A few Wildflowers for your viewing pleasure

[Troubles Trees]

Great pictures guys! I have learned to appreciate wildflowers through growing up with my mom, she can name all of them lol I fumble with the names now when my daughter asks "what's this one" so I will take a picture and send it to mom and she tells the background with the name. Mom is by far my favorite app
I have tried planting wildflowers with very little success unfortunately, if I knew I had good seed to work with I would get more serious about it and scratch out a spot around the beehive just to ensure a good bed. Most of the attempts I have in the past were just picking up seed packets at random stores and using the throw and grow method. I did transplant about 20 Beebalm (red) and they lived a couple years but I now know my mistake transplanting was planting them in full sun.
Thanks for sharing though guys, for a guy I have to admit since I started working with bees I have learned to appreciate them a lot more.

 

[woodduck]

Great pictures guys! I have learned to appreciate wildflowers through growing up with my mom, she can name all of them lol I fumble with the names now when my daughter asks "what's this one" so I will take a picture and send it to mom and she tells the background with the name. Mom is by far my favorite app
I have tried planting wildflowers with very little success unfortunately, if I knew I had good seed to work with I would get more serious about it and scratch out a spot around the beehive just to ensure a good bed. Most of the attempts I have in the past were just picking up seed packets at random stores and using the throw and grow method. I did transplant about 20 Beebalm (red) and they lived a couple years but I now know my mistake transplanting was planting them in full sun.
Thanks for sharing though guys, for a guy I have to admit since I started working with bees I have learned to appreciate them a lot more.

I do a lot of Google searches to identity wildflowers. Im certainly no expert.

Bees are on my bucket list.... Someday I'll take the time to do the research and have them. Just too many other uncomplicated projects to finish up first. The nice thing about beekeeping being low on my list is that I should have a lot of wildflower meadows & fruit tree orchards for them to choose from when I do get them.

 

[Troubles Trees]

I do a lot of Google searches to identity wildflowers. Im certainly no expert.

Bees are on my bucket list.... Someday I'll take the time to do the research and have them. Just too many other uncomplicated projects to finish up first. The nice thing about beekeeping being low on my list is that I should have a lot of wildflower meadows & fruit tree orchards for them to choose from when I do get them.

To be honest I didn't care much for honey until I owned a hive, the store bought stuff isn't nearly the same quality as pulling it straight out of the hive, and I just wasn't a fan of the taste. I put it on so many different food things now, healthy and delicious! The only reason I originally got a hive is because I wanted the little pollinators for everything I have planted, I did so good with trouble free bees and honey production I will buy another hive this winter to catch them when they swarm in the spring, this spring the hive split int 3 and 2 left because I didn't have another box there. It is just my opinion but I think too many bee keepers monitor their hives too closely and treat too often, I am also no expert lol My location is quite a ways away from farmers fields where they could infect the hive with things like herbicides and things of the like, so I just make sure they are alive by watching the entrance, and once per year checking for mites. At the end of the year I pull the upper box, leave the other 4 for the bees for winter and harvest just that honey.
I am jealous of your wildflower habitat, if you have any descent sources or advice for them I am a good listener bud! Seems like every time I have tried to plant them I get nothing to grow. I did get Crown Vetch to once so I can't really say nothing there, it just wasn't what I was expecting. I suspect the seeds were the problem because I have gone as far as scratching out a good seed bed by hand and hand watering for the first week or so and never saw a single flower.

 

[woodduck]

I dont really know what I'm doing but the flowers do so I just let them do there thing. Most of the wildflowers growing on my farm were already in the seedbank. The one thing I do that seems to help is brush hog all my field edges, corners & fallow areas in late winter or early spring. I'm basically mowing standing dead debris and any brush that's creeping in. That seems to help keep mostly weedy plants growing and keep grasses at bay. It sort of looks bad and overrun most of the year but it helps keep cover for wildlife and wildflowers. Most people want to mow there unused fields in early to mid summer and that when most wildflowers are beginning to bloom and early mowing promotes grasses which smother out Forbes in most cases. I get a lot comments about the way my fields look because they look unkept but I don't even bother to explain why because most people wouldn't get it anyway.

I usually order an ounce of this or that from Ernst seeds or Roundstone Native seeds. Roundstone even has little packets of seeds you can purchase for small scale plantings. I will spray small areas in summer them broadcast seeds into the dead thatch that winter / early spring. Sometimes I'll even just sprinkle seeds here and there and wait to see what comes up. It's not 100% effective but I do get some results.

 

[woodduck]

Joe Pie WeedSome Big Bluestem & SwitchgrassVirginia Wildrye & Switchgrass. I know theres some Indian Grass in there too Some Goldenrod starting to bloomNot real flashy today but I suspect there should be some more varieties blooming here soon.

 

[woodduck]

Wild Bergamot, Bee Balm
Is this what you were talking about Rocksnstumps? I discovered this today in my NWSG. Joe Pie Weed. I believe it's actually Hollow Joe Poe WeedGray Headed ConeflowerMore Joe Pie Weed pictures. One with a Hummingbird Moth and another Bumble Bee close-up.
Please, if anyone finds that I have misidentified any wildflowers I have posted feel free to correct me. Also feel free to add pictures of your own if you'd like.

 

[Barndog56]

Great pics Woodduck. I've seen hummingbird moths on two separate occasions this year. It's great to see all the new things brought in by increasing the diversity of your native plants.

Until the leafcutter bees do this.....

 

[woodduck]

Great pics Woodduck. I've seen hummingbird moths on two separate occasions this year. It's great to see all the new things brought in by increasing the diversity of your native plants.

Until the leafcutter bees do this.....
View attachment 30917

Thank you Barndog. I like seeing all the different pollinators the Wildflowers bring. I guess a guy has to take the good with the bad..... Who needs a ground anyway haha

 

[Bill]

I don’t know flowers so I snapped some pics. Anyone know what they are? I think one is bee balm shown above. 2nd pic, It’s everywhere this year on my place.

with my luck their all Chinese invasives :)

 

[woodduck]

Thanks for the pics Bill. The 1st pic looks like Blue Vervane. 2nd looks like Bee Balm. I don't know what the white flower is. Last pic of purple flower looks like Iron Weed, I have a lot of that here and it's just starting to bloom.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Wild Bergamot, Bee Balm
Is this what you were talking about Rocksnstumps? .

Sure looks like bergamot. It does bloom a long time.

In another pic see you have a swallowtail butterfly. Saw one just like it this weekend and had to look it up. Mine likes visiting thistles however. Oh well just like the Monarchs. Guess they like weeds better than we do.

 

[woodduck]

Sure looks like bergamot. It does bloom a long time.

In another pic see you have a swallowtail butterfly. Saw one just like it this weekend and had to look it up. Mine likes visiting thistles however. Oh well just like the Monarchs. Guess they like weeds better than we do.

You know I see them a lot but never knew what they were called. Never really dawned on me to look them up, just always called them butterflies. I see some sort of black butterfly also. And yes they do seem to like Thistles a lot. I was doing some work near the thistle I posted a while back and there were a few more heard on it in bloom and the activity was non stopped. Most of the heads have started going to seed so I chopped them off.

 

[woodduck]

I don’t know flowers so I snapped some pics. Anyone know what they are? I think one is bee balm shown above. 2nd pic, It’s everywhere this year on my place.

with my luck their all Chinese invasives :)

View attachment 30918View attachment 30919View attachment 30920View attachment 30921

That white one had me stumped all morning but I think it's called Tall Bonset. It appears there's a lot of different Bonsets or Thoroughwort varieties.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

This is what we currently have blooming. I think there will be a couple more that bloom in Aug yet.

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