A very tall sunflower

By Crystal | September 19, 2014

I’ve been studying and studying the list of sunflowers on MinnesotaWildflowers.info, trying to identify a very tall sunflower that grew in our yard this year.

I don’t remember buying it, and there is no tag, which suggests I didn’t. It it could be a volunteer plant, like so many others in our garden, though there are at least six stems, so that seems unlikely. Last fall I collected seeds while on a hike, and this plant may have been from a packet that I labeled “giant sunflower.”

It has leaves like Maximilian sunflower…

…but petals more like Jerusalem artichoke.

I’ve been calling it “giant sunflower” all summer – but that is the common name of an actual plant, and this one does not have the characteristic hairy stem or toothed leaves.

This is as close as I got to taking a photo of the flower’s bract:

I’m not exactly tall, but even still, this plant towers over me:

A woman standing next to a very tall sunflower

Well, whatever its name, I enjoyed watching it grow and bloom. And so did the bees and bugs.

Now, it’s time to collect seeds (this time, to make sure it doesn’t take over the entire garden).

I’m going with Maximilian sunflower, with petals that grew thinner than normal, until I learn otherwise.

The coneflower’s butterflies

By Crystal | September 16, 2014

The purple coneflower attracted many butterflies this summer.

I am certainly not a butterfly expert, but I’ve done my best to identify them. Let me know if I’ve made a mistake!

Eastern tiger swallowtail, female and male:

Red admiral:

White admiral:

And, of course, monarch:

Blooming broccoli

By Crystal | September 15, 2014

We probably should have been checking on the broccoli more often.

It still tasted good (after I removed the yellow flowers).

Sleepy chipmunk

By Crystal | September 10, 2014

Found in the raspberry patch.

Saving this weather for a snowy day

By Crystal | September 8, 2014

The entire weekend was as close to perfect as it gets, weather-wise. High 70s, sunny, no clouds, low humidity.

It may have been the best weekend of the summer, and it came after Labor Day. The bees and bugs were enjoying the weather as much as I was.

This year, I’m finding it incredibly hard to leave the garden. I can’t even glance at the flowers in the morning unless I plan to be late for work. We end up eating dinner really late every night because I’m checking on the day’s progress and watching the bee activity. And I’m usually outside late enough that it’s too dark for pictures.

Oh, who am I kidding? This happens every year.

It’s been three months since I’ve remembered to cut flowers for pressing. Somehow I thought of it Sunday afternoon.

I chose several pretty blooms, arranging some to lie flat with the blossom showing and some with a side view. Three new pages of flowers are now pressed between tissue paper in an old college textbook.