a great bloomer identified

I showed this photo on one of my previous posts - and I've shown these flowers on several posts throughout the summer. These plants start blooming in mid-summer and are still going strong - it's not even rebloom, they just keep going!!

Sandra asked what they were called, but I have never known the name. Mark brought me two packets of wildflower seeds from the Denver airport several years ago, and this is one of the plants that grew from the seed. So I just did a little detective work and found a wonderful site for identifying wildflowers: http://www.wildflowerinformation.org/
I think I'll be using this site often!! Thanks for asking, Sandra!!

Yellow Prairie Coneflower
Ratibida columnaris (yellow)

About Yellow Prairie Coneflower (Ratibida columnaris (yellow))

Height: Up to 3 ft.
Flower Color: Yellow
Plant Type: Perennial. Returns each spring from same roots, forming expanding clump. Blooms second spring from seed.
Flower Type: Daisy-like
Bloom Time: Mid-season

Is this wildflower invasive? No
Is this wildflower endangered? No
Is this wildflower edible? No
Is this wildflower medicinal? No

What is Yellow Prairie Coneflower's native range?
Indigenous To: From western Canada into Mexico.
Where Yellow Prairie Coneflower is naturalized or can be grown
Regions: Native to plains regions, but can be grown in all regions.
Zones: 3-9

How to grow Yellow Prairie Coneflower (Ratibida columnaris (yellow))
Soil preference: Somewhat adaptable, but prefers non-acid, dry conditions
Sun/Shade: Needs full sun.
Moisture Requirements: Adaptable to even arid conditions.

Instructions:
Like all desert or arid area wildflowers, ratibidas need loose, gritty soil to do well. Given these conditions, they perform as classic perennials, and are easy to grow.

an extra week

Did you ever have one of those times when you're running around like a headless chicken, and suddenly, unexpectedly, you are given the gift of time? Well, that's what happened to me today. I've been scurrying around trying to get all of my fall chores done and feeling like I must be getting very old and very slow. There is so much left to do outside, and it's raining almost daily, and how am I going to do this?? Then today I realized that Mark doesn't leave for a week THIS Sunday - it's on the 28th - we have a whole extra week to wrap things up before his business trip! Hallelujah! I'll still be planting tulip bulbs and shredding leaves for next year's mulch when he's gone, but we will have time to get all the big stuff done. I cannot tell you what a load was lifted from my shoulders when I slowed down enough to realize this!

So now I need to do a little blog housekeeping. Violetlady gave me this wonderful award a few days ago. Thank you so much! I love it! I apologize for not thanking you sooner, but it is truly appreciated. She wrote on her blog:

The "Change Begins At Home" award originates from Bean Sprouts and is given to bloggers who live what they preach, who try to make the changes in their own lives that they would like to see in the world.

I guess maybe after my epiphany this morning, I can lay some claim to this nice tribute - I think it would be lovely if we all slowed down enough to enjoy and appreciate the things around us - especially all of our thoughtful blogger friends. Thanks Violetlady!

I am making progress on the fall prep front. The shed is nicely loaded - I have a few things left to throw in before we close the door for the winter, but this weekend I managed to get a lot of stuff cleaned up and stashed away.

I have become a zealot about the amendments I use on my gardens - and using what I get for free instead of spending money. Every summer I pull weeds from the lake to compost. Every fall I have the task of moving the partially composted pile to the various gardens. I mound compost over the crowns of all my roses and clematis, add it to the tomato spaces (to be worked in next spring), add to any gardens that seemed to struggle this summer, and then if there's any left, I choose a garden to amend. I don't work anything into the soil at this time of year, but by next spring all of that partially composted material will be like black gold for the gardens. I still have this huge task to do - but once I get started, it usually goes fairly fast.

The other big job I do is collect fallen leaves. I save some whole leaves to put on the gardens over the winter. I used to put about a foot of leaves on every garden, but now I pretty much just protect things that are marginally hardy here - and cover up any bare dirt so the dogs aren't tracking it into the house all winter. Next spring, I'll rake the whole leaves off the gardens so the soil can warm up, and put them in the compost bin. I shred the rest of the leaves and put them in a mulch bin to use as summer mulch on the gardens. I used to spend between $100 and $200 for shredded cypress - every year! Yikes! No more - the leaves add good things to the soil - and, in my humble opinion, look nicer. I go all around our area - about a 10 mile radius - collecting bags of raked leaves that would otherwise end up in the yard waste collections. I don't know if they incinerate yard waste here or put it in landfills - but I do know the leaves are put to much better use on my gardens!! I've started collecting leaves and have maybe 1/4 of them shredded. Still a lot left to do.

These are all things reblooming in the garden right now - I have several more photos to share - so maybe I'll get more posts up this week!! And I hope to visit all of you very soon. You're all so nice to keep visiting with me when I'm being such a slug - thanks! :)

more September blooms

Kind of a quiet, boring day here - we spent most of the day leveling a space for my new garden/storage shed. Hopefully, I'll have photos to share of the new shed within the next week. Tonight we went out for pizza with friends - a very fun evening of catching up.

Here are more photos of this weekend's blooms.


This is by far the best photo I have ever taken of spiderwort. Usually they come out looking very flat. This one is perfect (if I do say so myself!). About a month ago, I cut most of the spiderwort back, and now they are blooming again.

This is the wild coneflower that's been blooming all summer. This is a workhorse!!

The mountain bluet is blooming again also. I love these spidery blue blooms.

I have a snakeroot plant that has been moved many, many times. For the last few years, it hasn't been very happy and hasn't bloomed. So last fall, I moved it to yet another home. When I dug up the plant, it split into 3 plants. They all look healthy, but they are just now sending up these little flower stalks. I think they're the same variety as the ones I showed blooming a couple months ago - big, beautiful flower spikes. I'll give these another year here - hopefully, they'll bloom earlier and better next year. (If not, I do have a couple more places to try :) !)

Here's one of my dark snakeroot - I believe this one is "Brunette." It's just starting to bloom. Again, not terribly impressive. This one may not be getting as much moisture as it wants - it's right next to the river birch clump. Gosh, I hate to move these things all the time.

The physostegia - or obedient plant. This is a fun little plant that should keep increasing in number every year.

Turtlehead. Not a great photo - but look at all those blooms! I love these plants.

I think this is the last veronica in the garden still blooming.

Brown-eyed Susans are still going strong.

A tuberous begonia. These finally started blooming last week - way too long to wait for container plants!! I had some red and some yellow that did quite well this year, but the rest were only so-so. I may decide to not do these next year...

The white "David" phlox is still looking very pretty. Some of the other phlox have blooms, but they're coming to the end.

The Japanese anemone are still looking good.

Another shot - I just love these airy little blooms.

I just took some under-performing begonias out of a hanging planter by the streetside door, and put in these pansies. (And then the temps jumped into the 80's for a couple days - of course!!) I absolutely love this color.

more late summer blooms

On our walk through the garden yesterday, we found a surprising number of things still blooming, reblooming, and just starting to bloom. Maybe I'm the one who's tired - not the gardens!! Here are more photos.

dianthus (pinks)

Queen Anne's Lace

native rudbeckia or coneflower
These all started from seed brought by the wind or birds or ??
They bloom, like, forever! I love it!

plantegenia hosta
these blooms smell sooooo good!

dahlia

turtlehead

little blue stem grass

just starting to turn burgundy and develop seed heads

the phlox are winding down, but still some color

"David"

"Hawkeye Belle"

(this rose is just covered in blooms again)

one of the dahlias

hibiscus are still going strong

mallow reblooming

shasta daisy

"Autumn Joy" sedum, just starting to show color

hibiscus bud starting to open

delphinium reblooming

(surprising because I neglected to deadhead the first blooms)

one of the caladiums in the garden

flowers too, of course

I have these tall lilies by the porch. I think I planted them 5 or 6 years ago, so I have a pretty good clump of them by now. They are pretty stunning when blooming.
These equally tall, but pink, lilies are in the same garden. Together, they put on quite a show.
These gorgeous red lilies are down by the gazebo. I adore this dark red.

Isn't this a great lily?

The coreopsis is starting to bloom. I think these little bright yellow flowers and fine foliage are very pretty. They brighten up the summer garden.

Had to show you this spiderwort. These white and purple blooms appear to be on the same plant. Many years ago, I put in what looked like one plant and it had both colors when it bloomed. Now I have at least 3 clumps that have both colors blooming side by side.

Most of the white blooms have this cool purple center. A few are totally white, but I like the purple centered ones best.

This coneflower is either a native Minnesota wildflower that volunteers in one of my lakeshore gardens - or it's from a packet of Colorado wildflower seeds that Mark brought back from the Denver airport many years ago. Whichever, it's very cool and seems to love lots of sun and fairly dry soil. The leaves are very similar to blue flax.

This is a volunteer bellflower. I love the little flower so much that I have a tat on my ankle that looks very similar to one of these blooms!

This I believe is a cluster bellflower that one of my gardening neighbors gave me. The blurry yellow behind it is the evening primrose. Kind of a nice combo. They are both spreaders, so in a few years, this may be what the entire garden looks like!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY,

DAD AND EVERETT AND MARK!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ANNI & TOM!