Everwilde Wildflower Journal for Summer 2007
July 7, 2007 - We heard some booming this week, and it was not all fireworks! We had a couple of good thunderstorms roll
through, which each left some rain!! It was a life-saver for the wildflowers.
We harvested some more
Grasses and Sedges this week. They were a little early, but there seems to be some seed there. We harvested the Plains
Oval Sedge first. Our field is well established and produces pretty well each year. Then we harvested the Green Needle
Grass. It was a little over-ripe, so some of the seeds were on the ground already!
July 14, 2007 - More rain!!
The wildflowers are reviving a little with the recent rains. The fields are reaching their brightest combined colors for the
year, but things look somewhat muted and a bit stunted this year. Whether or not we continue to get rain will determine how
the seed production fares.
We now have Leadplant, Tennessee Coneflower, Starry Campion, Royal Catchfly, Wild Bergamot, and Pearly
Everlasting putting on their colors. We are even seeing some of this years Black-eyed Susans beginning to bloom!
We did
some threshing of some Sedges this week that had been drying in the Greenhouse. The harvest amounts were down, but not terrribly
so.
July 21, 2007 - Hot!! We harvested the Path Rush and Crested Oval Sedge this week under blistering heat!
There were a few afternoons in the mid 90's that we just did not work at all. We also began harvesting the Showy Obedient Plant
and the Sand Coreopsis. Again, not a lot of seed due to drought.
There are a few species that seem to
be doing well this year. Leadplant has no problem with drought, and looks good. For some reason the Royal Catchfly
look better than ever this year. The Yellow Indigos also look like they are producing a good crop. No matter what
the weather does, some species always will do well!
We also did a lot of hand weeding in the Cream Gentians, Royal
Catchfly, and Blazing Stars.
July 28, 2007 - We saw the Blazing Stars coming into bloom this week. The Monarchs
were all over the field! The Prairie Onions also are beginning to bloom. Oh, yes, we also saw some Hibiscus putting out
their large pink blossoms. They look a little thin and pale due to the dryness.
It is getting pretty dry again,
which is usual for July and August in Wisconsin. The difference this year is that the soil is becoming dry in a deep way...
the cumulative effect of three dry years in a row. Some ponds in the area are drying up that have never dried up except in the
drought of 1988. It is bound to affect the crops. The corn and soybeans in the fields around here look pretty stunted
too.
Rocky Mountain Bee Plant
July 2007
August 4, 2007 - August is a slower month for us in the fields, but it is a month of great importance for seed production.
Many of our species are finishing flowering and beginning to set seed this month. If we get rain during this time, it will
be a better yield. If it continues to be dry, we may be in for a really lean year.
Amazingly, we are seeing some
of our first-year wildflowers trying to bloom! Apparently, the landscape fabric that they are in has conserved enough moisture
that they are doing well! Among those blooming are: Wild Quinine, Anise Hyssop, Harebell, Rock Pink, Prairie Violet, Mountain
Mint, Wild Four O'Clock, Spiderwort, Wild Senna, Partridge Pea, and Joe Pye Weed. We may not get seed from all of these this
year, but they are pretty!
August 11, 2007 - We received a couple tenths of rain this week, but the heat and wind dried
it up quickly. Hopefully we will get more soon!
We are in the midst of harvesting a few species right now.
Some would be: Golden Alexanders, Thimbleweed, Starry Campion, Yellow Pimpernel, and the Indigos.
We began
mowing some of the fields that are done for the year. After a field is harvested, we mow it to prevent weeds from gowing and
dropping seeds on the ground.
August 18, 2007 - We got some good rains this week. In all, we got over 1" of slow,
gentle rains. It has been quite a while since we have had rainy days like that. We are unsure if it will increase seed
production, or if has come too late. There are a few species that are nearing harvest that will probably not be helped, but
maybe some of the later blooming species like the Asters will produce more seed.
We are currently harvesting Golden Alexanders,
Thimbleweed, and Royal Catchfly.
August 25, 2007 - We received several more inches of rain this week! It was a blessing,
but made it difficult to get into the fields and work. We weeded out some of the new fields like Black-eyed Susans, Long-headed
Coneflower, Rock Pink, and Partridge Pea. Some of them are looking pretty good with the recent rains.
We continue to harvest
the wildflower seeds as they ripen. We went through the Royal Catchfly again. There is a green worm that ususally
eats the seeds out of the pods, but so far this year, it has not done too much damage! We also harvested some more Bunch Flower,
and Thimbleweed.
Spiderwort Blooms
July 2007
Royal Catchfly
July 2007
September 1, 2007 - The weather continues to be wet! What a difference... we got over 5" of rain in the last part of
August! We were glad not to get the 12" that they received in Southern Wisconsin.
This week was a slower week again,
with a few species being harvested here and there in the fields. The Rock Pink finally got ripe enough to harvest. The
Cattail Sedge produced a little seed for us again. It looks like the Goldfinches harvested most of our Tall Sunflower for us!
They love the sunflower seeds, and peck the heads to pieces in search of food.
We have a lot of new wildflowers blooming in
their first year! The Anise Hyssop, Prairie Violets, Wild Quinine, Mountain Mint, and Black-eyed Susan look really nice in full
bloom now.
September 8, 2007 - We had some really warm weather in the 90's this week. Maybe it is the last of summer
heat for this year.
The Spiderwort plants are still blooming! We have have several months of really good bloom
from them now. We found that now they are beginning to drop seed, so they need to be harvested soon. Another wildflower that
we began harvesting this week was the Blazing Stars. The goldfinches like Blazing Stars too! They fly in and pluck
the fluff out of the husks as soon as the seeds are getting ripe. So, it is always a race to get it havested before the goldfinches
fly away with it!