Some flowers will grow -- all on their own

[sadie]

Yep, it is true. Some flowers will grow without some crazed grower laboring to find the perfect potting medium, fertilizer, light, water and combination of all of the above. Believe it or not orchid growers -- these flowers grew all on their own, without help from anyone (and they certainly don't have their own chat room. ) These little wild beauties grew in my "back yard."

[TundraKev]

Pretty. The little iris is Iris cristata. Don't know about the second one. Like it though.

K

[Brutal_Dreamer]

I like the iris too! I planted about 200 bulbs this spring. A bunch of the irises came up, but only a few got to bloom. I had mostly purple and yellows. Then the @#$@ hostas grew in and covered everything up. If the bulbs make it, I guess I will dig them up and move them to a sunny location. Forgot how big those hostas get.

The red flower looks really familiar, but I don't know what it is called either.

Cheers!
BD

[sadie]

I figured with all you smarties out there that someone would know what the technical name was for at least one of these wildflowers. I wasn't disappointed -- you are as smart as I suspected.

[TundraKev]

Here are some possibilities for the red one. I could be way off, but it's a start anyway. Would love to see a closeup of the flower. That would make an ID easier.

Sabatia campanulata
Sabatia stellaris
Sabatia angularis
Silene caroliniana var. pensylvania
Silene virginica
Dianthus deltoides
Dianthus armeria

Let us know if you ID it.

Kevin

[LJA]

Kevin is very clever with his bulb stuff, Sadie. Knows his way through them backwards and forwards. Bruce and I just kind of plant things and go, "Yeah, that's that blue one!"

I like the rockiness and sparseness of your yard in the pics btw. I think that's a really neat look, with the flowers grabbing hold of cracks and crags.

[TundraKev]

OK, just so we are all clear on this stuff: these aren't bulbs. The iris is a rhizome, the red thing - don't know yet.

BD - if you planted small iris bulbs, they were probably Iris reticulata.


Don't mean to be a smart a$$ or anything, but I will anyway.

[sadie]

Would love to see a closeup of the flower. That would make an ID easier.
Kevin

I'll go back out there and get a close up of just the bloom. (It is actually a bit of a hike). I call it a "yard" but that is really a loose description. It is 15 acres of standing hardwoods, limestone bluffs and rocks, and, of course, wildflowers. There are lots of dogwoods and redbuds. We liked it so much in its natural state, that we really haven't messed with much of it. (I think it is heavenly.) Besides, we'd need a gardener to keep 15 acres perfectly manicured. I spend too much time on the orchids to be as obsessive about the "yard."

[sadie]

I like the rockiness and sparseness of your yard in the pics btw. I think that's a really neat look, with the flowers grabbing hold of cracks and crags.

Thanks. I worked really hard to place them "just so." Yeah, not really --they just decided they liked those cracks and crags.

[Piper]

Sadie,

Lovely plants! That they like to grow for you makes them especially valued! Thanks for sharing the pics - we've had nor' easters here with temps in the 40's all week, so I'm lusting after flowering beauty!

Thanks,
Julie