August Part II - Flowers

 Datura

One of my favorite flowers, next to the daffodil and the zinnea, is the angel trumpet (Datura). Datura is a large, showy plant with huge blossoms, about  4-5 inches across. I purchased the [what I thought was way too expensive] seed from Burpees one year and not one germinated. This year I found a nursery that had the plants started, so I purchased two 5" tall plants and set them out after June 1. With lots of water, warm temperatures, and full sun, they grew like crazy. Later on they developed seed pods, but before I could catch them, a few had burst open and the seed fell on the soil in the pot.

 The Tough, Prickly Seed Pods of the Datura

I was advised to put a nylon stocking around a few of the remaining pods so they would burst into the stocking, catching the seeds.  I had one pair of pantyhose to my name, so I cut them up and wrapped sections of stocking around six seed pods. I waited forever for them to burst, but none did. I finally got tired of watching the other smaller pods pop open and drop seed on the ground. So I cut the stockinged ? pods off, took them into the house, and put them in a box. One by one, they ripened and popped open.

 Burst seed pod

 Clover Blossom

I wanted this photo for my 'Clover Blossom' soap!

Clover blossoms - a common sight in days past, when people raised hay (a mixture  of timothy, clover, alfalfa, etc.) for their cows. Now that every field around here seems to be planted to corn or soybeans, I only see clover at the edges of what were once hay fields. When we were kids, we used to pull the clover blossom petals out and suck the nectar from the ends of the blossom. (We also built forts and camping sites, floated rafts in the creek, and climbed trees for recreation. You can tell this was in the days before the PC and video games...which reminds me, I rarely see kids outdoors playing anymore, which I think is a very sad thing.)

 The Butterfly Bush

When I checked on this plant last week, there were several caterpillars busily chewing their way to a bigger self, ready to form a chrysalis. Now most of those caterpillars are gone. Where did they go?? I looked all around the vicinity and could find no chrysalis(es)?? hanging anywhere. When the kids were little we captured a few monarch caterpillars, fed them milkweed, and kept them until they formed their chrysalis(es), then hung them out on the eaves of the house until they hatched, dried their wings, and flew away. 

 The Pink Zinnea, August 2011

These zinneas are so different from the ones I've raised before. The petals are not as rounded. I like this look, ragged and stunningly beautiful!

 See the difference?

2010 zinnea

 Reclaiming the Flowerbed North of the House

For a few years, this flowerbed had been nothing but a big weed patch. With the vegetable garden and the pond garden, this one just got away from me. I hated even looking at it. BUT, RoundUp became my new best friend early in the spring when I went through that flowerbed and killed huge areas of weeds. At last my plants were freed to live, grow, thrive. And they did. Left to right: Red salvia, purple asters, patchouli, echinacea.

 In the Pond Garden: A few Echinacea and Rudbekia, which has pretty much taken over everything in late summer. Where did I put that RoundUp?

My favorite orange zinnea, after a morning rain.

I am in the middle of making applesauce, so I better get back to the kitchen. I'm hoping to get 20 pints out of this batch (if I don't scorch it!)

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