It is St. Patrick’s Day and we should be thinking green. It is definitely progressing in that direction in the garden but there is a threat of frost this weekend. I have resisted the temptation to plant prematurely so my caution has been well deserved.
I attended a Native Plant Conference this past weekend so my photos are from that event. I hope you enjoy them.
The first is a red buckeye or Aesculus pavia sometimes called a firecracker plant. It is native and deciduous and widespread. Found this one in the native plant garden at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
This second photo is a purple phacelia but I am not certain. The purple phacelia is also known as Fernleaf (Phaelia bipinnatifida). It is found in rocky forests such as where I found it at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
This third photo is a Wild Blue Indigo or Baptisia australis. I found this one at the Ruffner Nature Center here in Birmingham. It is not the best photo for which I am sorry. It does reveal the bluish green stems and the flowering stem which is about to burst forth. These are hardy perennials which die back in the winter but reliably reappear in the spring. The blooms can be blue or white.
This next phot is a blood root. Again, I am sorry for the quality of the photo but you can see the beautiful bloom and unusual leaf. This plant Sanguinaria canadensis is a spring ephemeral. The red juice of the underground stem was used by Native Americans as a dye for baskets and clothing.
These are the blooms of the silver bell tree. The genus is Halesia and I think this species is diptera. These beautiful blooms were very abundant. It blooms at approximately the same time as the dogwood Cornus florida and since that native is on the decline from disease, many people think the Halesia is a good substitute.
This photo is Zizia aurea or Golden Alexander. It is very abundant right at this time and this one is in my yard. The white blooms you seen underneath is a dewberry which is a prickly native vine. The Zizia is a host plant for several butterflies so it is a useful plant in the garden. It is a member of the carrot family.
I hope you enjoyed the photos. It is a departure from my usual mission of showing garden photos but since we are still not quite in the abundant blooming season I took the license to post them.
Don’t forget out SOS Six on Saturday group hosted by Jim Stephens so capably. You can find the group at this link https://gardenruminations.co.uk.
Happy gardening!!
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Thanks for sharing these photos, it is lovely to go out and about to see what else is growing.
Yours is the second post featuring American natives several of which are regarded as choice garden plants over here. It’s an interesting difference in perspective.