Oct. 16, 2011 - Summer Flowers

We had a nice crop of Black-eyed Susan flowers this year in our wildflower garden. This one must have just opened because the brown center is still tightly closed. This center part actually consists of hundreds of tiny flowers. They open over time, starting with the blossoms on the outside edge. This flower produces lots of nectar and pollen so it is popular with the insects. Black-eyed Susan is a native of the western United States. It likes open spaces and lots of sun. When settlers cleared the forests in the East, the Black-eyed Susan moved in.

BlackeyedSusanDunningLake20110715

Wild Bergamot also grows in our wildflower garden. Each flower head consists of 20 to 30 purple florets. The ones at the top of the flower head open first. You can see that the ones near the bottom are not yet open. This plant produces lots of nectar and is visited by many varieties of bees and butterflies. The long thin shape of the florets also makes them popular with hummingbirds.

BergamotWildDunningLake20110729

This is Sulpher Cinquefoil, which is actually in the rose family. It was also growing in our wildflower garden. There are several varieties of Cinquefoil and I read that they do best in poor soil.

CinquefoilSulpherDunningLake20110703

Purple Vetch grows at our lake home in northern Minnesota. The shape of the flower indicates that it is in the pea family.

VetchPurpleDunningLake20110624

We have Tawny Daylilies in our wildflower garden. Last year, the deer ate all the blossoms before they could open. This year I spread deer repellant around the garden and we were able to enjoy these large beautiful flowers. Each blossom lasts only one day; hence the name Daylily.

LilyTawnyDayDunningLake20110716

This group of Turk’s Cap Lilies was photographed at Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge near McGregor, MN. Two obvious differences between this lily and the previous one are that the petals bend backward and they are covered with dark spots.

LilyTurk'scapRiceLakeNWR20110721

Several varieties of thistle grow in our area. Along one of the back roads in Itasca County, I photographed this Swamp Thistle. I even caught a bee coming in for a landing.

ThistleSwampAlderItascaCounty20110722

I took this photo of Blue Vervain at Long Lake Regional Park in New Brighton, MN. You might notice it has something in common with some of the other flowers in today’s collection. The flower heads consist of many small flowers that open at different times. In this case, they start opening at the bottom of the flower head. Plants that spread out their flowering period increase their chances of getting pollinated.

VervainBlueLongLakeRegionalParkNewBrighton20110712

Here’s a White Water Lily growing in our lake. They tend to start blooming later than the Yellow Water Lilies. We have several shallow areas in the lake just covered with both kinds of water lilies.

WaterlilyWhiteAlderItascaCounty20110722