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Here are some random photos taken in our yard. Click on them for an enlarged view.
Skipper on Centaurea americana Eastern Tailed Blues
(American Basket Flower)
'puddling' on damp ground
Indian
Blanket, Indian Paintbrush and Coreopsis in May
Amsonia tabernaemontana
d
and Tiger Swallowtail
Eryngium leavenworthii
Leavenworth's EryngiumSeptember
Asclepias tuberosa
Tradescantia ohioensis Ohio Spiderwort Asclepias curassavica
Helianthus mollis Downy Sunflower
Liatris aspera and Downy Sunflower
Queen butterfly on blue stem
After a February Spot burn
We do mow next to the house, but note the pink Penstemon (I think this one is P. laxiflorus), Coreopsis, Tradescantia, etc. And of course, Boris the cat
Our state wildflower, Gaillardia pulchella, in front of Coreopsis sp. Annuals can be impressive and they fill an important role in the prairie. When they are done, the perennial flowers and grasses take over and the fall annuals are putting down roots. The yard is in a constant state of change all summer and into late fall.
The bright orange is Castilleja indivisa, Indian Paintbrush, a hummingbird magnet and a larval host plant for the Buckeye Butterfly. The blue is Tradescantia ohioensis, Ohio Spiderwort, which seems happy in both full sun and under trees in the woods. The lighter pink you see are the nectar- rich Barbara Buttons, Marshallia caespitosa; they go dormant in the summer and emerge again in December with basal leaves that are almost leathery and dark green.
The societal norm would be for me to mow this down, plant more bermuda (which I'm trying to get rid of), pour on the fertilizer, lots of water and mow twice a week. So, so boring.