@f00l Are the Blue Bonnets out yet in TX? I thought I saw some two weeks ago along the highway but not as many as I have often seen (eg entire hillsides).
@werehatrack Well I guess that is why I didn’t see all that many then. Some years ago when my kid and I were going to Cambodian New Year in south Dallas the hillsides were just covered along the highway (at the time I was in Oklahoma). I got some lovely photos of my kid in those that rivaled the ones my sister (she lived in the greater Dallas area then) took when she paid for to access fields of them. She should have just gotten in the car with her family and gone looking.
Bluebonnets peaked right around the time of the eclipse. Now it’s mostly pink lavender red and yellow wildflowers.
Some of these are Indian Paintbrushes. I think maybe that’s the red ones.
There are still stray bluebonnets all around Marble Falls etc west of Austin.
Our rural property adjoins a large tract of commercial timberland. Many wildflowers bloom there in the spring and summer. My favorites are the wild irises:
I’ve tried transplanting the plants and collecting and planting the seeds on our place, but no luck so far.
@macromeh Even when you have dug out a big plug of soil and root around the plant and transplanted it that way it failed? If they are that hard to transplant I wonder how they survive in the wild.
@Kidsandliz I know, right? In the spot where I found the wild irises, there were clumps of them over a ~30 foot area, so it seemed like they should be fairly easy to propagate, but no. (But then, I have pretty much the opposite of a “green thumb”.)
@F00l Here’s my field of gold I got out there and mowed after taking that picture but I felt kind of guilty because I could see that the bees were feasting on them; oh well, there’s still plenty left for them.
@Kyeh nice! I sowed wildflower seeds over my septic tank and drainage field. More weeds like Dandelion than planned wildflowers growing at the moment… But several dozen lance lead coreopsis are in bloom at the moment. We cut down the tall stuff at the end of the season and let the “meadow” regrow next spring. This is only our second year… First year was kinda meh, hoping this year now everything has had a winter to set roots it will be better. (Already is better than same.time last year but not yet what I was hoping for).
@OnionSoup Well, I always have SO MANY dandelions, to the chagrin of my poor neighbor, who hates them - but I refuse to put any weed killer on my yard, so I try to mow off the blossoms but of course they do keep coming back. I dig some out every so often but there’s two other evil diabolical weeds that concern me a whole lot more. Cleavers, that stickery stuff with the spiky little seeds, and the aptly-named madwort, which just showed up a few years ago, but it’s running rampant in all the non-grassy areas! Also stickery and prone to get caught in animals’ fur.
@Kyeh I don’t really mind Dandelions myself… Just pointing out they’re there more than my planned wildflowers in my wildflower meadow.
My two nemesis are:
Dog Fennel
Blackberry brambles.
Dog Fennel is such a pain it grows everywhere here and impossible to get rid of.
BlackBerry I do have a love hate relationship with. I do collect the berries, I’ve made wine and jam with them before… But I hate how they’re growing on every trail I cut through the woods. And their thorns.
The other weed that takes over here is wood sorrel… But I love wood sorrel…
@OnionSoup I would take any of those over the cleavers and madwort! I remember the thickets of wild blackberries around my auunt’s house on Mercer Island; as a kid I was so envious that she could just run out and pick blackberries anytime; I couldn’t understand why she didn’t!
@Kyeh@tinamarie1974 I wouldn’t use salt as it permanently ruins the soil, but yes, I use vinegar, extra strong from Home.Depot along the sides of my driveway.
I dare not use it on my wildflower meadow though because the dog Fennel is growing in between my wildflowers and the slightest wind will kill off the plants I want to keep.
@Kyeh@OnionSoup Much like the photo of Kyeh’s lawn, the dandelions are running rampant in our lawn this year. But,at least when they are in bloom, I agree that they look kind of nice.
My yard nemeses are Himalayan blackberries and scotch broom.
The blackberries are a love-hate relationship because, while they are actively trying to overtake us, they do produce a ton of yummy berries.
And I must admit, the scotch broom does look nice when it blooms (on someone else’s land )
@OnionSoup @tinamarie1974 - NO, they’re not pretty! The pictures make them look better than they are, but they’re enlarged so the flowers are bigger; they’re actually about an eighth of an inch across.
@macromeh@OnionSoup@tinamarie1974 @f00l I saw something today that made me happy - a little flock of house finches was in front of my house, and they were eating the dandelion seeds!!! I feel better about letting them be now, although I’m still going to dig them out of the flower beds.
@Kyeh@OnionSoup That stickery devil plant looks a lot like what we call bed straw around here, and it is absolutely the bane of my existence for a good bit of the early spring. The seeds stick to absolutely everything, and so does the rest of the freaking plant for that matter. The main stem tapers down to something so thin just above the roots that if you try to pull it out, it just breaks off. “Infuriating” is the mildest thing I call it.
@OnionSoup@werehatrack
That’s it! Also called Stickywilly, Catchweed Bedstraw, Cleavers, Common Bedstraw, Sticky Weed, Goose Grass. A friend of mine ended up with a serious rash after going out and thrashing around trying get rid of it. I always put on heavy jeans, long loose sleeves, and those long chemical-resistant rubber gloves to battle it. HATE the stuff!
Here are some pix of gold or red wildflower fields.
the challenge in taking the pictures was that the roads I saw them on has zero shoulders like 1 inch each side and lots of traffic and so it was really difficult to find a place where it was safe to pull over where I could get a good shot
And I didn’t want to drive on the wildflowers by the side of the road
@f00l WOW!!! Thanks for risking your safety getting those beautiful shots!
I’ve sent a donation to that wildflower organization before; maybe I’ll do it again.
@tinamarie1974 Wow, so pretty!!! What’s the first one?
I should have some good irises blooming soon. And one thing I’m so excited about, even though it’s not the prettiest - I’ve finally gotten a bunch of milkweed to sprout up in my yard! I’ve been trying for a couple of years without any luck but this year there’s lots of it. For the butterflies!
@Kyeh aaww thanks!! The first (white) and the seventh (purple-pink) is Gaura. It is a butterfly attracting plant. Thise two are brand new ones I just planted this week. Most of the rest Ive had for a while.
You will have to post pics of yours when they bloom!!! And yea on the milkweed, I had it for a few years. It would come up but never bloom. Eventually I just dug it up and a neighbor took it. Hopefully you and she have better luck!!
Wow! Fields of gold …
/showme fields of gold
@f00l Are the Blue Bonnets out yet in TX? I thought I saw some two weeks ago along the highway but not as many as I have often seen (eg entire hillsides).
@Kidsandliz They have been and gone here, but there are still some up in the hill country.
@werehatrack Well I guess that is why I didn’t see all that many then. Some years ago when my kid and I were going to Cambodian New Year in south Dallas the hillsides were just covered along the highway (at the time I was in Oklahoma). I got some lovely photos of my kid in those that rivaled the ones my sister (she lived in the greater Dallas area then) took when she paid for to access fields of them. She should have just gotten in the car with her family and gone looking.
@Kidsandliz @werehatrack
Bluebonnets peaked right around the time of the eclipse. Now it’s mostly pink lavender red and yellow wildflowers.
Some of these are Indian Paintbrushes. I think maybe that’s the red ones.
There are still stray bluebonnets all around Marble Falls etc west of Austin.
@Kidsandliz @werehatrack
/image “Indian paintbrushes”
@Kidsandliz @werehatrack
/image “Indian paintbrushes
@f00l @Kidsandliz @werehatrack
Moar flower pics please!
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh @werehatrack
Ok will do.
A couple of weeks ago in the Salt Lake area.
@blaineg Same here just this past weekend!
@blaineg Is that a bird feeder that looks like an English phone booth?
@Kyeh Yep, SWMBO is English, so in her honor. It’s on the porch rail so she can refill it easily. The feeders on the pole are my duty.
It lights up too, solar cell on the top.
@Kyeh $17 when I bought it last year, up to $28 now.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CB5GFHZT/
@blaineg SWEET! I like it but maybe I’ll put it in my cart and see if the price comes down.
(I remember you told us your wife is English!)
Our rural property adjoins a large tract of commercial timberland. Many wildflowers bloom there in the spring and summer. My favorites are the wild irises:
I’ve tried transplanting the plants and collecting and planting the seeds on our place, but no luck so far.
@macromeh So beautiful!
@macromeh Even when you have dug out a big plug of soil and root around the plant and transplanted it that way it failed? If they are that hard to transplant I wonder how they survive in the wild.
@Kidsandliz I know, right? In the spot where I found the wild irises, there were clumps of them over a ~30 foot area, so it seemed like they should be fairly easy to propagate, but no. (But then, I have pretty much the opposite of a “green thumb”.)
@F00l Here’s my field of gold
I got out there and mowed after taking that picture but I felt kind of guilty because I could see that the bees were feasting on them; oh well, there’s still plenty left for them.
@Kyeh nice! I sowed wildflower seeds over my septic tank and drainage field. More weeds like Dandelion than planned wildflowers growing at the moment… But several dozen lance lead coreopsis are in bloom at the moment. We cut down the tall stuff at the end of the season and let the “meadow” regrow next spring. This is only our second year… First year was kinda meh, hoping this year now everything has had a winter to set roots it will be better. (Already is better than same.time last year but not yet what I was hoping for).
@OnionSoup Well, I always have SO MANY dandelions, to the chagrin of my poor neighbor, who hates them - but I refuse to put any weed killer on my yard, so I try to mow off the blossoms but of course they do keep coming back. I dig some out every so often but there’s two other evil diabolical weeds that concern me a whole lot more. Cleavers, that stickery stuff with the spiky little seeds, and the aptly-named madwort, which just showed up a few years ago, but it’s running rampant in all the non-grassy areas! Also stickery and prone to get caught in animals’ fur.
@Kyeh I don’t really mind Dandelions myself… Just pointing out they’re there more than my planned wildflowers in my wildflower meadow.
My two nemesis are:
Dog Fennel is such a pain it grows everywhere here and impossible to get rid of.
BlackBerry I do have a love hate relationship with. I do collect the berries, I’ve made wine and jam with them before… But I hate how they’re growing on every trail I cut through the woods. And their thorns.
The other weed that takes over here is wood sorrel… But I love wood sorrel…
@OnionSoup I would take any of those over the cleavers and madwort! I remember the thickets of wild blackberries around my auunt’s house on Mercer Island; as a kid I was so envious that she could just run out and pick blackberries anytime; I couldn’t understand why she didn’t!
@OnionSoup Here’s the stickery devil plants:
@Kyeh @OnionSoup very pretty, but I can see it being a PITA if Charlie took a roll in them!!!
OnionSoup, have you tried vinegar, dish soap and salt in your unwanted wildflowers? Usually works
@Kyeh @tinamarie1974 I wouldn’t use salt as it permanently ruins the soil, but yes, I use vinegar, extra strong from Home.Depot along the sides of my driveway.
I dare not use it on my wildflower meadow though because the dog Fennel is growing in between my wildflowers and the slightest wind will kill off the plants I want to keep.
@Kyeh @OnionSoup Much like the photo of Kyeh’s lawn, the dandelions are running rampant in our lawn this year. But,at least when they are in bloom, I agree that they look kind of nice.
My yard nemeses are Himalayan blackberries and scotch broom.
The blackberries are a love-hate relationship because, while they are actively trying to overtake us, they do produce a ton of yummy berries.
And I must admit, the scotch broom does look nice when it blooms (on someone else’s land
)
@OnionSoup
@tinamarie1974 - NO, they’re not pretty! The pictures make them look better than they are, but they’re enlarged so the flowers are bigger; they’re actually about an eighth of an inch across.
@macromeh @OnionSoup @tinamarie1974 Now that Scottish Broom IS pretty!
@macromeh @OnionSoup @tinamarie1974
@f00l I saw something today that made me happy - a little flock of house finches was in front of my house, and they were eating the dandelion seeds!!! I feel better about letting them be now, although I’m still going to dig them out of the flower beds.
@Kyeh @OnionSoup That stickery devil plant looks a lot like what we call bed straw around here, and it is absolutely the bane of my existence for a good bit of the early spring. The seeds stick to absolutely everything, and so does the rest of the freaking plant for that matter. The main stem tapers down to something so thin just above the roots that if you try to pull it out, it just breaks off. “Infuriating” is the mildest thing I call it.
@OnionSoup @werehatrack
That’s it! Also called Stickywilly, Catchweed Bedstraw, Cleavers, Common Bedstraw, Sticky Weed, Goose Grass. A friend of mine ended up with a serious rash after going out and thrashing around trying get rid of it. I always put on heavy jeans, long loose sleeves, and those long chemical-resistant rubber gloves to battle it. HATE the stuff!
These are in my front yard at the moment.
@werehatrack what are the little orange ones?
@Kyeh Beats the heck out of me.
@Kyeh @werehatrack scarlet Pimpernel!! Apparently it is a wildflower…Full disclosure I used google lens lol
@tinamarie1974 @werehatrack
Nice! Thanks.
@Kyeh @tinamarie1974 @werehatrack That was a great series I read as a teenager! Sir Percy would be an internet star today.
Moar
@f00l Vurra nize.
@f00l
@f00l
@f00l
@f00l Beeeautiful!!!
@Kyeh
I’ve seen fields of solid red or gold (so they appear to my eyes).
For som reason my photos of them were no good. I’ll try again, altho their remaining time is short.
@f00l Please do!
@f00l @Kyeh yes please!!! Those are beautiful
Here are some pix of gold or red wildflower fields.
the challenge in taking the pictures was that the roads I saw them on has zero shoulders like 1 inch each side and lots of traffic and so it was really difficult to find a place where it was safe to pull over where I could get a good shot
And I didn’t want to drive on the wildflowers by the side of the road
@f00l
@f00l
@f00l
They’ll all be gone soon, but unless we destroy the planet in the next 12 months, they’ll be back next year
if anyone is in the Austin area they might want to visit the Lady Bird Johnson wildflower center.
https://www.wildflower.org/
@f00l
@f00l
I think the center has wildflowers in bloom year-round
@f00l WOW!!! Thanks for risking your safety getting those beautiful shots!
I’ve sent a donation to that wildflower organization before; maybe I’ll do it again.
@Kyeh
I didn’t really risk my safety. I just drove around until I finally found a wildflower field with a gravel or dirt driveway I could pull into.
: )
Don’t want to claim extra drama
@f00l Oh, okay - good!
In a week or so, the morning glory vines in my front yard should be in full bloom. I’ll try to get a good photo when it happens.
Well I planned on taking pics of some of my flowers tonight. Went outside and there was high wind and VERY dark clouds rolling in. Maybe tomorrow…
@tinamarie1974 I hope they survive the weather!
Some flowers from my yard. Not everything is in bloom just yet
@tinamarie1974
Wow, so pretty!!! What’s the first one?
I should have some good irises blooming soon. And one thing I’m so excited about, even though it’s not the prettiest - I’ve finally gotten a bunch of milkweed to sprout up in my yard! I’ve been trying for a couple of years without any luck but this year there’s lots of it. For the butterflies!
@Kyeh aaww thanks!! The first (white) and the seventh (purple-pink) is Gaura. It is a butterfly attracting plant. Thise two are brand new ones I just planted this week. Most of the rest Ive had for a while.
You will have to post pics of yours when they bloom!!! And yea on the milkweed, I had it for a few years. It would come up but never bloom. Eventually I just dug it up and a neighbor took it. Hopefully you and she have better luck!!
My drain field at the moment (first year sewn with wildflowers… Was hard clay last year)
Hoping the blanket flowers and black eyed susans will do as well…
Still a lot of bare patches.
@OnionSoup so pretty!!!
@OnionSoup @tinamarie1974
Yes, that’s beautiful!