Early summer in the front yard #Meadow ( #beelawn ). There is a wider variety of pollinators this summer. I can't ID any of them -- they are too quick, and I'm to dumb.
Featured Flowers:
Oregon Sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum)
Self-Heal (Prunella vulgars)
Dwarf Godetia (Clarkia amoena)
Purple Clarkia (Clarkia purpuria)
California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
Dutch White Clover (Trifolium repens)
In the spirit of documenting the good and the bad, we are at the spring between time in the front yard #meadow: after the early bloomers (sea blush, yellow rattle and blue-eyed mary), but before the late spring bloom (self-heal, Oregon sunshine, and Clarkia). Bridging the gap is scattered blooms of white meadowfoam and white clover.
Incidentally, white clover seems to be opium for bumblebees -- they scour the faded blooms well into July in hopes of find some nectar.
Sea blush (Plectritis congesta) and yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) are in color and covering the front yard #meadow even where the grass was just mowed. The bumblebees are happy.
White meadow foam (Limnanthes alba) is starting to flower in lots of places. Small patches of Nemophila, Lupinus bicolor, and Collinsia are blooming.
The only perennial in bloom is Spring gold (Lomatium utriculatum).
Curiously, very little dutch white clover this year.
There are, it seems, seeds of tiny annual plants sitting at base of our lawn grasses waiting for an opening in the turf to grow, flower, and quickly set seed. I've become acquainted with a few in my front yard #meadow ( #BeeLawn ): a Geranium (dissectum?), a Veronica (arvensis?), spring whitlow-grass, hairy bittercress, parsley piert. They are all non-native, but only the bittercress seems invasive.
I found a new one: Myosotis discolor (scorpion grass). I rather like this one.
Yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor), a semiparasitic annual that feeds on grasses, has spread all across the front yard #meadow ( #BeeLawn ).
I'm impressed. In spots it has colonized -- see photo. It will bloom next month.
#Washington
#NativePlants
#perennials
#Rhinanthus
#phenology
#PacificNorthwest
The front yard #meadow ( #BeeLawn ) is beginning to color up.
The first photo is from April 9. Very few of the Sea Blush (Plectritis congesta) were showing pink.
The second and the rest are from today.
#Washington #weeds #NativePlants #Annuals #Plectritis #phenology #WashingtonState #PacificNorthwest
The second group of spring flowers in the front yard #meadow ( #BeeLawn ) are not all annuals.
The world's great weed: Dandelion, a perennial (no photo).
A another non-native weed: Corn Speedwell (Veronica arvensis) -- annual ground cover one inch tall .
A native perennial: Spring Gold (Lomatium utriculatum) -- sowed this two years ago, this is the first time I've noticed it. The first year foliage is so fine and grass-like you'd be hard pressed to see it.
The first spring flowers in the front yard #meadow ( #BeeLawn ) are all annuals.
The weed: hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) (no photo)
A another weed: spring whitlow-grass (Draba verna) -- kind of attractive.
A native annual: Small flowered blue-eyed mary (Collinsia parviflora) -- see my profile's header, thumb meets flower.
#Washington #FlowerPhoto #Collinsia #Draba #Cardimine #annuals #weeds #NativePlants
The neighbor's crabapple tree is in full bloom. It's looks good with the front yard #meadow ( #beelawn ).
Honey bees are going back and forth between the crabapple blooms and the pink seablush (Plectritis congesta). A different bee visits the baby blue-eyes (Nemophila menziesii). If anyone can identify it, I'd bee grateful.
#Plectritis #Nemophila #bees
#PacificNorthwest #WashingtonState #FlowerPhoto
Douglas Meadowfoam
Denise G