#spring phlox

[whatnext10]

It’s the First Day of Spring

Spring Vibrations Today is officially the first day of spring for 2024. Here in central Florida signs of spring started about a month ago with some early blooming wildflowers and the occasional clouded sulfur butterfly. By now our iconic spring flowers, the Drummond’s phlox (Phlox drummondii), are popping up everywhere that there is open ground and plenty of sun. It always makes me happy to see…

[atlanticghostcrab]

[vandaliatraveler]

Update from the native wildflower beds: the creeping woodland phlox (Phlox stolonifera) is now in full, vigorous bloom. This graceful, shade-loving perennial has a mat-forming habit that makes it an ideal ground cover. The plant's hairy, red-tinged stems, which sport delicate, spoon-shaped leaves, spread freely and need an occasional manicure to keep them from taking over. Also in bloom are the heartleaf foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) and eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), whose tall, elegant flowering stalks are producing masses of flowers (it must like the location). The wild geranium is also loaded up with flowers (photos to come).

[aisling-saoirse]

Understory Garden - May 6th 2023

[peace-and-awe]

flowers

Insta @readytorach

[wandering-jana]

Pipevine Swallowtail on some blue phlox.

St. Francois State Park, Missouri

2023

[noseysilverfox]

Moss Phlox (lat. Phlox subulata)

Флокс шиловидный (лат. Phlox subulata)

[shelovesplants]

Creeping Phlox 💜🌸

[uxbridge]

Azure bluets and woodland phlox

[thornbushrose]

I wanted to share a picture of my garden that I took yesterday. The blue flowers are phlox divaricata, aka woodland phlox or wild sweet william. It's a local wildflower that I have cultivated in my front flowerbed for years. In the distance you can see a red tulip. The phlox smells wonderful, kind of a sweet, honey-like fragrance. Wild sweet william is special to me because my grandma said she used to pick them when she was a little girl.

[atlanticghostcrab]

[ssstupid-sssnake]

hair cut !

oh whoopsss

[vandaliatraveler]

Update on the native wildflower shade garden . . .

Since my last post about the sharp-lobed hepatica several weeks ago, the wildflowers in the shade garden have made a significant push. All of the live plants I put in the ground last fall have made it through the winter, and many of the seeds I planted have germinated and sprouted. Quick survey:

Top: the spreading Jacob's ladder (Polemonium reptans) is mounding beautifully and positively dripping with violet-blue, bell-shaped flowers. The plant lures many pollinators, including bees, flies, butterflies, moths, and beetles. And that foliage is so lush and green . . .

Next one: woodland stonecrop (Sedum ternatum) has established itself in the nooks and crannies of one of my rock features and is getting ready to bloom.

Next two: although the sharp-lobed hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba) has nearly finished blooming, the real joy starts for me when the leathery, thrice-lobed leaves with their often deeply-variegated patterns begin to unfold. This is flat-out one of the most unique and gorgeous wildflowers of North America.

Next one: creeping woodland phlox (Phlox stolonifera) makes for an enchanting ground cover and will spread quite rapidly in the right conditions. I have strong feelings for all the native phlox species, but this one has stolen my heart. It's native to a narrow strip of the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Pennsylvania. In the spring around here, it absolutely lights up streambanks with its dainty pink to rose-colored flowers.

Next one: dwarf-crested iris (Iris cristata) is another lovely groundcover but beware - it spreads like wildfire. The lavender and yellow to orange-crested flowers are a treasure to behold from late April to early May. And its arrow-like foliage provides much-needed contrast in the garden.

Next: among the seeds I planted, the yellow pimpernel (Taenidia integerrima) is making the strongest push. The plant produces yellow-flowered umbels similar to golden Alexanders and is a high-value nectar source for many pollinators. It's also the host plant for the black swallowtail and Ozark swallowtail butterflies.

Next two: anyone who visits this Tumblr regularly needs no introduction to heartleaf foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), my unofficial poster child for Appalachian spring. I simply would not have a native wildflower garden without it. One of my foamflowers is a hybrid (sugar and spice) cultivated for its deeply dissected leaves and intense variegation.

Last (but not least): my eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) pretty much takes cares of itself - it's one of the best starter wildflowers for beginner gardeners, hardy and undemanding. But man, does it produce loads of beautiful red and yellow, bell-shaped flowers.

[honeyangel2002]

My friend gave me these flowers yesterday 🙂🌸

[ladysnowangel]

[ainawgsd]

5/5 of the peonies I planted last fall have started to emerge! The tulips and allium and daylilies are up, and all of my phlox has new growth. And my established peony is coming in strong. The flower beds are waking up!