Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Wildflower Wednesday September 2013: Purple wildflowers and Rain Lilies

 It's Wildflower Wednesday sponsored by Gail at Clay and Limestone where she invites bloggers to share stories of wildflowers in our gardens the fourth Wednesday of each month.

For September 2013 I'm featuring purple performers and Rain Lilies in the fall garden.

The much-anticipated Liatris or Gayfeather is blooming this week.  Another plant generously shared by Michael at Plano Prairie Garden last year.  He's not sure exactly which variety this is so he's listed it as Liatris somethingorother in his plant list.  I do know for sure it is a striking color in the fall garden.  The plants have begun to spread out in their second year in my garden and look better this year compared to last year when they were newly planted.



Liatris is native to the prairies of north America and is perennial to zone 3.  The deer will browse the young shoots but ignore the mature plant so I cover it with an upside down hanging basket in the spring.


The fragrant leaves have been used medicinally to treat a variety of ailments and for sachets, potpourris, and insect repellents.

Another pretty purple in the garden this fall is this Prairie Verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida) plant which surprises me whenever I see it.

 
One of the most common spring wildflowers in this part of Texas, Prairie Verbena typically disappears when the early summer heat sets in but one has settled into a low spot in part shade near a plant which gets watered from time to time, so it seems to have found the perfect spot to remain green and blooming throughout the hotter and drier than average summer.


The Prairie Verbena in my yard naturally sprout from seed that has apparently always been here.  We leave the backyard as natural as possible allowing native groundcover and wildflowers to grow.  Deer have always ignored this plant and its blooms.


And now for the Rain lilies.  We had several days of rain last week and the Hill Country Rain Lilies (Zephryranthes drummondii or Cooperia drummondii) have been amazing.  I don't remember seeing so many at once.  Every untended strip of land seems to have sprouted hundreds of them.  Although I use photos from my own yard for Wildflower Wednesday, I wanted to show this one photo below taken at my friend Cheryl's house just a few miles north of me because of the amazing volume of rain lilies.  I hope to have mine look like this eventually.


Rain lilies are members of the Amaryllis family and get their common name because they pop up most often the day after a soaking rain.  We don't get a lot of rain so it's always a surprise to see the rain lilies.  Although pink varieties are available the blooms are usually yellow or white, they are mildly fragrant and turn pink when pollinated so it looks like I'll have plenty more the next time it rains.  The rest of the photos are from my own yard.


Rain lily is native to the warmer regions of north and south America and are hardy to Zone 7.  They can be purchased growing in pots but these arrived naturally and continue to multiply.  Sometimes I find a bulb when planting my garden and I always transplant it where I know it will grow.

Pretty delicate blooms after a shower.


Pollinated rain lilies forming seeds on the slender stem.


Maturing seed pod



Said to be moderately deer resistant, I've never seen them even browse the Rain Lilies.  It's a great rock garden plant too.


That's the wildflower report from my garden for September 2013.  Now I'm heading over to Clay and Limestone to enjoy even more wildflowers.

20 comments:

  1. I loved that the rain lilies came up over the weekend! None in my yard but lots around the area.

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    1. They'll find their way in to your yard soon, especially if you pick a few of those soon to ripen seeds.

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  2. I love purple flowers and liatris and verbena are two I also grow. It's good that neither are deer attractors! Deer have found my garden. Now if i could only get rain lilies to like my garden as much as they like your Texas land!! Happy WW to you! gail

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    1. It's always fun to see at least a few plants take especially well to our thin, rocky soil.

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  3. I didn't know about Rain Lilies before now. Thanks!
    Hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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    1. They are quite a special treat when we have rain.

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  4. The rain lilies are lovely, especially with a halo of raindrops.

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    1. We especially like those raindrops!

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  5. Purple is one of my favorite colors and especially liatris. A wonderful collection of beautiful wildflowers.

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    1. I always enjoy the cooling effect of purple in the garden too.

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  6. The Rain Lilies are new to me, too. What a magical surprise! Another reason to like Texas! Thanks for sharing so much information about them -- and beautiful photos of all the wildflowers!

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    1. They are a special treat for our much warmer climate. I read that when grown in colder climates they would need to be dug and stored. That might work for larger bulbs but these are tiny.

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  7. I am glad your gayfeather are healthy and expanding. You should get plenty of seeds this year if you want more plants in the coming years. All of my plants are seedlings from two original plants. I need to pay more attention to the fragrance of the leaves. I can't say that I have noticed it before. Your whale's tongue agave is looking good.

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    1. These particular ones don't seem to be more fragrant than other leaves but several sources included that info so I left it in as generic information.

      The agave has grown quite beautifully and really sets off that part of the garden.

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  8. Love it ! My Liatris in the landscape beds is just showing a few little peeks of purple. The ones I put in the wild patches are in full bloom, though not as large as the well watered ones. It`s been a long wait. Yours are great. This is the yellow time of year, with Max sunflower and Esperanza really coming on and the purple is going to help balance it.

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    1. Good point about the color complements Randy. I do have a lot of orange and yellow in the garden where the liatris grows and it does work together well.

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  9. My Liatris is new this year and did well, I hope it will do even better next year. It is done blooming here. The rain lilies are wonderful, you are fortunate to have wildflowers popping up in your yard from seed in the ground. I have some too, such as Spring Beauty, Claytonia.

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  10. I remember that rain lily species from the developments, which you and my Kerrville friend turned me onto in your area...wow! Not bad for a drought. The last pic...now *that's* how I remember that spot!

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  11. I've been trying to identify these delicate, pretty blooms that popped up in my yard today for over an hour. Finally I stumble onto your blog--rain lilies! Thanks for having the answer. :)

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    1. I'm so glad you found your answer here. They are so pretty and I'm looking for mine to come up with all this rain but so far they are still dormant.

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