub, growing to a maximum height of about three feet high and wide.  In July it is covered in fuzzy, two inch long blooms.  Hummingbirds come by to pick off the pollinated insects, rather than for its nectar.  New Jersey Tea does not have great fall color, so its snow white blooms in July are what give this plant its ornamental interest.  This woody plant can also be cut back to the ground during its winter dormancy to keep its growth more compact, as the plant shown is, every March.

0489

0490

New Jersey Tea growing in a meadow setting

On the other hand, Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) has great fall color – mostly bright red, and its pinnately divided leaves inspired many a Frank Lloyd Wright window panel.  Sprouts coming up from the roots will need to be kept cut back in June, but it is otherwise carefree, attaining heights of eight to twelve feet tall and equally wide.

0494

Smooth Sumac growing with Beebalm (Monarda fistulosa), another great butterfly plant, in the foreground.

Mountain Mint (Pynanthemum) is also in flower, not a true mint (mentha) it does not spread wildly by its roots, it does however have a pleasant wintergreen scent to its leaves – very strong when crushed.  In the herb garden, I cut it back by half at the end of June to keep it shorter (16 inches), it can get two to three feet tall.

0522

The flowers of Mountain Mint attract many pollinators to the garden.

 

0521

Mountain Mint just coming into bloom

The Wood Sage (Teucrium canadense), also planted in the meadow is looking great.  Growing in somewhat drier ground than it might prefer in the wild, the plants are only about four feet tall – topped by masses of spire shaped lavender flowers.  A good plant for larger gardens that can take its tendency to slowly spread.

0496

Wood Sage, or Germander, is commonly found in moist/wet meadows, but can be grown in average garden soil.

Prairie Coreopsis (C. palmata), is an attractive plant for the garden.  Growing to about three feet in height, it would make a good flower for the rear of a planting, with shorter plants in front.  As with all the coreopsis, the Goldfinches love the seeds that the plants provide.  The shorter Sand Coreopsis (C. lanceolata) bloomed earlier, and the Tall Coreopsis (C. tripteris) will bloom in a few weeks time.

0505

Finally, Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea, Petalostemum purpureum)) is a real show stopper.  The bright purple/pink blooms flower in rings, starting at the base of the flower structure, opposite that of liatris, which blooms from the top down.  Forming nice bushy eighteen inch to two foot tall plants, Purple Prairie Clover is a great addition to any garden.

0500

hhh

0499

While this photo of Purple Prairie Clover was taken in a backyard meadow setting, it looks great in a more formal planting as well.

Finally on my backyard walk, I noticed the aptly named Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum) was just starting to set out its flower buds.   Its 1.25 inch round puffs of pink bloom will be taking center stage soon.  As the buds begin to open, the stems will have straightened out, and the flowers will rise at the top of eighteen inch tall wiry stems.

0485

Share Button

The Great Spangled Fritillary

0262detail

A few years back, I planted some Pale Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea pallida) behind my parent’s house.  I grew the plants from seed, sown in wooden flats in the fall.  The flats overwintered outside, the next spring I had dozens of plants to set out with very little effort, or cost – plus the original seeds came from a threatened prairie remnant nearby – that property/prairie is consistently mowed now.  Too bad for the original prairie remnant for sure, but I’m happy to continue the genotype on in my plantings. 

Last week while walking in the small remnant behind my parent’s house, I came upon a pair of Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) flying around one of the coneflowers that I had planted – it was a great feeling, knowing that through my efforts, a beautiful insect (the butterfly) found some food.  Maybe these Fritillary will lay their eggs in this small prairie as well – the Fritillary larvae (caterpillars) feed only on violets, and there are many violets, including Arrow Leaved Violet (Viola sagittata), Common Violet (V. sororia), and a few Lobed Blue Violet (V. triloba) in this remnant prairie.

0258

The adult Fritillary butterflies can get their nectar from many species of flowers, but the young larvae only eat violet leaves – and nothing else.  Without violets, there will be no young Great Spangled Fritillaries, or any other Fritillaries for that matter, since they all require violets to lay their eggs on.

1727

Wooden flats (lower left) of Pale Purple Coneflower waiting to be planted.

A closeup of the Pale Purple Coneflower (below) shows the yellow ring of disk flowers actively giving off pollen – next week a the ring above will begin to release its pollen – this methodical release of pollen is the reason these composite flowers stay attractive and showy for four to six weeks in summer.  Once all the disk flowers have released their pollen, the ray flowers (the petals) will begin to fade – no longer needed in the role of attracting pollinators.

0735

The “disk flowers” – the spiky part of the flower – will produce the seeds that finches will feast upon. The petals, or “ray flowers” draw in the pollinators – the bees and butterflies.

Male Fritillaries emerge from their pupae in late May or Early June – a few weeks before the females.  The males are in a constant search for females; they are so persistent, in fact, that the females are sometimes mated even before their first flight. 

The eggs that were laid on violet plants in late summer, hatch in the fall of the year, overwintering as immature larvae, or “instars” near the violets that they will need for food next spring.  Unlike Monarch Butterflies, which migrate from Mexico to Canada, over four generations in one year, only one generation of Fritillary butterflies emerges each year – Fritillaries do not migrate far from their hatching site.

0265

This male Great Spangled Fritillary is a bit lighter in color than the female of the species.

The one dozen species of Fritillary only occur in North America, of those, only three are permanent Illinois residents, they include the Aphrodite, Regal, and Great Spangled Fritillaries.

0262

The small butterfly, nectaring on a wildflower, is a gentle reminder that it is critical that we actively work to maintain the health of our remaining prairie remnants and also that we include native plants around our commercial buildings and homes.  Wildlife, including important pollinators, depend on these plants to reproduce (and we depend on them to pollinate many of our food crops). 

If all we have around us are natural areas overrun with invasive plants,  soybean and corn fields from roadside ditch to roadside ditch planted to European Brome Grass, Bluegrass lawns and Japanese yews surrounding every home and business, with no hope of native plants to be found anywhere, we, ourselves, will be hard pressed to survive in such a destitute environment.

Source: Field Guide to Butterflies of Illinois, John Bouseman & James Sternburg, Illinois Natural History Survey, 2001

 

 

 

 

 

Share Button

Roy Diblik’s Grand Geneva Resort Garden in Mid-June

0162
Last July, I visited Grand Geneva Resort and Spa, not to play a round of golf, but to check in on the Roy Diblik designed garden that they have out in front of the main building – you can read more about that <here>.   This past week, I took another look at the garden, this time in Mid-June.  While there where many colors showing in July, shades of purple dominated the palette in Mid-June.  In the photo above, the globular flowers of Giant Purple Allium (a Dutch Bulb) complement the various shades of Blue Salvia.

0163

In the foreground the monochromatic color scheme is set of by bright green masses of Sesleria autumnalis, Autumn Moor Grass. 

In the photo below the dark green strappy leaves of Allium ‘Summer Beauty’ weave in and out of the small gray-green leaves of Catmint (Calamentha nepeta var. nepeta.)  In a few weeks both of these will be in bloom with balls of pink flowers and a mist of white flowers respectively.

0165

The garden in Mid-June of this year

 

496

‘Summer Beauty’ Allium and Catmint, in the foreground, with Purple Stachys ‘Hummelo’ behind, in bloom last July

The Purple Coneflower in the center foreground waits its turn to put on its show of flowers, while the Yellow Baptisia (Baptisia sphaerocarpa) is just finishing up and starting to set its ornamental bean-like seed pods.

0169

Bowman’s Root (Gillenia trofoliata, now known as Porteranthus trifoliatus) is native to the Eastern half of the United States (including Illinois) and parts of Ontario, Canada.  Tolerant of Shade (naturally found growing in moist woods) is can take full sun as well.  American Indians used the plant extensively in their herbal medicines, which you can read more about at the University of Michigan’s website <here.>  The plant can reach heights of 2 to 3 feet or more, with an equal spread.  The Plant is covered with 1″ five petaled, star shaped flowers, the fall color is an excellent orange/red color.

0174

Bowman’s Root behind some ‘Wesuwe’ Salvia

0175

 

Green is also a color, not just a backgound to other colors, as displayed in the two images below:

0177

0191

Willow Leaved Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ along with ‘Max Frie’ Geranium:

0184

Monarda bradburiana, a short, early blooming, native horsemint is surrounded by soon to be blooming yellow Threadleaf Coreopsis:

0186

A mass of Giant Purple Allium among the native Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolis heterolepis) grass:

0193

Mid- June Display

A similar view of the garden last July:

498

Early July display, last year

Prairie Dropseed grass (foreground, left) knits throughout the garden:

0194

 

Geranium, Salvia, and Giant Allium, all in shades of purple:

0197

0201

0206

 

Yellow Baptisia fading behind the bright yellow of ‘Moonshine’ Yarrow:

0207

In another part of the property, prairie native, White Wild Indigo (Baptisia Leucantha) blooms in profusion, its grey leaves add an addition layer of interest to this easy to grow and well behaved Midwestern native:

0211

Not too much going on in this little bed in Mid- June:

0159

Lots of green in this bed in Mid-June

But the same bed a few weeks later, in Early July of last year, is a real riot of color – the garden is designed to change throughout the growing season with layers of color emerging as others fade.

500

A few weeks later, its comes to life with burst of color

And that is why I enjoy visiting gardens designed by Roy at different times of the year – it’s a great lesson in how to arrange plants so even when they are not in flower, the planting is still an interesting mix of textures and plant forms … at some point in the season though, each part of the garden, or plant combination, has its moment in the sun -just like fireworks on the fourth of July – each successive display is unique and awesome in its own way.  And just when you think you’ve seen the best, a new display explodes before you with another amazing mix of colors and forms.

0176

 

 

 

 

 

Share Button