Gray-headed Coneflower

 Ratibida pinnata
(Gray-headed Coneflower)

This is a native Minnesota Plant

 They grow along the road sides and in the ditches.

I just love the wildflowers this time of the year.

Forget-Me-Not

Forget-Me-Not
Myosotis scorpioides

This is a fun plant that only gets 6” to 12” high. It has a fusion of 5 petals that form tiny blue flowers. Each flower is ¼” wide. Stems are curled and unfurl when the flower begins to bloom.

It is a Minnesota wildflower. You can find it in wet, shade, and along streams. It can live directly in water but is usually found in moist soil.

Another old name for this plant is “Scorpion Weed”. This refers to its coiled flower stalk, which resembles the coiled tail of a scorpion. Some suggest that the common name comes from the plant’s unpleasant taste or odor that is hard to forget. Another story is about a suitor who reached too far over a cliff to obtain the flower for his love, fell and cried out, “Forget me not!”

I love to use this in miniature arrangements with lily of the valley, and columbine.

Today is Bloomin' Tuesday! Please check out the others, thanks to Jean at MsGreen "thumb".

Swamp Milkweed

Asclepias incarnata, with common names such as: Swamp Milkweed, Rose Milkweed, Swamp Silkweed, and White Indian Hemp.

Another cool find while camping at El Rancho Manana. I was surpised by the color being this pink. I didn't think it was a swamp milkweed until I got close enough to see it.

Swamp milkweed prefers damp soils in full sun to partial shade and typically, is found growing wild near the edges of ponds or along ditches. It is one of the best attractors of the Monarch Butterfly, which feeds on the flowers and lays her eggs on the plants. The emerging caterpillars feed on the leaves.

Swamp Milkweeds stem often turns rosy red, matching its flowers. Each flower has a slit allowing an insect's legs to slip inside and emerge with a pair of pollen sacs that will pollinate another flower. So, only a few flowers become pollinated.

Turk's-Cap Lily

Turk's- Cap Lily

Lilium Superbum

We just got back from camping at El Rancho Manana, near Richmond, MN. The woods were filled with this plants. It is also called Michigan Lily. These were once common along country roads but has decreased due to the mowing and draining of ditches. The curled flower petals resemble a Turkish hat, that is where it got its common name. This was a neat find for me, because I had never seen it before.

Roadside Find

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.