WILDFLOWERS AT HOME ( part 9 )

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SWAMP ROSE

These beautiful wild roses grow on the inner dike around the pond in two locations.  They smell wonderful and are rather invasive!  They are somewhat different than the roses in the garden that are also invasive.  Their smell and beauty catch my senses throughout the month of July.

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PRAIRIE FLEABANE

These little wild flowers remind me of a mini ox-eye daisy although the petals are just little fringes around the center of the flower.  They grow in full sun around the pond and are very common.  I found these in early July.

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GRASS PINK ORCHID

I spotted this pretty flower on the outer dike of the pond in Bonita Bay while picking wild blueberries in early July.  There was only one flower present, and a few years ago in this same area there was also only one orchid showing.  I hope it spreads.  This orchid can be found in the road ditch on the highway near Tom’s Creek also.  

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HELMET FLOWER

An early summer flower, it grows on the inner dike and is not very showy.  It loves full sun and the plants I photographed here were about 2 feet tall.  

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FIELD HEDGE PARSLEY

This tall flower with clusters of tiny white buds is found on the north side of the driveway not far from garage, just beyond or among the cluster of May apples.  I often think it might make a person itch, although I’m not sure of that

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WILD ROSE (VIRGINIA ROSE)

Deer love to eat the wild rose leaves and flowers.  If not enclosed in the garden fence they are browsed down to nothing.  In the garden they spread like crazy and are hard to control!  

These roses have a beautiful smell and that is why I befriend them!  

I like to clip them off with a scissors because the stems are full of prickly thorns and then I drop them into a vase or fruit jar filled with water and take them to the July Moeller family reunions.  

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PEARLY EVERLASTING

I found this flower on the far west dike in just one small area.  It is related to the sweet everlasting flower and I have often confused the two of them.  I am not sure if this flower smells butterscotchy like the sweet everlasting wild flower

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CRANBERRY BLOSSOM

Above is a photo of both a blossom and a cranberry not yet ripe.  Blossoms set in late June and July on the cranberry vine.  They give the name to this fruit as early settlers in America thought the wild cranberry blossom looked similar to the head and neck of a crane and called them crane berries.  

These cranberry vines can be found on the outer dike east of the bulkhead and were planted by Tom several years ago from vines I brought home from work that were being thrown out.  

It takes a cranberry vine 3 years to produce fruit.  All you need to do is stick a vine into sandy soil and it will self-root with time and enough moisture.

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HARDHACK

This beautiful lavender colored flower appears in July and decorates the outer banks of the pond and driveway edges, growing at least 3 feet tall in places.  The flowers eventually turn brown forming seeds which remain on the plant until the following spring.  They are usually prevalent at the time of our family reunions in late July and make great table decorations for the occasion.

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INDIAN PIPE

Indian Pipes were a special find in my childhood.  My cousin, Helen, taught me to look for them in her woods and it was always exciting to see them again each summer.  They are fascinating because they are white in color and lack chlorophyll.  When touched they turn black.  

These pipes were found behind the woodpile at the very edge of the yard.  Sometimes they pop up in the shady areas of the yard in the front of the house as well when there is plenty of moisture in the soil.  Rarely will you find them with a pinkish hue.

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BIRCH TREES

A grove of birch trees stand out

In a woods filled with trees young and old,

White and shaggy with tattered edges

Their bark fades from soft pink to gold.

The birch is my favorite in summertime,

Filled with yellow leaves in mid fall,

Blending with snowfall in winter

And in spring standing out white and tall.

Ornamental today and so useful long ago

For its bark to the Native Americans

Who crafted canoes, baskets, and more

And built roofs for their makeshift shelters.

Majestic birch trees, white, tall, shaggy, arms reaching to the sky.