It’s rare that we have such warm weather this late in the year. With some rainfall, we get the rare exhibition of wild flowers in September. I spotted all of these around Draper Lake. These tiny white puffs are seldom seen because this is the only time they blossom, and the conditions have to be right. We are hitting upper 80s and lower 90s (F) with some rain just about every week.
This thing grows most of the summer, but usually fades away before now. Instead, we have a visual treat of lavender colored petals covering the ground and more sprouting every day. These little bushes are making quite a comeback right now. Not so much the plants themselves, but the blossoms have been missing for a few weeks.
Most people think of this as a bright weed. The “flowers” are actually specially formed leaves at the tops of the stems. They turn bright white around the edges, while the center stem in the leaves remain various shades of green. Seems to me that as the plants age and keep getting longer, the white fades away to become green leaves on the stalk as the “flowers” continue sprouting more stem from the end.
This is another come-n-go blossom. It always grows down close to the ground and sports tiny fingers of lavender color, so it looks like a puffy stalk. This is a particularly nice specimen protected with taller grasses, and growing in a low spot that stays wet longer.
These pink trumpets tend to grow all over the place, but you seldom see them because they hide in deeper grass. The crews did a pretty good job of not denuding the soil along the bikeway, so the roots of these things remain viable in the shorter grass planted on the sides. They can pop up overnight, seemingly from nowhere. Like most of the flowers featured today, this is the perfect weather for them.
These puffy yellow stalks appear to share a lot with those lavender colored ones above. These, though, tend to pioneer when ground has been turned over. They pop out when it’s damp and warmish, holding the ground after it dries until other plants can get started later.
By the way, the last two miles of bikeway are being paved today, so it should be all finished next week when I go back again.
Is there even a strong delineation between weeds and flowers? I had always thought that weeds were really things you didn’t want growing in your space. Searching around a bit tells me this is the accepted answer. There’s not a necessarily a stronger definition.
All of the plants you see here can show up unwanted in cultivated areas. Most locals who work on their lawns won’t tolerate these plants. However, out there in the wild, they are quite beautiful.
What a treat these photos are, Ed! I just love, love, love them!
Thanks, Sister.