flowerishness

[flowerishness]

Rudbeckia hirta (var. 'Green Eyes')

To Susan and her beautiful green eyes.

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Cakile maritima (sea rocket)

A cold, wet day at the beach really cuts down on the number of tourists but as far as this sea rocket is concerned, the conditions are absolutely perfect.

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Weigela florida (weigela)

Weigela is a shrub that produces huge numbers of flowers in midsummer but is still putting out some new blooms in October. Florida is Latin for 'many flowered' and this species is the base for most of the hybrids you see growing in temperate gardens worldwide. Weigela florida is native to northern China, Korea and Japan but it was introduced to Europe in 1845 by the English flower hunter, Robert Fortune.

Robert Fortune was the first plant collector to enter China after the Treaty of Nanking. He didn't trek up mountainsides to find exotic flowers, he simply bought them from Chinese merchants. The Treaty of Nanking ended the (disgraceful) first Opium War and started what the Chinese call the Century of Humiliation. China was forced to pay a huge indemnity, cede the island of Hong Kong and allow foreign traders access to China's interior.

As you can see, this common garden shrub has quite a lot of questionable history sticking to it's roots. For example, how did a country (Britain) which in 1845 had a population of 6.5 million beat a country (China) with a population of 340 million at the time? The Brits thought that simply God was on their side but, unfortunately, the verdict of history is in - better guns.

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Eriocapitella hupehensis (Japanese anemone)

The Japanese anemone flowers from July to October and is a welcome friend in the fall garden. Sunny days are not so common at this time a year, so I grab my camera and go for a walk, whenever I get the chance.

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Poaceae The grass family including Cortaderia selloana (Pampas grass) and Miscanthus sinensis (Zebra grass)

I don't really think of members of the grass family as flowering plants, but of course they are. The grass family is huge with 780 genera divided into over 12,000 known species, making Poaceae the fifth largest plant family in the world. The grass family doesn't have pretty flowers because it doesn't need to attract insects. All grasses are wind-pollinated.

The grass family is ancient. Seeds from Poaceae species related to modern rice and bamboo have been found in fossilized dinosaur dung from the late Cretaceous period but the grass family really got going about five million years ago. New mountain chains (like the Rockies) created much larger dry habitats, ideal for the vast grasslands to develop. Today, just three species (rice, corn and wheat) provide half of humanity's daily calories.

I've never grown ornamental grass but one one of my neighbors has thoughtfully planted these two common species in the front garden. I know all about that combination of grass species we call a lawn and I've struggled with mine for thirty-five years. Incidentally, I'm giving away my rechargeable lawn mower next week because I've sold my house. The mower works just fine but I won't need it to mow my balcony. I'm moving at the end of the month to a fourth-floor condo.

It has come to this.

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Verbena hybrida (trailing verbena)

I often rant about plants that have 'jumped over the garden fence' and seem to be making a very good living, out there in the wild. It stands to reason, that if you take a plant from a temperate environment on one continent, then it's probably preadapted to be successful in any temperate environment on any continent. The world is now full of these botanical escape artists. We usually call them weeds.

This trailing verbena typically uses Verbena canadensis as a base which is then crossed with a number of other species to make different colors, petal patterns and other desirable characteristics. This type of trailing verbena is often used in hanging basket applications but it seems that some baby pink verbenas have fallen out of their artificial nest, and taken root in a crack in the pavement below. The little rascals!

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Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle) and Bombus (bumble bee)

Neonicotinoids

Insecticides in general, have a bad history and many, like DDT, have been banned over the years. The problem is that you can't produce insecticides to kill one type of insect that doesn't kill other insects, like bumble bees for instance. In the mid-1970s a new class of insecticide was introduced called neonicotinoids, synthetic versions of nicotine. Neonicotinoids block open an insect's nerve receptors, causing brain damage, and are neurotoxic in unbelievably tiny amounts. A single gram could conceivably kill 250 million honey bees.

This type of pesticide was enormously popular with farmers but commercial bee hive operators started to report significant problems. Studies on bumble bees showed that they easily became lost and failed to find their way back to the nest. Bumble bee nests that had formerly produced thirteen new queens a year had fallen to just two or three. In addition, these chemicals persist in the soil for ten years, partly explaining the current Bumble Bee Crisis.

Neonicotinoids have been banned in the European Union since 2018 and tightly controlled in many other countries (for example: farmers are not allowed to use them on fruit trees or commercial crops while they are in flower). However they are still the most widely used insecticides in the world. In 2023, California joined ten other US states restricting their commercial use and over-the-counter sales for household use will stop in 2025. Of course, these restrictions are just preliminary steps and are being vigorously opposed by the companies that make them and their political allies.

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Osteospermum alt. Dimorphotheca (African daisy)

These African daisies are basking in a sunny spot but as the sun slowly sets and the shadows lengthen, their petals will start to close. No point in all that fancy advertising if the bees are fast asleep in their hive. As the morning light touches the petals, the African daisy will unfurl them again. Plants that close their petals at night are called phototropic, not to be confused with heliotropic plants (like sunflowers) that follow the sun during the day.

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Lego is the largest toy company in the world. Since it's founding in 1949, it has produced an estimated 800 billion interlocking plastic bricks. It's estimated that a hundred thousand tons of Lego ends up in global landfills every year. I sent my Lego collection to the landfill about five years after I sent my teddy bears to the same destination. However, for some people, Lego is a lifelong passion and Lego has an enourmous adult fan community.

In recent years, Lego has been making 18+ building kits and it's Botanical Collection is one of the most popular. 'Adults only' Lego kits don't come cheap, but I took these photos at the reception desk in my lawyer's office and I guess a lawyer can afford it. What does @flowerishness think of these plastic Lego flowers? I put my nose in the rose and I couldn't smell anything. Personally, I think I prefer the real thing.

[flowerishness]

Helianthus annuus (common sunflower) and Syrphidae (hoverfly)

A happy hoverfly visits some very urban sunflowers against a backdrop of big-city life. Just another autumn afternoon in the downtown core.

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Dahlia pinnata (garden dahlia, Collarette Dahlia var. 'Pooh')

Pooh!

Dahlias bloom from mid-summer until the first frost and there's still lots of their beautiful flowers still around in early October. Collarette dahlias have two rows of petals. The large outer row frames the smaller inner petals, which have a lovely ruffled appearance. I think this yellow and orange variety 'Pooh' is a real showstopper. I'd like to say thankyou to the person who thoughtfully planted 'Pooh' in their front garden - right next to a bus stop.

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Linaria vulgaris (yellow toadflax) and Linaria purpurea (purple toadflax)

As I was saying the other day, a disproportionate number of the world's wildflowers are either yellow or purple and nothing demonstrates this better than these two European 'invasive weeds'; yellow and purple toadflax. No one knows when these plants first arrived in North America but I would guess that they probably showed up sometime in the first five years of European colonization - on a pair of muddy boots.

Yellow toadflax is mildly toxic to livestock but purple toadflax is very poisonous. Probably because our European cattle, sheep and goats coevolved with purple toadflax, they generally avoid eating it. Still farmers don't like the way purple toadflax takes over their fields and it's regarded as a serious agricultural pest.

Recent studies of botanical diversity show only plants that people like are prospering in the Anthropocene. Native plants are becoming extinct in unprecedented numbers and being outcompeted by non-native, invasive weeds is part of the problem. But somewhere in my rebel heart, I admire weeds. Weeds grow wherever they want, they don't seek our approval and they don't care what we think of them. No doubt, long after we're gone, it will be the 'weeds' that will inherit the Earth.

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Rock Art

I've seen plenty of painted rocks in front gardens lately, and I'm afraid they're becoming a bit of a fad. Most of this rock art is fairly simple stuff and looks like the work of school kids or gifted amateurs. However these little masterpieces are so perfect, I think you must have to go to art school to paint pebbles this fancy.

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Impatiens hawkeri (New Guinea impatiens)

New Guinea impatiens is another flower that shows signs of 'pixie dust' on its petals, and they appear to sparkle at this time of year. I'm growing this orange impatiens in a flower pot in a sunny window. When I wake up in the morning this is the first thing I see. Wow, talk about eye candy!

When I brought this impatiens home in early May it was still below 10c at night so I brought it inside everyday at dusk. Now in late September it lives in the house fulltime. I'm very impressed! It's been blooming for five months straight and it isn't finished yet.

Apart from regular watering and occasional deadheading, a New Guinea impatiens is a very low-maintenance houseplant. That's just as well. With a lazy gardener like me, it would never survive if it couldn't handle a little 'benign neglect' every so often.

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Begonia cucullata (wax begonia)

pixie dust

I saw this begonia in bright sunshine yesterday and witnessed an interesting sight. As I moved my head a little, the flowers appeared to sparkle in the sun. One closer inspection, it looked like the red petals were coated with little crystals.

Plants do incredible things to attract pollinators. Flowers use color, shape and scent, of course, but some petals are painted with ultraviolet lines that only bees can see. I must admit, however, that the use of 'pixie dust' for this purpose is news to me.

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Hydrangea paniculata (panicled hydrangea)

Meanwhile, back at the library...

In summer, the petals of this hydrangea species are snow white but as autumn advances, they turn bright pink. I like them at this time of year the best. Our local library is home to this magnificent living wall, technically called the Semiahmoo Sky Garden. If this is a horticultural mural, then I applaud the artist/gardener for a welcome splash of color - as the autumn leaves begin to fall.

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Oenothera biennis (evening-primrose)

Well it's official - today is the first day of autumn. In truth, there have been numerous warning signs, not the least of which is the absence of blossoms on this evening-primrose. A month ago this plant was festooned with yellow flowers but now, only a few remain.

Wildflowers that aim to attract bees are usually yellow or purple, because these are the colors that a bee's eyes are most sensitive to. Butterfly-pollinated flowers tend to be pink or red for the same reason. Logically, moth-pollinated plants usually have white flowers (easier to see in the dark) or strongly-scented blossoms like honeysuckle. Orange honeysuckle is pollinated by hummingbirds and this explains its bright color.

As for me, I'm getting out my scarf and wooly mittens, because as autumn advances (just like this evening-primrose) we all know what's coming next.