flowering Archives : Cast Iron Forest to Skillet

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11/05/2023 saffron harvest

I’m holding a small clear quilted jam jar filled with 24 bright red threads of saffron — Today we found there were eight flowers in the backyard saffron, which at three threads each gave us 24 saffron threads! Now they sit in a jar in the plant window, with a loose lid to protect from cat ideas. This lets them dry out a bit before they join the spice cabinet. Very few bulbs are blooming so far, which I suspect is because I divided them extensively this spring. Probably next year we’ll have a lot!

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11/04/2023 saffron season

A big fuzzy bumblebee visits the purple streaked petals and yellow and red center of a saffron flower. — The original saffron patch after being divided this spring has three plants big enough to flower! A bumblebee was visiting one!

A cluster of several saffron plants with two buds and one open flower — I didn’t divide this patch very well oops.

I hold a single saffron plant with two green leaves coming out of the ground with a slight pale sheath around the base near the soil — In the front yard, I had planted three patches the last two seasons. So far only one is up and no visible flowers. someone else here near Norman had several at this stage. I think the smaller bulbs don’t flower the first season and need to grow more.

Half a dozen saffron plants with long thin green leaves in a clay pot, from above. The middle plant has a fully open flower. — Judy reports one flower from her bulbs planted in the spring after the division! Hers are in a pot.

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10/17/2023 autumnal

A black and yellow striped bee fly with dark tipped wings is feeding on the tiny flowers of a Heath aster. The flowers have white petals and yellow centers and cover the whole branch profusely. — Heath asters were buzzin‘!

The small fuzzy body of a common eastern bumblebee worker is dwarfed by the long purple covered flower stalk of Liatris mucronata. — Common Eastern bumblebees were all over both the Heath asters and these Liatris mucronata.

I’m holding a branch of Euphorbia steady so we can see the fuzzy rust-colored arctiid caterpillar hiding under a leaf. The sunlight catches the very long hairs that extend beyond its main dense body of bright orange-brown fuzzy hairs. — Wooly bear!

Faded tomato cages hold a series of fruiting pepper plants and blooming marigold plants. — Marigolds doing well around the sweet peppers.

A closer view of the bright orange marigold flowers dotting their pointed leaves. The plants are lush and only partly contained by the faded red tomato cages. — A close up of the same marigolds. They really thrive in the fall.

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10/14/2023 heath asters at home

Lush sprays of asters crowded with tiny white flowers — At least some of the heath asters I have in our Norman yard are from Texas home. I’m visiting and they are looking magnificent!

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10/14/2023 horseherb in the wild

A pale hand holds green leaves and a tiny five-petaled flower steady in the shade — It was fun to see wild horseherb today at Abilene State Park in Texas. We have one big patch in the yard from a NPSOT plant sale in 2022 and it has thrived.

Briar the dog is laying on soil and sparse mowed grass in the shade of a pecan tree during the peak of an annular solar eclipse. The digital watch in the foreground reads 11:53AM. The dappled light through the trees leaves are all C-shaped crescents due to the pinhole effect created by the overlapping compound pecan leaves. This delightful light effect dapples the dog and the soil alike! — I went with Mom and Dad to see 88% of the annular solar eclipse! This photo was just after the peak. The pecan tree leaves are creating a pinhole effect so all the shadows show the slice of sun that’s left. Mom will be posting her pictures on her blog tomorrow.

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10/12/2023 from home

Three stalls of liatris leaning against other plants and a green plastic pot. They are covered about half in purple flowers. — Liatris punctata var mucronata from home is finally in peak flower! It’s a bit horizontal because it’s near Briar’s favorite laying spot. Oops.

Small white asters on a scraggly-leaves branch — The heath asters aren’t as full as the local wild ones yet but they’ve started. This one hitched along with the liatris from home.

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10/08/2023 rain brightened it up

The bright pink tubular flowers of obedient plant arranged in a spike, with the top flowers still just barely budding. — Another plant of fall obedient plant started blooming! Coworkers gave me several of their plants and I put them in several spots around the yard. This one by the winter birdbath by the house was a bit optimistic but it seems to have made it!

A top view of the obedient plant flower spike showing the bright pink flowers contrasting with the long thin bright green leaves, all arranged oppositely. — I thought it looked neat from above with four rows of flowers in the spike.

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10/05/2023 three chef meal

Credit for fancy salad to Paula. The Chef made the bacon cheese chicken rounds and sautéed veggies. All of us and our guest rolled out potato gnocchi. The potato gnocchi is topped with pesto made with garden basil. the sunflowers are the ones from the garden from two days ago.

Our guest brought this exquisite chocolate flourless cake topped with chocolate ganache. Paula added the edible flower of Texas mallow. (It tastes… like a plant haha.). The cake was DIVINE.

Our guest brought this exquisite chocolate flourless cake topped with chocolate ganache. Paula added the edible flower of Texas mallow. (It tastes… like a plant haha.). The cake was DIVINE.

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10/07/2023 weeding helper

Briar the German shepherd dog lays, looking completely and devastatingly bored, with her butt squishing the base of several stalks of Mexican sage, which are valiantly flowering purple and white above her butt. — After kindly avoiding sitting on the Mexican sage while I weeded, Briar finally decided to sit on them. 🙄

Briar the German shepherd dog stands with her head and back wedged under and draped by long arcs of Maximilian sunflower stalks and blooms. — Earlier, Briar helped us look over the now conveniently low Maximilian sunflowers. We can see all the insects easily!

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10/02/2023 feeding the world

Bright yellow composite flower stalks are fluffy with small blooms. They are in a rusted steel planter. — Probably Solidago rigidiuscula (thanks for ID, Mom!). This was an accidental but fortunate stowaway in the caliche from TX home!

Big arcs of flower covered Maximilian sunflowers are in bright sunlight in front of shaded and dark leaved Datura in the background. — Heavy work, feeding the neighborhood. The maxes hadn’t fully dropped yet here like they did after the rain.