Flowers are the Theme for this Weekend: Flower Pictures

Everything is blooming in my gardens. I am eating cukes, zukes, and squashes. There are 100's of tomatoes. Not red yet but tomatoes none the less. The peas are about done and have been enjoyed. Green beans have been on the menu and we had beets last night.

Here are some flowers from my garden. I will also put another blog entry in about vine flowers and how to tell the difference between male and female flowers.

Butterfly Weed or Asclepias: Pilarchik

Butterfly Weed or Asclepias: Pilarchik

Butterfly Weed or Asclepias: Pilarchik

Butterfly weed brings in the bumble bees. Hundreds of them. Did you know they don't have stingers. The orange yellow flowers are brilliant in the garden and last for quite a while. If you dead-head them the will produce more flowers. These bees are the bees that do a great job pollinating you vine crops.

Keeping with the them of beneficial insects... the Butterfly Bush. They will go from bushes, to large shrubs, to trees. You can hack them to the ground each Spring to keep the small. They come in all shades. I have purple, white, and pink.

Butterfly Bush or Buddleja: Pilarchik

Butterfly Bush or Buddleja: Pilarchik

Other flowers are the Purple Coneflower and Rudbeckias.

Rudbeckia: Pilarchik

Purple Coneflower or Echinacea Purpurea: Pilarchik

Rudbeckia: Pilarchik

One plant that doesn't do much for beneficial insects is the annual Strawflower. The leaves feel fake... like paper. They are excellent for drying and last a long time in the garden. The flowers are about the size of a quarter.

Strawflower: Pilarchik

A very good foliage plant is the Amaranth. This variety is a mix for the leaves. The flower heads also get pretty wild. I haven't had these mature yet to see them.

Amaranth: Pilarchik

I also grow Asiatic Lillies. They start from bulbs and winter in Maryland. The keep coming back and I like the orange color. The pollen stains clothing. So be careful picking flowers. If you bring them in the house... cut of the pollen tips. You can miss them.

Asiatic Lillies: Pilarchik

And finally, I keep a perennial bed in the middle of my garden area for the beneficial insect attraction. I also grow flowering plants in the garden beds. This year I am letting my cilantro flower and growing Alyssum. The flowers attract hover bees. I am told they are good.

Perennials Along My South Wall: Pilarchik