Ageratina havanensis – White Mistflower
or Shrubby Boneset, or Havana Snakeroot, or any number of common names…Still producing blooms in February, somewhat outside of its “normal” span…
Ageratina havanensis – White Mistflower
Tradescentia sp – Spiderwort
Tradescentia sp – Spiderwort
Here it is February 3, and the temperatures are reaching 70 degrees F. The Spiderworts are already starting to bloom, even though their usual bloom starts in March and lasts through April. Will have to keep track of how long they stay in bloom. These are planted as a companion to Turk’s Cap – Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii which typically bloom from May through November. The leaves drop in the winter and generally the plants are trimmed to about 1 foot from the ground around mid-February. This year the winter has been so mild that the wood has not been killed down to the roots as it often is. Call it climate change or call it global warming, but the plants are responding to their environment. And the Spiderworts are starting to bloom.
Eryngium leavenworthii – Eryngo
Eryngium leavenworthii – Eryngo
This is one time of the year that you might find the skeletons of the annual herbaceous plant Leavenworth’s Eryngo with their unique pineapple-shaped flowerheads. With their spiked leaves and bristly appearance, you might think them to be among the thistles, but actually they are related to carrots. Although lacking in the rich purple hues of its growing season, the bare remains have their own sort of beauty.
Krameria lanceolata – Rattany
Krameria lanceolata – rattany
Krameria is a low lying plant with fairly small but striking flowers, as can be seen here, with a little bit of the foliage in evidence behind it. The leaves are thin and almost spike-like, hence the lanceolata portion of its name and both the stem and the leaves are a bit hirsute including the seed, seen in the lower left of this photo. The bright reddish things that bring it to your attention are actually sepals, while the actual petals are the small things in the center with the green and red mixed coloration.
Off with the Old, In with the New
Cicada shell
Here’s an empty cicada shell still hanging on an Ashe Juniper Juniperus ashei, or Cedar, as it is known commonly in these parts. It is perhaps symbolic of the first blog post of the new year that it features an artifiact of a fauna that has shed its old skin to emerge with a fresh new exoskeleton. Perhaps. Or it could be that I simply meant to choose a different picture and accidentally ( or subconsciously) chose this one instead. Could be.
One could try to figure out what it all means, or one could simply take a deep breah, and, in the words of Paul McCartney, let it be…
Big Box Solution = No Solution
Well that link expired. If I update his post, I will be sure to scan the image and upload it myself.
Saw this in my email inbox today – so wrong in so many ways
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Colias eurytheme- Orange Sulphur
Colias eurytheme- Orange Sulphur
Here’s a somewhat larger Sulphur butterfly on the same plant.
Nathalis iole – Dainty Sulphur
daintily sipping nectar from Ageratina havanensis...
Vanessa virginiensis – American Lady
Vanessa virginiensis – American Lady
on white mistflower aka boneset, etc., etc.
Vanessa cardui – Painted Lady
Vanessa cardui – Painted Lady
bob's brain: living well with a movement disorder and other comorbidities 