WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY & SOME NATURE CLOSEUPS

Gail at Clay and Limestone features Wildflower Wednesday so that Garden Bloggers can post their monthly wildflowers. I'm down to one or two in bloom with these roadside asters winning the prize for longest lasting Fall flower. It's fun to explore a wild garden like the one we have because there are always surprises. After the asters, you can take a peek. Thanks for visiting Tropical Texana where it is a humid 83 degrees when it should be only in the 60s. Whew! Where's the cool weather?

                                               These little roadside asters come up every year as volunteers.

                                                     Aster seeds ready to catch the wind.

                                           Virginia Creeper... a native with nice colors.

                                           Virginia Creeper will hold on for dear life.  Aren't these neato?
                                   Of course, don't let this vine climb up the side of your house!

                                  Some cool fungi that I found while raking leaves.

                                   The last of the Monarchs are making their way to Mexico. 
                                 This one is on Porterweed...not a native, but still blooming!
                                 There was some Aesclepius near by, but it would not pose on the native.
                                    Happy Wildflower Wednesday. :0) David

Wildflower Wednesday on a Weekend ~ Wild Asters finally blooming!

Gail at Clay and Limestone devotes the 3rd Wednesday of each month for a worldwide view of wildflowers. My wonderful wild Asters are finally blooming! They came up on their own a few years back and now have colonized a front flowerbed. The insects love them, especially a small unidentified black wasp. This is shot with a new camera (my wife and I traded) and I'm thrilled to discover it has great  macro zooms.
Visit Gail in my sidebar favorites to see what other wildflowers are  finishing out our Autumn season.

We have at least 12 species of Asters, so it's hard to say. I'm guessing Roadside Aster (A. subulatus) or the Starved Aster (A. lateriflorus)

Click to enlarge

The delicate branching contrasts with the large, speckled foliage of a Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra x 'Milky Way' )

The buds look like tiny watermelons.

WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY ~ DISCOVERING SIDA CILIARIS

Thanks to Gail at Clay and Limestone for setting up Wildflower Wednesday the fourth Wed. of each month. Her great blog is over on my sidebar favorites, so please go visit. :-)
I found this mystery flower blooming this summer along our hike and bike trail. I'd never seen it before and thought maybe the seeds came in with the granite gravel from a faraway place.

                                It's called fanpetals and you can see why. It's small, but unique.

I'm always interested in finding new native plants that look nice in a rock garden. The ones in the park had been stepped on repeatedly, but still looked good. On the left is a fanpetals plant and on the right our native dichondra, another nice low growing groundcover.

                                      Fanpetals sida is in the hibiscus or mallow family. You can tell by the central part of the flower. Both the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower data base and the Brazos Bend State Park website list it as a Texas native. I'm hoping the 20 or so plants in the park will set seed and continue to bloom each summer. It makes a nice addition to a rock garden. The leaves are linear and dark green and very drought tolerant.

                                 Be on the look out for blooms in late July and early August. It's also called Bracted fanpetals or Bracted sida. It has a nice clumping habit which is always a plus in my book. :-)
BTW: The mallow family is HUGE, so if I'm off on the species part (ciliaris), please forgive me. It's the best match I could find. Thanks.

WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY ~ A VERY STRANGE WILDFLOWER

My neighbor a few houses down let a wild vine grown on her palm tree. For years it just sat there until...
BAM!

I had to really dig down deep in my poor botanical brain to figure this one out.

But judging by the leaves and growth habit, it looked like a greenbriar (Smilax), but it isn't.

I have another of the 21 species of greenbriar in my backyard, but it has small, green inconspicuous blooms.

This species is hardly that!

It also has a sweet fragrance at night and most of the day.

I'm glad she didn't whack it down; a thought that would cross most people's minds.

If you are familiar with this species, please DO TELL !

I've been on the Texas A&M website and can't track it down.

It is thornless and has smaller leaves than most greenbriars. Thankfully, I have some garden blog friends that

ended the mystery. Read comments after you've taken a guess. Hint: It has some very fancy, colorful family members.

Happy Wildflower Day!

or should I say Vineflower Day! :-)

Thanks to Gail at Clay and Limestone for this great idea. You can find her on my Garden Blog Favorites sidebar.

WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY ON A SUNDAY

Hey all! I just found out how to join in on Wildflower Wednesday the 4th Wed. of the month. Thanks to Gail at ClayandLimestone for sponsoring this. http://www.clayandlimestone.com/ These shots come from our recent vacation in the Texas Hill Country. Sorry these are late, but wildflowers are always in season, right?

Butterfly Garden in Castroville, Texas

includes salvia and lantana (Lantana camara)

A mix of native and hardy cultivars will bloom all summer

Though mostly for butterflies, this colorful character was found among the foliage of our native Texas lantana.

I have another species Lantana montevidensis growing on a slope near the street.

A fast flying Mourning Cloak enjoys a yellow variety across the street.

As does this Giant Swallowtail.

I wish I could grow more of the native Lantana camara, but I have so much shade.

Thanks for visiting.  May wildflowers be in your summer forecast.