Hines

Hines Emerald Dragonfly. Listed as endangered in 1995. Current status near threatened. This insect can't exist without another species

The devil crayfish, Cambarus diogenes. The Hines Emerald Dragonfly lays it's eggs in only one place, the burrows of the Devil crayfish. Crayfish are now being captivity bred to help with the recovery effort of the dragonfly.

Some crazy insect action in your yard Iris.

That dragon fly crayfish relationship is interesting. Wonder if they will be able to bring it back from the brink.

I got a cubic yard of compost today, when I unloaded it I found a whole live mugwort plant and some whole horse turds in it, which is not an encouraging sign. Now I have to screen it before I can really use it, then watch it really close for weed sprouts. For the most part it is dark and looks like soil so maybe it won't be too bad.

The weeds, (plantain, dandelions, grasses) are refusing to die in the meadow area I have been trying to prepare for direct seeding. Testing my patience. I covered some of them with paper grocery bags and compost. I was hoping to mulch some of the area with compost, plant the sedges, Polemonium reptans, Scrophularia, Chasmanthium laxum, Silene and other stuff I have started in the plug trays, then overseed the rest of it

What have you tried to get rid of the weeds? I went to the woods to see if the Asclepias purpurascens were blooming, and they were.

Tall Erigeron philidelphicus. I'm thinking of it more as a nice native, and less as a weed.

A nine foot tall Dasistoma macrophylla

I hope that one day my purple milkweed looks like this.

???

An Ipomoea pandurata sucker that is growing in a spot where it will me mowed regularly. It should be rescued by someone. I could introduce it to another park? Guerrilla diversifying.

Ptelea trifoliata with some leaves eaten.

The only Bidens volunteers are growing in the bricks, so I'm leaving them be.

The pandurata is now climbing up the Showy Milkweed. I hope they bloom simultaneously and make a great picture.

Skip, what did you do to prepare your meadow area? Herbicide?

Yeah I sprayed it with glyphosate.

How do you tell the Ipomoea from morning glory and bindweed when it's that small? The Erigeron philadelphicus is already done flowering here. I hope my purple milkweed grows like that

The pandurata has more red coloring in it's stems and the leaves have a little red coloring on the margins, and the leaves are thicker than regular morning glories and bindweed.

This is a pandurata sucker about 5 feet from the main plant. This will get mowed and never grow big. My vine is a rescued one of these.

The pandurata has more red coloring in it's stems and the leaves have a little red coloring on the margins, and the leaves are thicker than regular morning glories and bindweed.

This is a pandurata sucker about 5 feet from the main plant. This will get mowed and never grow big. My vine is a rescued one of these.

https://www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/2016/11/28/bacteria-help-the-cobra-lily-subdue-prey

I went to check on the Asclepias purpurascens.

Erigeron philidelphicus

Dasistoma macrophylla 9 feet tall

A graminoid?

Petelea trifoliata

Ha ha, Skip. Horse poop in your compost? I would never be able to let my dogs go into that area. They love to roll around in that stuff.

Great pictures Jay! Happy to report that there are a lot of fireflies around this year. Had a little thunderstorm earlier. The little wasps all huddled together.

Carpenter bees really have the perfect size to get all the pollen from the passion flowers.

Nice pictures all. Never head of Dasistoma. I was afraid my dog would roll in the compost too but he hasn't discovered it yet.

Coneflower and NJ tea are starting to bloom.

Viburnum nudum is blooming nice

Carex blanda, zigzag goldenrod, Helianthus divaricatus, Hieracium venosum. The rattlesnake hawkweed has lost its cool foliage colors while flowering. There's a bunch of small Chasmanthium latifolium too, and a bunch of stuff I need to weed out.

Other side of the Carex there's some Collinsonia canadensis, (small) poke milkweed, and (small) Aralia racemosa

Penstemon tubaeflorus, very similar to Penstemon digitalis but flowers later.

Penstemon calycosus

Common milkweed started flowering yesterday or the day before.

I went to Brooklyn Botanic garden today too with the family and met my sister in law and her kid and husband since they live within walking distance of the garden. It was alright. The native flora was mostly deep forest flora. It felt a little unfair because the whole garden is so open and vibrant with all these rose cultivars and just the brightest flowers from around the world then to get into the native flora garden you have to walk through a sumac thicket, and these sumacs were like 20ft tall with deep dark shade, it was liking walking into the black forest. Not the friendliest representation of our flora. Then in the light gaps it disnt look like they weeded or took care of anything and you had these 6ft tall thickets of early sunflower and Monarda didyma crowding out everything else.

Nice variety of species Skip. Can't wait to see it when everything gets big. Can you save me some HIEVEN and PENTUB seeds. The leaf veins on my plants got paler when they were blooming too. Every time my Hieracium had ripe seeds, I removed the seeds and cut off the old flower stalks. They would then rebloom a couple more times. I ordered some high wading boots, because I'm going to have to be walking in swamps soon.

Sambucus

Asclepias asperula

Asclepias variegata. I've been waiting years to see this. This plant was forming another flower head, but it was aborted. I have 7 or 8 variegata plants total. I'm bummed because some purple milkweed seedlings that I planted last year never came back.

Asclepias texana

Clematis pitcheri

Clematis pitcheri

Asclepias syriaca

Lower Rock Run Preserve

Lower Rock Run Preserve

This guy mows around any plants that self sow into his lawn. Eventually it will be a prairie.

Wow awesome to see that Variegata flowering. The other ones and clematis are cool too. I saw this in the woods today

Indian cucumber-root Medeola virginiana.

Wow! Lucky you! Medeola is on my bucket list. I'm going to list all the species that I grow.

Nice pictures, Jay! My daughter went to take a course on aquatic insects in Highlands, NC. 2 hour drive. it was 87 here and 71 there. Thats temperate rainforest for you. Let’s hope her waders don’t leak. Water there is probably really cold.

Skip, that’s a nice looking plant. Need to look it up.

The Japanese beetles are really bad this year.

Gave this little one a tour of the yard

Insects love you Iris you must have a special connection, they know you're the one planting all those plants for them.
I spent a bunch of time weeding, mowing dead grass stubble, raking the seed bed, and setting up the sprinklers. I'm going to hopefully direct seed tomorrow. Maybe just germination code A plants, then the other stuff in the fall and winter. I'm excited, hope it works!

I weeded this mess some and put down some mulch. Hope it helps out the Turks cap lilies I have in here. I need to move a bunch of plants out of here, I have 2 blueberries, a wingstem, a few new england asters, NY aster, purple giant hyssop, and a late boneset that need to be relocated. The priority plants in here are Phlox paniculata 'jeana', Lilium superbum, Cirsium pumilum, Gentiana saponaria, the Penstemons, Packera obovata, and Liatris scariosa. I had planted a Tephrosia in here but I don't think it grew back. I have some Aletris farinosa in a milk jug I want to plop down in here too.

I'm going to go see a bunch of Tephrosia next week at the sand prairie. There are some devil's paintbrush out there I haven't seen yet. I'm not sure if the Crocanthemum germinated or not. I need to locate that pot. I need to get a lot of plants in the ground. Time to start planting in the front yard. Lots of my plants need to be relocated.

I can't plant my big leaf Lupinus polyphyllus, because they aren't used by the Karner Blue Butterfly, and they will hybridize with L. perennis making the resulting offspring no use to Karner Blues.

On the bright side I saw my 1st Lady today and she spent a little time on my Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium. Planted Coreopsis tripteris, Helianthus occidentalis, Silphium terebinthinaceum, Asclepias stenophylla, Asclepias pumila, Glandularia bipinnatifida, Cirsium altissimum, and Agastache foeniculum. I moved the Hypericum prolificum to a sunnier spot.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/722142151587998/permalink/1152994068502802/

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10225602727319401&id=1364795297

https://www.facebook.com/alanweakley/posts/10226887331905383/

I think the lupine I grew was polyphyllus mislabeled as perennis. I planted a bunch more perennis this year, from a different nursery this time but also not a conservation nursery, so I'll have to see what they look like next year.

I direct seeded the meadow area just now. I put down little bluestem, silky wild rye, bottle brush grass, Virginia wild rye, fringed brome, sprengel's sedge, Rudbeckia hirta, Echinacea purpurea, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, penstemon digitalis and hirsutus. Just need to get some green stuff growing. I think I'm supposed to let it grow to 18" then mow it down to 8" for the first year. I'll use a string trimmer to do that. I'll start planting out plugs and potted plant soon too.

Im gonna cut down that shrub in the middle after the fourth of July, it's a tree stump that sprouted.

Wow Skip, this looks like a pretty big area. I am not planning on planting anything else until Fall. what is in pots is going to stay. Butterfly weeds are blooming.

Good thing the common milkweed leaves are so big. The tussock moth cats are getting fuzzy. And are really hungry. Saw 3 more batches of tiny ones.

I've never seen so many tussock moth caterpillars together. Gypsy moths yes. Skip, are you having any stones or bricks as a path to get in there easier, or will it be completely natural? Or you could have a path blacktopped.🤣

Yes Iris it's over 1000sq ft. Still have not seen anything like those caterpillars here. I don't have any Asclepias tuberosa blooming but I think a plant I got in a trade last year is growing back. I'm determined to germinate the seed I collected off a local plant, 2 years of winter rsowing them and no luck. Maybe I'll try the water germination next.

Jay that Weakley post you linked to is unreal. He has pics of the Lespedeza I've been looking for. On hardpan clay no less, you always see these kind of things on sand. Amazing camera work and attention to detail too.

Can’t wait to see what this area is going to look like. I doubt you will miss it once the tussock moths show up. Didn’t get any of the pop up storms, just a little drizzle. Just a few little clouds around.

I haven't seen a Monarch yet, and no Tussock moth caterpillars either. I planted my Dichanthelium clandestinum plants in 3 places. I'm trying to get the largest potted plants in the ground. There are some seedlings that definitely need more time. I hate when I plant too many seeds in 1 pot. I don't really have time to pot up all the extras. I planted my Sium sauve in the ground today too. It got a little burned by the hot sun. I planted it next to Asclepias perennis. My perennis never has gotten big. I wonder if they are just naturally small? I'm pretty sure they are only native to the southern part of Illinois. I had 4 plants, but I'm down to 1. Maybe it will grow in a bog?

We're getting hammered by thunderstorms right now.

I'm not going with any hardscaping or surfacing, just mowed grass edges and paths. Maybe mulch or branches for edging but probably not even that. This makes it easy to expand or change bed shapes later if necessary. I also don't want to do anything that would be hard to undo later if necessary.

The deer tongue grass is really spreading in my yard. I have been just thinning out crowded pots and chucking out the extras, I don't need a ton of all these plants. Still have to thin, pots up, and plant out a bunch of these.

Whoops, I realized I threw down a whole bag of aromatic aster too, Symphyotrichum oblongifolium. I wonder if any will germinate and if there will be enough sun for them.

Weird, I just noticed today that I have some Symphob growing in a pot. More later. Oh it's Aromatic, I forgot.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10226888046763254&id=1114901586

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10226645223292819&id=1114901586

Skip, I still don’t have any kind of border on several flower beds. They grow a few inches every time I am weeding.

Everybody is always saying that Jerusalem Artichoke is a terrible spreader. It’s on the daily dinner menue for the deer. They are in the sickle pot patch. Can’t currently weed there properly since I don’t want to stomp on sulphur eggs and cats.

At least they are currently leaving the Schweinitzii alone.

Finally the Figworts are getting some visitors.

At least one of the cecropia cats made it to the third instar. Hard to keep track of them.

How much sun do your figworts get? I have a lot of them growing in the plug tray, too many I think. I guess that's a good thing.

This Alan Weakley posts are so chock full of detail.

The one in full sun is looking better than the one with just 4 hours. But by July I also need to water it way more often.

I got more plants in the ground today. Blephilia, Cnidium,, Asclepias incarnata white flowered, Asclepias nivea, Chrysopsis villosa, Asclepias engelmannii, Asclepias viridis, Oenother pilosella, Monarda citriodora, Parthenium integrifolium, Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, I found another tall thistle in a pot. I like the tall thistles better, because they aren't thorny. My Monarda fustulosa are looking raggedy and they haven't even bloomed yet. The didyma looks terrible. I'm going to move it into more shade. I should have done it years ago. We had a Plants of Concern meeting and Chris Benda talked about a lot of Illinois rare plants. It was very interesting. The Matelea obliqua that I grow is listed, and it grows on limestone glades. I went out and spread some lime around my plant. I saw a Mourning Cloak today. I haven't seen one in a long time. It was fluttering around in my shade garden. I didn't have my phone. It cooled down nicely tonight with less humidity. Great gardening weather, but we need more rain. My immortality vine never came back. I was going to use it to make tea. What ever happened to all those Croton seeds you scattered Iris? I had some plants last year, but the growing season was too short for their seeds to ripen. I didn't try any more this year, but I did scatter a bunch last year, that never germinated.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1231976753631930/permalink/1822932867869646/

Jay, non of the croton seeds grew last year. I scattered more in late Winter, but have not seen anything. Getting close to weeding in that area, but I am not sure I would regocnize them..

Here is what started blooming now. Or some of it.

Midas fly laid eggs in the dirt all around a tree stump. She was huge! Still having the weird typing issues here.

My Monardas are hit and miss. One normally looks good, the other ones get mildewy really fast, but they're supposed to do better with more sun.

I typed out a bunch more but it cut it off. The typing is impossible now. What's that first flower Iris? Looking good!

The first one is Liatris of some sort. Got my typing problem now? Need to keep it short, otherwise I can go cook dinner and my typing might show up by the time is done. Hope it will be fixed.

I typed 3 paragraphs it deleted 2-1/2 of them when I hit submit. I planted out Oenothera fruticosa, Salvia lyrata, and Potentilla simplex in my meadow area. Weeded and mulched around the Aralia racemosa to try to spur some growth.

You are on a roll! I dragged the water hose around for about 4 hours. My husband said he would get me some sprinkler lines going. At least to the big flower bed in the back. Not sure what would be the best way. Lots of tall plants.

Yes the sprinklers are going to be a life saver. I think I am going to put a strip of mulch to separate the lawn and meadow, maybe 1-2ft. Then I can use a hoe to clear out weeds.

What are your favorite shorter plants for the front edging? I guess Rudbeckia hirta is an obvious one.

Antennaria, Ruellia, short grasses, Sisyrinchium, Mitella, Heuchera, Viola, Verbena simplex or other short Verbena, shorter Carex species, Prunella, Cunila, Chrysogonum, Meehania, Moehringia, Cerastium, Pilea.

2 times I loaded pictures and lost them. Houzz sucks!

The sun ruined the pictures. I'm going back early on Saturday. None of my syriaca have bloomed yet. Do yours have a strong fragrance?

Asclepias amplexicaulis

Aletris farinosa

Native orchid

Phlox species

https://www.facebook.com/1453520705/posts/10223413267027219/

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10226906566066225&id=1114901586

That’s a great looking milkweed patch, Skip. Mine are in between blooming and getting seed pots.

Do you have Monarchs yet? I still see one or two a day stopping by for food. unusual, but everything is late.

I can’t really dexide on a favorite plant for the front. I do have new colors every day. No regard for any color wheels expert gardeners always mention.

Still didn’t see any tomato/ tobacco hornworms on here. Also late.

Cool datura shot. I don't have any monarchs here yet, usually don't notice them until July.

The milkweed is very fragrant, Jay. Nice plants you found there.

I just got destroyed by biting insects outside, ughh. I have a lot of plants to plant.

I had very few mosquito bites so far. Even being out for hours and forgetting repellent. So this is really an off year. Jeez. My neighbor just started a huge fire. He cut down a big oak a few weeks ago and all the clippings from topping his myrtles. When it’s getting dark and it is so dry the grass looks crispy?!

Your milkweeds look good Skip,, better than mine.. Have you seen any shoots come up further from the main plants? Beautiful pictures Iris. That's a great combination of plants. I hope someday my royal catchflies will look like yours. Some kind of bugs have been attacking my RC plant, but oh well, I'll just keep planting more. I'm more worried about ticks and chiggers. I think there might have been a tic on me. I have to walk through higher vegetation now to find plants. Areas I would normally avoid before. I was trying to climb a steep sandy hill, and all the sand kept slipping. At least I didn't disturb anymore bee hives. I wasn't expecting to see any Aletris around my area.

Lead Plant

The seedlings that need more time.

The sandy garden. Acmispon americana, Helenium amarum, Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium, Gaillardia aestivalis, Eryngium yuccifolium, Dalea purpurea, Phemeranthus calycinus, Amorpha canescens, Coreopsis lanceolata, Isotrema tomentosum, Asclepias viridis, Aslepias arenaria, Asclepias viridiflora, Asclepias stenophylla, Asclepias pumila, Glandularia bipinnatifida, Monarda punctata,

The seedlings ready to be planted. The pots in the bin have Apios priceana and Asclepias amplexicaulis, and they need a lot more time.

Callirhoe bushii, Ceanothus americana. Bushii is much bigger than involucrata. There's another possible border plant.

Filled this side with Sium sauve, Cnidium monnieri, Asclepias incarnata, white flowered, Blephilia ( not sure which), Asclepias nivea, and Chrysopsis villosa.

So I'm finishing off this bed and I put the tallest plants in the middle. From the bottom is Hypericum prolificum, Silphium terebinthinaceum, Silphium integrifolium, Helianthus occidentalis, and Coreopsis tripteris. Off to the sides I have so far added Monarda citriodora, Oenothera pilosella, Circium altissimum, Euphorbia corollata, Parthenium integrifolium, Coreopsis palmata. I'll probably add an aster a goldenrod, and a Brickellia. Get more purple and red and blue to offset the yellow.

Your gardens are beautiful.

I started a new thread. Maybe we'll have better luck posting pics and comments.

Nice leadplant. Good job getting all that planted. I think I will plant more tomorrow. The milkweed has sent up runners, you can see some in the first pic by the small tree if you look close. It looks like I'm going to have to use heavy amounts of rabbit repellent, I saw 2 maybe 3 of them in my yard this morning. I couldn't tell if one ran off into a corner then came back or if was a third one. They're cute but I want to give my plants a chance to get established.