It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is Smooth Sumac which is quite prevalent in our area. It mainly blooms in May and June and is in the Cashew family. The fruits on the plant appear in August and September and the leaves turn bright red in autumn. They are quite the lovely pop of color.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is a Prickly Pear Cactus bloom. I actually photographed this in Colorado in the Garden of the Gods but we have them in Kansas as well. The official name is Plains Prickly Pear and they bloom in May and June and they are found throughout Kansas. They endure drought well due to their pads, they can shrink and swell depending on how much moisture they receive.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is the Clasping Coneflower. The amount of dark red on the flowers can vary and be quite small. This group had the red coloring very prominent. The flowers usually bloom May through July and they are in the Sunflower family. They are very abundant in clay soils so that's why they are prominent in my area. 😂
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! It's also a double digit day! 😀 Today's wildflower is one that is blooming quite a bit in my area called the Prairie Coneflower. These flowers usually bloom May through August. They are part of the Sunflower family. The leaves and flowers can be used to make a tea and the leaves and stems can be used to treat various things like Poison Ivy.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one that has been blooming quite a lot in the area, the Missouri Evening Primrose. It likes rocky soils and grows beautifully on hillsides. It usually blooms May through July. The flowers usually open near sunset and then close by mid-day the next day. If it is cloudy out they can stay open even longer or open earlier. Night flying moths will pollinate them and the flower will droop down after pollination.
Happy Monday and happy new week! My water Lilys have just about finished for the year. They were quite lovely while blooming and gave a nice pop of color to the pond.
Happy Monday and happy new week! The Iris are blooming everywhere in the area right now. This image is of one of my yellow variety that blooms near my Gazebo pond.
Happy Monday and happy new week! This is an image of some of my yellow Gerbera blooms from a few weeks ago. It's very nice to have flowers in bloom even in the winter. They lose a lot of leaves but seem to survive OK.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one I had difficulty IDing and had to have a Kansas Wildflower expert who runs a website and has a book that I use to help me. He was a bit stumped as well but we believe it is Flixweed Mustard. It is definitely in the Mustard family. It is also known as Tansy Mustard. It is generally found further north. It usually flowers in late spring. It may have been introduced to our area because it was found in an area where there had been a lot of construction.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's image is of a trio of Missouri Evening Primroses. They usually bloom May through July. The flowers generally open in the evening and close by mid morning the following day. Night flying moths are the pollinators. They are very drought hardy plants and can be found growing in very rocky soils.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is another that I captured in late November that was very confused. This is a common Sunflower that is only supposed to be blooming from July through September but was happily blooming on the 22nd of November. Common Sunflowers are the state flower of Kansas.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's wildflower is one that I didn't see much of this year, this is a Maximillian Sunflower. They usually flower in August and September. They are nutritious for livestock. They are a bit different than the usual Sunflower because of all the many blooms they produce.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Todays flower is Buffalo Bur also known as Kansas Thistle. It is a very drought resistant plant and very aggressive. We have discovered this in some disturbed areas of our yard as it is the only thing that is growing and doing well. When the plant is mature, it breaks off near the base of the stem and then rolls like a tumbleweed and scatters many seeds.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! I don't think I have shared this flower this year and it is one of my favorites! These are Black-eyed Susan that are growing on the bank of my Gazebo Pond. They usually bloom May through September. They are also known as Rudbeckia Hirta and are in the Sunflower family.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one of my favorites but hard to catch for me. It is Western Salsify or Goat's Beard. It is in the Sunflower family and closes up in the heat of the day. When it goes to seed it resembles a very large Dandelion. It's roots are edible and are said to taste like Parsnip.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! These flowers have been blooming like crazy everywhere in my area the past couple of weeks. It is lovely to see them. I took this image on my way home from work one afternoon. These are Common Sunflowers, the state flower of Kansas. They can bloom July through September. We usually get them late August into September. They can grow up to 12 feet high.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog. I have a bit of a mystery today. I photographed this plant in June and there was a good amount of it around at the time. I believe it is a type of Wild Mustard but I am not sure of the variety. The one that looks closest to it, does not grow in our area according to my sources. Anyway, it was fairly photogenic. 😁
It's the last day of July, wow the year is going quickly! It's also Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one of my favorites. It is Sulphur Cinquefoil which is in the Rose Family, must be why it is so lovely. 😀 It blooms in May and June. This image is of some blooms on the plant that I moved into my garden and it has done really well this year so I was very pleased.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is Russian Olive. It is fairly abundant in my county. Wildlife uses it for food and nesting. It is often times planted for a windbreak. It spreads by suckers and can become aggressive. It usually blooms in May and June and I found it on May 2. It has a very strong smell when blooming which is not unpleasant.
Don't forget, there are Wildflowers by Color pages here on the Blog that contain a lot of the more common ones seen and can be used to help identify the flowers you may see.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is Fringed Puccoon. It bloops from April to June in my area. Native Americans used several parts of the plant to treat coughs and colds and it's name comes from a Native American word.
