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[happyapplesfarm]

Solstice garden. This makes me really, really happy. This garden and I are sun lovers. And we’ve had plenty of it. So on this longest day we welcomed cooler temperatures and rain. We’ll soak up more sun tomorrow. #happysolstice #frontporch #favoriteview #garden #gardeningwithnatives #nativeplants #nativegardens #grownative #grow_native (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

Giant Coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima). Do you like large plants with great visual impact in your garden? Try this one. It’s a US native whose range is south of us here in Kansas. But it grows well in my garden. Its gorgeous, large, blue-green leaves really stand out even before it flowers. And, then, of course, it has giant coneflowers that top 4-6’ stems right about now. Not only that, but gold finches love the seedheads once the flowers are done. I have a few in pots just waiting for their chance to add something special to a garden. We’re open Saturday 1-6 pm. #whynotthisplant #plantsale #nativeplants #nativegardens #nativegarden (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

Hoary Vervain (Verbena stricta). This butterfly favorite is just beginning its long bloom time...and loves drought. It seemed totally unaffected by the hot, humid, blazing sun of the last 2 weeks. Amazing. #nativeplants #grownative #grow_native #nativegardens #favoriteplants (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

Rain. You’ve been away so long I almost didn’t recognize you. #drought #alittlerelief #grateful #garden #foliage #nativegardens #nativeplants #nativegarden #rain #weather (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa). Tonight @brentragsdale and I took a walk in our pasture. As usual, we discovered something beautiful in this never-plowed place: over a dozen separate plants of the reddest butterfly milkweed I’ve ever seen. In past years I’ve only seen one or two plants that were the typical orange. I think taking a walk with this husband of mine is something I should do more often. Good things always happen when he’s around. Happy Fathers Day, Brent. You truly are awesome. #luckyme #awesomehusband #fathersday #pasturefind #nativeplants #naturelovers #prairieplants #prairieinthebackyard (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

A day in paradise. This was my view as I added a few new plants to the edges of this garden. Yes, it was hot. But I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Where else would an intensely colorful zebra swallowtail fluttered in to land on a flower right next to me? The act of reaching for my phone scared it away. But the memory is enough. And I thought, that little grove of paw paw trees we planted many years ago was a good idea. #lovemyjob #lovethisplace #nativeplants #nativegardens #gardening #grownative #grow_native #luckyme (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

Prairie plants...take-home style. We have a rather large inventory of native plants just waiting to give your garden a little more prairie style. I love giving tours of our gardens so that visitors can get a glimpse of how these beauties perform around a home (in a drought). We’re open from 1-6 pm Saturdays. #plantsale #nativeplants #nativegardens #grow_native #grownative (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

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A post shared by Patti Heck Ragsdale (@gardenrambler)

Bee dance. It’s happening now on a purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea) near you. #nativeplants #nativebees #grownative #grow_native #nature #nativegardens (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

Color. Harvesting and cleaning red cabbage is a good exercise in color appreciation. These leaves floating in the sink had a sheen that looked awesome. #color #randombeauty #chores #harvest (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

Busy bees. Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea) are beginning their show. And now my morning walk has me attempting to capture pictures of all the happy bees. They are abundant in this garden...and very busy. #nativebees #nativeplants #nativegardens #grownative #grow_native #gardenwalk #color #flowers (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

Question mark. This beautiful butterfly visited our newly potted Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) seedlings yesterday. I’ve finally learned why this butterfly has such a funny name. See the white question mark on the underside of its wing (top photo)? Thanks Betsy Betros for your great book: A Photographic Field Guide to the Butterflies in the Kansas City Region. #goodbooks #nature #butterflies #workvisitor #lovemyjob (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

Over 75 species...so far. We are still growing and selling here at the farm. This heat is no problem at all for most of our native plants. Come for a visit to find out how our plants look in a garden, without sprinklers and with a lazy gardener like me. And maybe you’ll find the natural beauty of these plants as irresistible as I do. #nativeplants #nativegardens #gardening #gardeningwithnatives #grownative #grow_native #lovemyjob (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

Cut flowers. I don’t mind cutting back my Lanceleaf Coreopsis to prevent self-seeding. The flowers are lovely in a vase on my table. This is the perfect time, by the way, to remove all the flower stems on this plant. The heavy spring bloom has passed. By trimming my plants now I usually get a second, smaller bloom in the summer...and minimize self-seeding. #flowers #nativeplants #nativegardens #gardening #gardeningwithnatives #gardenmaintenance #bonus #fringebenefit (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) with Frittilaries. Orange. I think I’m not the only one who loves it. #butterflies #butterfly #nativeplants #gardeningwithnatives #nativegardens #todayinthegarden #wonder (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

Ohio Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis). Every morning this lovely plant adds gorgeous purple-blue blooms to the golden Lanceleaf Coreopsis show - effortless perfection. #easy #nativeplants #nativegardens #gardens #gardening #gardeningwithnatives #flowers (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

Intense. That’s our weather. Spring decided to be Summer this year and the hot, saturated color in the garden is here to help us enjoy the heat. Pictured are Purple Poppy Mallow (Callirhoe involucrata) and Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa). Seedlings of these stunning natives are available for sale at our farm. We’re open 1-6 Saturdays through October. #thegardentoday #nativeplants #nativegardens #gardenwalk #garden #gardening #gardeningwithnatives #naturelovers #flowers #grownative #grow_native (at Happy Apple's Farm)

[happyapplesfarm]

Showy Beardtongue (Penstemon cobaea) doing an amazing job adding color as other spring blooms begin to fade. These plants are in their third season in our garden. There were no blooms in their first season. It was only last year that I learned they were this beautiful purple. We have little first-year seedlings ready now for establishing in your garden. We’re open Saturdays from 1-6 pm. #plantsale #flowers #color #nativeplants #nativegardens #grownative #grow_native #garden #gardeningwithnatives #kansas #plantlover (at Happy Apple's Farm)