Oklahoma's official state wildflower

Gaillardia pulchella
Common names including: Indian Blanket, Blanket Flower, and Firewheel

Oklahoma, is represented, in one way or another, by three official flowers:
The Indian blanket or Gaillardia was adopted as the official state wildflower of Oklahoma on May 7, 1986.

Official floral emblem- Mistletoe
Official state wildflower - Indian Blanket or Gaillardia
Official state flower - Hybrid Tea Rose, "Oklahoma"

It symbolizes Oklahoma's scenic beauty as well as the state's Indian heritage

Delphinium

Delphinium

Delphis is the Greek word for dolphin-the petals of the flowers resemble the nose and fins of a dolphin.

Salvia

Salvia
Sage

Salvia comes from the Latin salvus, 'save,' referring to the medicinal properties of several species.

Off to the Rodeo

I read an article a few years back that stated you should make your gardens reflect some of your favorite memories. This year I decided to do this with my flower beds.

Today we are leaving for the Crystal Springs Ranch Rodeo in Clear Lake South Dakota. This tradition started in my family when my dad was young his parents brought him to the rodeo. I remember, when I was very young, looking out the window and seeing a ranch with a pond and a little boy figuring fishing off a dock. Some years there was water in that pond, and some years it was dry. I hope to take a photo of that pond when we go by there today.

This flower bed brings me right to that place, and the excitement I felt knowing we were close to the Rodeo. I love going to the rodeo and it brings that same joy when I look at this bed. After I made this bed this spring, I asked my husband and my dad what it reminded them of. The both had the same answer, the ranch before you get to the rodeo.

Spiderwort

Spiderwort

Tradescantia sp.

The common name Spiderwort is presumed to come from the way the flowers hang like spiders from a web off the main stem. Also, when the stems of spiderworts are cut, a viscous stem secretion is released which becomes threadlike and silky upon hardening (like a spider's web). The word "wort" is the Saxon name for ‘plant’.

It is a North American native plant named for John Tradescant senior (he died in 1638) a famous English gardener who received the species from Virginia sometime before 1629. He was the headhead gardener to King Charles I of England and was a very serious plant collectors, traveling around the world in search of new plants for the King’s garden.

Bachelor's Button

Bachelor's Button or

Cornflower- Annual
(Centaurea cyanus)





Bachelor Buttons got their name when they were frequently used as boutonnieres. That's because the small, one inch flowers are perfect for button holes on suits. Years ago, they were the rage for boutonnieres. Today, a bachelor's button is a button attached with a wire, so it doesn't need to be sewn on.



The nickname "cornflower" comes from the fact that the plant grows wild in the grain fields of southern Europe. When Napoleon forced Queen Louise of Prussia from Berlin, she hid her children in a cornfield and kept them entertained and quiet by weaving wreaths of cornflowers. One of her children, Wilheim, later became the emperor of Germany. Remembering his mother's bravery, he made the cornflower a national emblem of unity.

Asiatic Lily

Asiatic Lily
Lilium




The 3rd Asiatic Lily to bloom this season.

What makes it an Asiatic Lily?
1. Flowers upright, cup-shaped with recurved tips, 4-5 inches in diameter.
2. Stems 20-36 inches long, 3-12 flowers per stem depending on species and cultivar.
3. Plant is a herbaceous perennial from a bulb, classed as a monocotyledon, leaves mostly parallel veined.
4. Slight or no flower fragrance.















Asiatic Lilies have advantages as well. Because they are not scented, they are non-allergenic, and their smaller blossoms make them more appropriate for mixed lily bouquets and table arrangements.

Poppy

Poppy
Papaver

I bought this poppy at a plant sale 3 years ago and never saw it bloom until this year. The stem was 42" tall and the flower only lasted 2 days.

It was beautiful and worth the wait.

Asiatic Lily

Asiatic Lily

Lilium

Second Asiatic Lily of the season.

Asiatic lily

Asiatic lily

Lilium

This is my first Asiatic Lily to bloom this year.

Asiatic hybrids were once known as "Mid Century" hybrids because they were developed around the mid-point of this century by hybridizer Jan de Graaff of Oregon. By the 1980's the category of Mid-Century hybrids had grown so large that the name was changed to Asiatic.

First Garden Party of the Season

3 gardens on the tour Linda's, Kathy's and mine. What a great time.

Parsonage

Our church has called a new pastor that will be moving into the parsonage the first week in July.

They love roses, so Louise and I planted 3 rose bushes in the front of the parsonage.

We added MN mums, dianthus, snapdragons, and geraniums. This flower bed should fill in nice before they arrive.

Clematis

Clematis

This is the only clematis I have in my garden, every year when it blooms it makes me want to buy more varieties of them.

Clematis came from Ancient Greek klematis, a climbing plant or vine.

Bearded Iris

Bearded Iris or German Iris


This is my favorite iris in my garden. I don’t know the name of it. It was given to me from my husband’s great aunt, Betty.

Bearded iris flower has six petals; the three upright petals are called standards, and three hanging petals are called falls. A characteristic fuzzy line, or the beard, comes out of each fall; this is where the bearded iris gets its name.

The name iris is derived from Greek mythology where Iris was the goddess of the rainbow, therefore aptly named for its variety of flower colors.

Queen Anne’s Lace

“Nature knows no difference between weeds and flowers.” Mason Cooley

Queen Anne’s Lace

Daucus carota

Also known as wild carrot, it is a common roadside wildflower, or weed, depending on your preference. I think it is beautiful.

The common name Wild Carrot was given by William Turner in 1548. It is also called wild carrot, because this is the European plant that cultivated carrots were developed from.

The flower is named after either Queen Anne of England (1665-1714) or Queen Anne of Denmark (1574-1619). Both were avid lace makers.

The word carrot is Celtic and means red of color; the species name, Daucus, comes from the Greek word dais, which means to burn, signifying Queen Anne’s Lace’s qualities.

Jacob's Ladder

Jacob's Ladder

Polemonium caeruleum


This plant was given to me from my friend, Jeanette.


The leaflets of the foliage are organized in a neat, dense, ladder-like formation, giving these plants their common name.



There are two theories on the origin of the name Polemonium. The first is that it derived from the Greek word – polemos which means ‘war’. The second source claims that the plant was originally named after the herbalist and healer Polemon of Cappadocia.

Strawflower

Strawflower and Everlasting

Helichrysum bracteatum

This one is called "Hot Bikini"

Don't you just love the name?

The name is derived from the Greek words helisso (to turn around) and chrysos (gold).

Columbine

This sweet little yellow columbine was given to me from my friend, Bernice.

Colorado State Flower

Columbine Flower or


Rocky Mountain Columbine-White and Lavender

(Aquilegia caerules) is the official Colorado State Flower. The Columbine flower (Colorado Blue Columbine) was designated as the Colorado state flower in April, 1899. The Columbine Flower, also known as the Colorado Columbine, was named from a Latin word Columba, which means dove, as it looked like the bird of peace.

Colorado specifies the white and lavender Rocky Mt. Columbine which has blue-violet petals and spurs, a white cup and yellow center. Blue is a symbol of the sky, white represents snow, and yellow symbolizes Colorado's gold mining history.

Windflower

Windflower

Wood Anemone





These are planted in my back flower bed and I can see them when I look out the window.


It looks like they are talking to each other.

In sunshine, the flower is expanded wide, but at the approach of night, it closes and droops its graceful head so that the dew may not settle on it and injure it. If rain threatens in the daytime, it does the same, receiving the drops upon its back.






Another plant I love after the flower has faded.

The name anemone comes from the Greek anemos, 'wind,' referring to the windswept mountainside habitat of some species.

Argyranthemum

Argyranthemum
Sassy Pink

This is something new for me this year.

Coral Bells

Coral Bells


Heuchera

I love to add these to miniature arrangements. They add a lot of color.