Elizabeth Joy has asked that once per week we post wildflowers from our area and tell what we know about them. I have looked through my photos and I don't seem to have pictures of wildflowers from my area. I know I used to take them with a regular camera but I guess I haven't taken many with my digital. There are a few in my garden that I have taken with my digital. This suggestion has urged me to look through the many pictures I have taken while on vacation. I thought I might show a few of those.
We were at Pawnee Grasslands in Colorado looking for McCowan's Longspur and Mountain Plovers. Well, I can't help but notice the wildflowers here. It is an unforgiving terrain. Wide open, wind-swept spaces. I was shocked to see Cleome growing along the edges of a road. It went on for miles. It appeared that someone seeded along the edges of this road but surely not. In the above picture you can see one of the furry creatures of this habitat...Jack Rabbit. Are rabbits everywhere?? The only other thing I recognized in this area was some kind of Thistle.
Also along the roadside what looked to me like Sharp-pod Morning Glory
ipomoea trichocarpa. Like our bind weed it is aggressive.
We were at Pawnee Grasslands in Colorado looking for McCowan's Longspur and Mountain Plovers. Well, I can't help but notice the wildflowers here. It is an unforgiving terrain. Wide open, wind-swept spaces. I was shocked to see Cleome growing along the edges of a road. It went on for miles. It appeared that someone seeded along the edges of this road but surely not. In the above picture you can see one of the furry creatures of this habitat...Jack Rabbit. Are rabbits everywhere?? The only other thing I recognized in this area was some kind of Thistle. 
Also along the roadside what looked to me like Sharp-pod Morning Glory ipomoea trichocarpa. Like our bind weed it is aggressive. 
Dear Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI know the area of Colorado you were in. I also have wondered about the wild flowers near the road as they do appear to be "planted". Often when I travel I buy the wildflower guides of that area. It is nice to id while hiking.
I grow many wildflowers. Queen Ann's lace is one of my favorites.
Sherry
I have several regional wildflower books too Sherry. I love to try to ID the local wildflowers.
ReplyDeleteI don't have Queen Ann's Lace but I like it. It would surely grow in our soil but I've had no luck starting it.
Oh that is interesting to see what kind of wildflowers are growing at your place. The binding weed we - unfortunately - have too. I guess, you'll be taking pictures this year and showing them to us?
ReplyDeleteHave a nice weekend!
Barbara
What a nice idea--to revisit green grass, while outside is iced and frosted, if not buried in white.
ReplyDeleteHah! I chuckled when I saw the wascally wabbit, but I was really fascinated to see the cleome. I've never grown it--I don't like the smell--and I wonder f the rabbits would eat it because of the smell. might be a good option as a rabbit deterrent? Perhaps someone else knows more about that?
ReplyDeleteNina, welcome to my blog. I am delighted that you stopped by and left a comment so I could find your blog. You post about things I find very interesting. I will look forward to future posts.
ReplyDeleteHi Jodi, I have grownd cleome here for some time. I purposely planted it one year. Now it pops up where ever. It is always a mystery as to where and I often wonder why certain places. I have never had a rabbit nibble on those seedlings. Nothing much bothers it. Bees and wasps like it as well as hummers. It can be a bit invasive but easily pulled out when small. Do you think rabbits are following me around?? Is it my lot in life to find rabbits every where I go??? tee hee...
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't until I became interested in photography that I noticed the beauty of wildflowers. I examine them all of the time but I'm not very good at naming them.
That wascally wabbit shot is great :o)
Hi Mary. I will be taking pictures of wildflowers a little more with the incentive to show them. I see them all the time. I know I have taken them in the past but with a regular SLR camera.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa, That morning glory crops up all over my garden. I hate it. I have to dig, spray (selectively) etc. just to keep it under control. I love cleome. I just wish the bottoms of the plants didn't get so yucky looking as the season went on. Thanks for your post.
ReplyDeleteYour wild cleome intrigued me, Lisa - at the USDA site they list a native cleome called Rocky Mountain Beeplant which might be the one you saw.
ReplyDeletehttp://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CLSE
I like cleome but those leaves can get pretty skunky smelling!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I find wildflowers to be some of the prettiest ~ there's something really lovely about a field of wild flowers. Wonderful post Lisa.
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ReplyDeleteLisa (sorry about the deleted comment above),
ReplyDeleteI love our wild flowers. I delight in them all the time so this idea appeals to me. I don't have any photos of wild flowers in our area. I'll have to wait until they emerge from their winter hibernation. Since I've been reading gardening blogs I am amazed at how many people in the USA can garden all year long!! It seems so unreal to me :)
I love the teeny tiny violas that bloom in my lawn each year -- they're smaller than the nail on my baby finger. And the virginia bluebells -- love those too. Ah, spring is only 4 months away!
Diane at Alberta Postcards, was Sand to Glass
Diane's Flickr photos
Thanks for the flashback to greener times, a reminder of what has been and a promise of things to come.
ReplyDeleteOver here on the "scruffy side" bind weed flourishes and provides the backdrop for many macro photo ops.