In my last post I picked a collection of wildflowers from the horse pasture. This area is behind the house and higher up the hillside; there is plenty of sunshine (when the sun is shining anyway) but still also plenty of water. In fact, we have been getting so much too much rain that everything continues to be seriously soaked even high up the hill. Down the front hillside is a seep where, in wet periods, the water comes oozing out and runs on down to the street. At present it is burbling away, gushing into the roadside ditch. Definitely a jolly little spring and quite a change from the desert...
But back to the wildflowers. They seem mostly to be upland types: cinquefoil and yarrow, for instance. Perhaps the wildflowers will aid me in selecting garden varieties? I had intended to go with dryland perennials, given our south-facing hillside; but all this soaked soil is making me wonder whether that is a good idea. The naturally occurring wildflower selection would still indicate it might be right.
Anyway, here is a gallery of photos from Monday morning's tour with the camera.
Hope you've enjoyed touring along with me!
Weather Diary: Cloudy with thunder; flash flooding and tornado watches in effect; Temperature and humidity data not available
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Kris P (Wednesday, 22 May 2019 21:16)
Yesterday's bouquet demonstrated just how pretty these wildflowers are in combination. I love the Potentilla in particular. I hope you get a chance to dry out soon. We had a thunderstorm pass through here this afternoon too and, while it shook up some of the inland valleys, it only spit at us before clearing out.
Amy@SmallSunnyGarden (Wednesday, 22 May 2019 21:49)
Kris - The Potentilla has been the prettiest wildflower surprise so far, especially since the plants themselves are fairly attractive as well as the flowers. I would so happily send you some rain; it doesn’t distribute itself very helpfully. There has been massive flooding and crop loss out here. On a more pleasant note, I can’t help thinking how you would probably do something wonderful with a little spring like we’ve got. Perhaps eventually I’ll start having some good ideas for it... ;-)
Cathy (Friday, 24 May 2019 06:06)
Beautiful. :) Our yarrow is opening too now. And cow parsley too. I found that the wild flowers near us are so adaptable so are not always a help for choosing plants for my garden beds. But I have planted some cultivated yarrow sorts - Achillea - and they are doing best out of all my plants so far! Have a good weekend Amy. :)
Cathy Thompson (Friday, 24 May 2019 12:27)
Such wonderful pictures Amy - I need to come back and look at your vase another time. Wild flowers make me want to sing and dance. I used to believe that if it grew wild, the garden versions would be happy. However yarrow adores this garden, but I can't get a garden cultiver of Achillea to survive more than a year. Hope you are well and enjoying the garden to its max?
Diana Studer (Sunday, 26 May 2019 17:40)
One of the English garden blogs I read has a stream running alongside his garden, where he has enjoyed planting special treasures that enjoy wet feet. Wonderful opportunities!
Amy@SmallSunnyGarden (Sunday, 26 May 2019 17:50)
Cathy@Words and Herbs - Yarrow is definitely going on my list. ;-) And I may try herbaceous Potentillas; the woody ones grew well in my first garden. I'm sure you are right about the sheer adaptability of the wildflowers; after all, that is why they grow wild... Have a lovely new week!
Amy@SmallSunnyGarden (Sunday, 26 May 2019 17:56)
Cathy Thompson - Thank you so much! There is something so reassuring about flowers blooming according to their own wishes. Perhaps I had best try varieties closer to the wild forms for surest results! I would love to grow some of the more 'old-fashioned' types - though honestly I think those are sometimes as far-removed from the wild as our more recent introductions! Unfortunately I've been sick - if you can call it that - quite a bit, just trying to recover from everything, so the garden-making has been delayed a good deal. But the plants that have made it into the ground are looking good, and that is encouraging!
Amy@SmallSunnyGarden (Sunday, 26 May 2019 17:59)
Diana - That does sound lovely, and of course I have a short list of water-loving plants (what dry-country gardener doesn't?). It would take a bit of engineering to turn it into a feature, but would be so pretty....