Explore Outdoors ~ Mullein Watching

 For the past couple weeks, I've been watching the mullein that grows along the roadside where I walk. It's a tall plant that grows like a spear, topped with yellow flowers that make it look like a torch. Sometimes I'll let it grow in my garden because the bumblebees like it. 

But you know who else likes it? Flies! Every time I walk by, the flowers are busy with syrphid flies. You can tell they're not bees because of their huge eyes and tiny antennae. Also, if you get close enough you can see they have only one pair of wings (bees have 2 pair). 

This week go mullein watching and see who you find on the flowers. You might find flies, bees, beetles, and more. Check out this article to meet some of the mullein visitors.

Explore Outdoors ~ Roadside Perfume

  While walking along the road last week I poked my nose in the posies in hopes of spying pollinators. Instead, I was treated to a delightful scent.

 

 

I never realized just how sweet Dame's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) flowers smelled. That's probably because I think of them as "those wild and weedy invasive mustards..." Which they are. Wild. Weedy. Mustards. Invasive. They originally come from Eurasia, and were brought to this continent in the 1600s as an ornamental for gardens.

 Like its cousin, garlic mustard, Dame's Rocket is aggressive. A single plant can produce 20,000 seeds - if you gathered every single seed it would take you just under 6 hours to count them all. 

Lots of folks call this flower a wild phlox. But put the two side-by-side and you can see they aren't even related. Phlox have five petals; Dame's rocket has four. Phlox leaves are smooth, Dame's rocket are rough and tooth-edged.

Both have fragrant flowers that attract bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. And both provide essential oils used in perfume. 

What do the flowers in your neighborhood smell like?

Explore Outdoors ~ What's that Buzz?

 

 

Mullien is one of the "weeds" I allow to grow in my garden. It's a biennial, so it takes two years to grow. In its first year it produces a low-growing rosette of woolly felt-like bluish-gray leaves. It's in the second year that the flowering spike shoots up, bursting into yellow blooms. They take up a lot of room, but since the bumble bees love them, I let them grow in areas that have lots of unused space - like the bed where the pumpkins grow. All those vines! surely there's room for a mullien or three.

This week, listen to the insects buzzing around your flowers. Take a closer look to see who is visiting.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday