Tall plants have been having a difficult summer. The amsonia, bellflower, anise hyssop, bee balm - even the generally unstoppable comfrey - have been taking a terrible beating from almost daily downpours and thunderstorms. The moment the amsonia was finished blooming a few weeks ago I cut it way back, but I try to retain the pollinators' favorites even when the stems are horizontal. Unfortunately, a lot of anise hyssop has been knocked down across my working paths, so it must either be cut, stepped over several times each day, or trodden into the ground. So far I'm doing a little of each.
When the rain stops however briefly, the bees are out in full force. They must be having a challenging time. Even the flowers that managed to bloom despite a lack of sunshine have often been shredded by the rains. I'm making sure the hummingbird feeder is always freshly filled, to help take up some of the slack.
And here is a question for you. Have you ever seen bee balm do this?
Some of my bee balm stems are producing a second inflorescence rising from the center of the first:
I am very curious to know if this is unusual or if I just haven't been paying attention!
That anise hyssop is certainly popular!
The first goldenrod has just begun to bloom and is covered with insects.
Does anyone know for sure what these are?
I'd love to know.
They look a bit like wasps but I'm terrible at insect IDs:
For such tiny flowers, this plant - Verbena urticifolia -
carries quite a collection of long common names.
Three are: nettle-leaf verbena, nettle-leaf vervain, and white vervain.
I just love finding these flowers. Such a miniature treat.
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No info on the bee balm. Maybe it decided oh the hell with it, I'm doing this! On the miniature blossoms, I love the tiny little things you have to crawl around to see. Reminds me they're not here just to entertain me. In their world they're considered burly thank you.
ReplyDeleteThere is SO MUCH going on at a tiny scale, everywhere :)
DeleteI'm really bad about plant/insect identification or habits. It's funny because I only started learning the names of things because of growing in pots on my balconies and because of pictures I take on my walks which I identify before posting about on Instagram. When I was in Lebanon with my friends, I was identifying all sorts of known to me flowers and they thought I was very knowledgeable. HA! I noticed yesterday that there were a lot of wasps out, but they are pollinators, too, so best to let them do their thing. Nature is pretty amazing and will find a way no matter what weather is thrown at it.
ReplyDeleteI generally let things be. There are only two situations - nests being built directly over my doors, and ground hornet nests - where I will get out the toxic spray ASAP. Otherwise, it's just the bitey bugs like mosquitoes, black flies, ticks, deer flies and horse flies, attacking the animals (including me) that get smacked or smooshed. Unfortunately, my vegetable garden can be decimated literally overnight because I use no powders or sprays...it can be very disheartening, but I have yet to find a really functional alternative.
DeleteWhat I know about horticulture could be written on the back of a postage stamp - but I loved your pictures!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, Mike! That's high praise from a photographer such as yourself :)
DeleteI absolutely love your photos but don't know much about bee balm. I was successful in getting it to grow one year and the next was too hot and dry and sadly, it didn't make it. I do hope you figure it out.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Leigh :) Sorry about your bee balm - the hummingbirds LOVE it so! It took two or three struggling years for the first bee balm to get thoroughly established here - it was my favorite deep red, Jakob Kline - from one plant bought at the feed store. But the magenta ones came as clumps thinned from a friend's well-established garden in town, and they took off immediately. May be worth another try?
DeleteI've seen flowers from flowers, but don't recall where.
ReplyDeleteGoldenrod! Last night on Weekends With Yankee, there's a bit about goldenrod as a peppery tasting garnish.
Wow - the flowers? They would certainly be a bright addition to a dish. I was surprised to learn last year (or maybe the year before - time is zipping past) that there are many, many varieties of goldenrod...this year I'm going to try to photograph and ID a few :)
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