09/16/2023 nice out

Long waving stalks of Lizardtail gaura’s tiny flowers and seeds reach across a bright blue sky with a few wispy white clouds. Wild sunflowers are blooming in the lower part of the frame.
I hope the Lizardtail gaura is firmly established after this year. There are multiple plants flowering and going to seed in several places around the yard. Wild annual sunflowers blooming in the background.
Clusters of light purple composite flowers are framed by green leaves in the background.
Blue mistflower is blooming! Before I took the picture it had a bee fly and several tiny bees on it but they did not like my camera phone coming up close.
The long flower stalk of an obedient plant has a few pale lavender-pink petaled buds forming near the base.
The fall obedient plants from a coworker are considering blooming. I put several around the yard and this one by the friendly moisture of the bird bath is doing best.
The red petals of a Texas mallow delicately enfold the long red and yellow reproductive parts emerging from the flower. The almost heart shaped fuzzy leaves are all around the plant stem.
The Texas mallow has been blooming regularly in the dry shade. Paula saw a hummingbird feeding at one a few weeks ago.
Stalks of goldenrod are 2-4 feet tall in the shade and topped with opening tiny yellow flowers in long clusters.
My Canada goldenrod from Abby is doing well and just started to bloom!

07/20/2023 summer continues

Green grasses have broad round seedheads forming. The grass are in front of a wooden fence dappled with sun and shade.
The sea oats that came up a few years ago from purchased seeds. They finally bloomed!
Three pink lily flowers blooming at the end of a long bare green stalk. The weathered wooden fence in the background is draped with a few five-leaved vines called Virginia Creeper.
There are three surprise amaryllis in the yard! They are all this shade of pink. Not native, but obviously tough, and not spreading so it can stay for now.
A brilliant scarlet red flower peels out from behind fuzzy green leaves. The flower petals are folded around a long red-pink flower part whose name I can’t remember.
The Texas mallows have begun to bloom! I love how bright they are in the shade.
A flower bud with a domed greenish center has tiny skinny yellow petals begin to emerge around it.
Rudbeckia lacinata from Abby is very happy this wet summer and has started to bloom.
Pale fingers with a wedding band hold a small sunflower blossom and three pointy green leaves still for the camera. The sunflower has clean yellow petals and a brownish center. There are various green leaves in the background.
Helianthus petiolaris from seeds are starting to bloom! There is a crab spider hiding behind one petal that you can just see their legs.

06/13/2023 around the yard

Paula’s Escobaria vivipara cactus continues to bloom beautifully in the daytime. It was cloudy. I’m not sure if that matters for it to bloom.
A very frilly summer iris begins… I think this one is from Judy?
The standing cypress is really going now with multiple plants in full bloom!
The Chef made a delicious pizza with fresh basil and oregano from the yard.
I believe this is a safflower that sprouted from the bird seed.
I believe these are our two different sunflowers species. The one on the left has narrower and wavy edged leaves; we think/hope it’s Helianthus petiolaris (both Mom and another friend have given us seeds). The one on the right has big broad leaves and I think is an offspring of the Helianthus annuus that volunteered last year.
Ironweed is starting to bud.
Greeneyes is about to bloom!

05/29/2023 blooming!

A plantain flowering in the tiered cactus planter. This one was in the soil from Jeanne’s spike-moss.
The Hedeoma is blooming in the planter too!
Paula noticed this sneaky Prairie Coneflower blooming!
Some sunflowers near Leon’s blackberries have wavy edged leaves. We are hoping they might be Helianthus petiolaris.

09/22/2022 afternoon after work

The backyard sunflowers are quite magnificent at this point.
I don’t see any in this picture, but I saw several bumblebees up on the flowers.
The Salvia azurea are really doing well.
I have a new bunch of Indiangrass sprouting and blooming!
The little bluestem is blooming too. This clump has gotten quite happy in its second or third year now.
Jeanne, Abby, and Mom have been kindly helping me over text to confirm my accidental imports of non native and invasive King Ranch bluestem or “KR grass”. As they bloom and get identified, I have been pulling them.
I’m also continuing to work on pulling the annual, invasive Commelina communis. Unlike the native perennial dayflower, its roots are very shallow.