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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Wildflower Wednesday -- June 2011

Many of my Pacific Northwest native flowers have finally started blooming.

Dichelostemma ida-maia (from bulbs planted last fall)


This is my first time growing Dichelostemma, it is such an odd flower. Tall and nodding, looking a bit like a firecracker, which is where it gets its common name Firecracker flower.

The pink one has just started flowering as well. It's not quite as tall and gangly as the red.
More PNW natives that are blooming include:

Sedum spathulifolium

 I have a few clumps of this, some are just covered with masses of flowers, others have just a few.

Vancouveria hexandra/Inside out flower

The flowers of this dainty PNW perennial are so tiny, I had no idea how small they were. And it has such interesting leaves, reminiscent of Epimedium, to which it is related.



Aquilegia formosa



Pacific Coast iris






These  started blooming last month just after Wildflower Wednesday, now they are finishing up.

Sisyrinchium californicum/Yellow-Eyed Grass


Like California poppies, these open only when the sun is out.

 Lupinus albicaulis/Sickle-leaf Lupine

 Physocarpus capitatus/Pacific Niebark

I am eagerly looking forward to the Calochortus/Mariposa Lily opening. They have such intriguing twisted buds. I should have bought more of these.

Clarkia concinna/Farewell to Spring, a California annual

Collinsia heterophylla/Chinese Houses, another California annual

I also have quite a few natives/cultivars from natives from other areas of the country.
Heuchera x brizoides 'Pretty Polly', one of the few I have with pink flowers

Dark-leaf Ninebark, possibly Physocarpus opulifolius 'Diabolo' (the tag is here....somewhere)

Sambucus nigra 'Black Beauty'

Aruncus dioicus/Goatsbeard

It looks like this year I will have some "smoke" (seedheads actually) on my Geum triflorum/Prairie Smoke. They're not quite open all the way yet.


The Clintonia that I bought earlier this year from Annie's Annuals has really taken off and has been flowering profusely for a while now.


Polemonium reptans/Jacob's Ladder has just started flowering. I saved seeds from this last year and I sowed them in the late winter in my little portable greenhouse, and now I have quite a few seedlings from it. So hopefully next year I'll have lots more of this pretty native perennial around the garden.


Please check out Gail's blog clay and limestone, for more blog posts and pictures of native and sometimes non-native wildflowers.