Tagged With: Yellow

Euphorbia amygdaloides subsp. robbiae (Wood Spurge)

Photograph taken on Thursday, June 18, 2020 by Henry
Euphorbia amygdaloides</em> subsp. <em>robbiae (Wood Spurge)

Euphorbia amygdaloides subsp. robbiae (Wood Spurge)

I took a few more pictures of plants on Cathy’s work table today. This one is a spurge called Euphorbia amygdaloides subsp. robbiae, also known as Robb’s wood spurge. It’s a nice combination of greens and yellows and something nice for the herbaceous border. The Euphorbia genus has something like 2,000 species and they range from small annual plants to trees and there are species from many parts of the world This one isn’t native to North America, but I’m not bothered by that. One thing you want to be careful of with these plants is their milky sap, which is poisonous if ingested and a skin irritant.

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Rose ‘The Poet’s Wife’

Photograph taken on Thursday, June 25, 2020 by Henry
Rose ‘The Poet’s Wife’

Rose ‘The Poet’s Wife’

In April I ordered three David Austin Roses. They arrived on May 3 and because they were bare root, I put them in a pot until I could get around to planting them in the ground. I planted them two weeks later on May 17. This is the first of them to bloom. It’s called ‘The Poet’s Wife’ and it’s not clear for whom it is named. As you can see, it’s a yellow rose and along with the other two, I’m hoping it will do well in our garden. It’s supposed to grow to about four feet tall, although measurements like that are generally very specific but in practice fall within a very broad range. We’ll see.

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American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis)

Photograph taken on Saturday, June 27, 2020 by Henry
American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis)

American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis)

There are some birds, notably the American robin (Turdus migratorius), that doesn’t really compare favorably with its European counterpart (Erithacus rubecula. While the European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is a lovely bird, I think our American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) is quite beautiful. This is a female (on the left) and male (on the right). They really love the Verbena bonariensis and it’s fun to watch them as they land and the stems bend under their tremendous weight. I enjoyed this couple for quite a while this morning.

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Verbascum thapsus (Common Mullein)

Photograph taken on Saturday, July 11, 2020 by Henry
Verbascum thapsus (Common Mullein)

Verbascum thapsus (Common Mullein)

This is the tip of a mullein stalk growing up close to the front of our house. It’s not really in a place I’d choose to plant it, but I left it there for Cathy. She really likes it and we have a fair amount in the hawthorn bed that has become something of a Mediterranean garden this year. It’s funny to hear so many people praise this plant as something the native Americans used medicinally. It may be true, but that only happened after it was introduced from Europe, as it isn’t a native American itself. It’s quite hardy (USDA Zones 3 to 9) and is quite happy in dry, otherwise barren places. This part of our yard really dries out in the summer and is currently rock hard. But along with the Verbascum we have Verbena bonariensis (tall verbena), Lavandula stoechas (Spanish lavender), and Salvia rosmarinus (rosemary), which all do well in rather severe conditions and in fact don’t like being waterlogged.

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Summertime

Photograph taken on Saturday, July 18, 2020 by Henry
Summertime Flowers

Summertime Flowers

We’re in the heart of summer. We’ve had over three weeks of daytime high’s over 90&#b0;F and it approached 100°F today with even higher temperature forecast for tomorrow. In spite of the heat, Cathy and I felt like we really needed to get out. The Montgomery County Farm Park seemed like a good destination. Their demonstration garden was very nice. It’s a bit overgrown with weeds but since it’s not our responsibility, that bothered us less than weeds do at home. I think these are some sort of wild sunflower but there are quite a few plants with this basic look and I didn’t see a label on them. Regardless, this is summer. Big, bright, bold, yellow flowers against a beautiful, clear, blue sky.

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Sunflowers

Photograph taken on Saturday, July 25, 2020 by Henry
Sunflowers

Sunflowers

It was very hot today, and quite muggy, but Cathy and I have been trying to get out on the weekend, at least for a little while, regardless. We went tot he Mont. County Agricultural Farm Park today and walked on one of the trails for a while. Parts were in the shade but even then it was so humid that we were pretty well drenched with sweat. Nevertheless, it was good to be out. We also walked through their demonstration garden again. It wasn’t a lot different to the last time we went but I got a few more pictures, including a few of these sunflowers against the sky.

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Black-eyed Susan

Photograph taken on Thursday, August 06, 2020 by Henry
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)

Our yard is pretty heavy on the Rudbeckias, (black-eyed Susan) although we’ve actually gotten rid of a few. You probably wouldn’t notice and it’s going to take a bit more work if we’re actually going to cut back on them noticeably. On the other hand, this time of year, they really are wonderful in their great numbers. The insects like them, although perhaps they aren’t the favorite flower. The skippers in particular are to be found on them and that’s where I usually see transverse flower flies (Eristalis transversa).

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Pollinator

Photograph taken on Sunday, August 23, 2020 by Henry
Pollinator on Helenium

Pollinator on Helenium

This little bee is absolutely loaded with pollen. (Side question: if pollen is spelled with an ‘e’, why does pollinator have an ‘i’ in its place?) Anyway, Cathy and I went to Meadowside Nature Center this afternoon and walked around a pond and through the woods. In addition to this little bee, I got a pretty good photo of a common whitetail (Plathemis lydia), a fairly common dragonfly. But I thought I’d go with the bright yellow of this photo instead. I’m also partial to bees, of course.

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Xanthotype Species

Photograph taken on Saturday, August 29, 2020 by Henry
Xanthotype Moth

Xanthotype Moth

We went to Northern Virginia this evening to have dinner with our good friend, Jean. While we were there, eating in her car port, there was a huge downpour followed by a rainbow. It was actually really nice to be sitting outside but under cover during that. Then, I happened to spot this moth, which landed on the gate to the back yard. It’s a moth in the genus Xanthotype. There are five species in our area but, according to BugGuide, “adults of all species in this genus are, for practical purposes, externally indistinguishable from one another” so we’ll just leave it at that.

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Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (Goldenrod Soldier Beetle)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, September 01, 2020 by Henry
Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (Goldenrod Soldier Beetle)

Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (Goldenrod Soldier Beetle)

This goldenrod soldier beetle, (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) is well camouflaged against the petals of the black-eyed Susan in our back yard. Often when looking for insects, it’s a matter of looking for motion, because they blend in so well with the background. I spotted this on after taking a few photos of a monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), also on the black-eyed Susans. They are starting to fade, but there will still be plenty of color for a while yet. One interesting thing about this beetle is that the species epithet, pensylvanicus, is the correct spelling and the version with a double n (i.e. pennsylvanicus) is incorrect.

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Chrysanthemum

Photograph taken on Thursday, September 24, 2020 by Henry
Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum

This is an unnamed chrysanthemum that Cathy bought last year for her mom’s birthday. We basically did nothing with it since then but it’s come back wonderfully this fall. It’s not quite pure yellow, with a bit of orange in its petals, and a very nice bunch of flowers it really is. We’ve often grown mums and asters but never really more than one or two. This year, in addition to this chrysanthemum in a hanging basket, we have an aster called ‘October Skies’ that we planted in our large, central bed in the back yard. I suspect I’ll post a photo of that before too long, as it’s coming into bloom, as well.

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Yellow and Orange Purslane

Photograph taken on Tuesday, September 29, 2020 by Henry
Yellow and Orange Purslane

Yellow and Orange Purslane

Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is a noxious weed where it is warm enough for it to survive through the winter. Here it is grown as an annual and it’s the large-flowered cultivars that are grown here, specifically for their flowers, which are present pretty much all summer. The flowers are generally open in the morning and then close up when the day gets hot, but on an overcast day they might stay open all day. Their colors are really something and we’ve loved having them outside our kitchen door this year. In case you’re wondering (I was, so I asked Cathy), the purple flower is Torenia fournieri, commonly known as wishbone flower, an annual that has also done exceptionally well this year.

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Yellow Asclepias

Photograph taken on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 by Henry
Yellow Asclepias

Yellow Asclepias

This yellow Asclepias has been blooming pretty must constantly all summer. It’s really quite amazing. Others bloomed for a while and then went to seed, which is what you sort of expect, but this one just keeps putting out new buds, which open into these lovely, pure, yellow flowers. As you can see, it also has seeds. This in on our back patio and it won’t make it through the winter (unless it’s exceptionally mild, of course). It’s only really hardy to USDA Zone 9. But growing it as an annual is really worth it. Highly recommended.

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Ficaria verna

Photograph taken on Sunday, March 21, 2021 by Henry
Ficaria verna

Ficaria verna

Dorothy, Cathy, and I walked on the Seneca Greenway Trail this afternoon, parking where MD 28 crosses Seneca Creek and walking downstream. We only saw a few other people and it was a very pleasant walk. It’s relatively flat, with only a few ups and downs to deal with. The birds were out in force and we heard them all around, although we weren’t stopping to see them so much and didn’t really get very close to any. I did stop to take a few photos, including of this fig buttercup, also known as lesser celandine. It was formerly classified as Ranunculus ficaria but is now Ficaria verna. It’s an invasive, non-native species that grows in many of our wetlands.

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Daffodils

Photograph taken on Friday, April 02, 2021 by Henry
Daffodils

Daffodils

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went up to Pennsylvania today to do a bit of work in the front yard. There is a small garden bed along the front of the cabin and it had become very overgrown. At the work day on March 13 we cut the small trees that were growing in it but today I dug up the roots of some of them. It was hard work and made a little harder because I wanted to avoid killing the peonies, irises, and lilies that were starting to come up among them. I didn’t take many pictures on this visit but I did take a few of the daffodils growing on the dam.

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Erythronium americanum (Yellow Trout-Lily)

Photograph taken on Sunday, April 11, 2021 by Henry
Erythronium americanum (Yellow Trout-Lily)

Erythronium americanum (Yellow Trout-Lily)

In our second attempt to reach Bluebell Island, we walked south on the Seneca Bluffs Trail from the parking area on Montevideo Road. Looking at the map, this comes close to the creek just below the island. We found, unfortunately, that when you get to that point, you’re on the top of the eponymous bluffs. We could have worked our way down to the creek but decided it wasn’t worth the effort. We could see that on the far bank of the creek the bluebells (Mertensia virginica) were blooming in great profusion. We saw other wildflowers and the hike was a success, in spite of the fact that we didn’t get to our planned destination. This yellow trout-lily (Erythronium americanum) is one of our prettiest spring flowers, photographed under some large Canadian hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis).

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Sunflowers at McKee-Beshers

Photograph taken on Sunday, August 01, 2021 by Henry
Cathy Amidst The Sunflowers

Cathy Amidst The Sunflowers

It started raining about mid-morning and we weren’t sure about going out but decided we’d go regardless. We drove to the McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area, which we’ve never visited before. They have four fields that they plant with sunflowers, although only two of them were planted this year. I don’t know if that’s normal or not. Sunflower area #4 was the more spectacular of the two (the weeds were taller than the sunflowers in field #2). We saw a few male (and a lot of female) indigo buntings in the field, which was really nice. There were also a lot of gold finches and cardinals on the flowers, as well as butterflies. We walked all the way around field #4 as well as near the ponds on the way to field #1. That field was planted with corn, but we actually enjoyed the ponds quite a bit, with their wildflowers, etc. Highly recommended.

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Another Sunflower Photo

Photograph taken on Friday, August 06, 2021 by Henry
Sunflower

Sunflower

We decided to go see the sunflowers in the McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area again today. It was quite hot but really nice. I got photo of both male and female indigo buntings (Passerina cyanea), although neither of them is really great. Good enough to positively identify them, but that’s about all. I also photographed a great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele). Naturally, I took more photos of the sunflowers. Cathy and Jim’s mom stayed in the car with the doors open. She could see the flowers but it’s much too bumpy for the wheelchair.

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Dahlia ‘Pam Howden’

Photograph taken on Sunday, August 22, 2021 by Henry
Dahlia ‘Pam Howden’

Dahlia ‘Pam Howden’

After church today we decided to go to the Agricultural Farm Park and look at the dahlias. While were were there, a woman told us that there were dahlias being displayed and judged over near the farm house. This is one of my favorites of those that were displayed. It’s a dahlia called ‘Pam Howden’ and was hybridised by Gar Davidson. It’s a really lovely waterlily type dahlia with really amazing color. I was able to ask about a dahlia that I photographed last year (see Saturday, September 26, 2020). While I thought it was really amazing, apparently it didn’t make the grade because it didn’t produce enough blooms. Pity.

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Busy As A…

Photograph taken on Saturday, September 18, 2021 by Henry
Bumble Bee Leaving a <em>Rudbeckia</em> ‘Herbstonne’

Bumble Bee Leaving a Rudbeckia ‘Herbstonne’

Cathy and I went to Stadler Nursery late this morning. I bought a ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) called ‘Fireside’. It has very dark leaves which are a really lovely red early in the year and darken until they are nearly black in the late summer and fall. As usual I also took some flower photos. Getting an insect on the wing is not something I’ve had much success doing but this one turned out pretty well. It’s a common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) leaving a Rudbeckia ‘Herbstonne’ flower. We have a lot of Rudbeckia in our yard but most of it is one variety that is quite invasive. I wouldn’t mind thinning that out and replacing some with different types and this one is pretty nice.

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A Little More Fall Color

Photograph taken on Saturday, November 13, 2021 by Henry
C&O Canal, Below Violet's Lock

C&O Canal, Below Violet’s Lock

We went for a longish walk on the C&O Canal today, starting from Riley’s Lock and heading towards Washington. We passed Violet’s Lock and turned around a little past Blockhouse Point. We saw a bald eagle (although I didn’t get a photo), a pair of deer, and lots of vultures. The nicest part of the walk was the fall colors. They are mostly past at this point but there area a few trees, mostly maples, that are still quite spectacular. The sky was the deepest blue and reflected in the still water of the canal, it was really lovely (although you can’t really see it much in this photo.

From there we met Dorothy at Rocklands and helped her set up the flowers for a friend’s wedding reception. We hadn’t really planned on that but it was a nice addition to our outing. I also got a photo of Dorothy wearing Janis’ mink stole and a vintage hat, which was a bonus.

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Rose Leaves

Photograph taken on Sunday, December 05, 2021 by Henry
Rose Leaves

Rose Leaves

Abba and Josh are still in town but only stayed with us through yesterday, so life returned to normal (or as close to normal as we can get. Cathy and I went to the Ag. Farm Park after church and took a nice walk around two large fields. This time of year is challenging in terms of photography.Colors are generally less extreme with the exception of berries and other late-season fruits. I photograph those fairly often but I don’t want to post the same type pictures too often. There are still a few plants with leaf color. I really love the colors of these rose leaves.

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Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily)

Photograph taken on Sunday, April 10, 2022 by Henry
Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily)

Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily)

On our bluebell walk, we also saw a few trout lilies (Erythronium americanum). They are easy to miss but once you start seeing them, you see them everywhere. The leaves are a sort of mottled green and it’s common to find large patches of them. The flowers are, as you can see here, bright yellow. However, they look downward and the backs of the petals are not so bright, which camouflage them a bit. To get good pictures of them you have to be willing to get down on the ground, which has never been a problem for me.

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Beech Leaves

Photograph taken on Saturday, April 23, 2022 by Henry
Beech Leaves

Beech Leaves

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went for a walk on the Cabin John Creek trail today, from Bradley Boulevard to River Road (and a little beyond). It was warm today but still very good to be outside. This is a a nice walk and one we haven’t done before. There are some particularly nice areas, including an area thick with mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and a few scattered wild azaleas. There is some bamboo growing along the trail in places, as well, which is different, even if it isn’t a native thing. The beech trees are starting to leaf out. On many stems the leaves are still tightly rolled and that’s pretty cool. On a few stems, as shown here, the leaves are open and their color is quite remarkable.

Also visible through the trees from the trail is the Robert Llewellyn Wright House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1953 for his sixth child.

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Our Garden

Photograph taken on Sunday, July 24, 2022 by Henry
Cathy in Our Back Garden

Cathy in Our Back Garden

I’m posting this more than a month after it was taken. As you can see, we have a little bit of black-eyed Susan in our back garden. If you don’t like yellow you might not like our garden in late July. Thankfully, we’re happy with that color and the difficulty is keeping it under control rather than keeping it alive. It does have a tendency to move about on its own and we’ve even started pulling it out in a few places. This photo has a single tiger lily in the center. That’s nice but the big clump of them in the front yard it really the way this should be grown. It’s quite amazing for about three weeks in late July. We’ve also had a pretty successful summer with our elephant ear. Last year’s didn’t really do anything but I’m happy with this one and hopefully can keep it alive for the years ahead.

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Sunflower

Photograph taken on Friday, August 26, 2022 by Henry
Sunflower

Sunflower

We took another visit to the Ag. History Farm Park today and Dorothy was there with us. I took more butterfly pictures, including a few of a black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes). I decided, though, that I’d post this photo of a sunflower, instead. It was a lovely day with a beautiful, blue sky and the combination of yellow and blue is so nice, I just can’t get enough of it. We missed the sunflowers at McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area this year, so it was nice to get a small taste of them here.

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Buttercup (Ranunculus species)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, May 09, 2023 by Henry
Buttercup (Ranunculus species)

Buttercup (Ranunculus species)

I took a few photos in the park this evening. I got two not so good pictures of a woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) and some decent pictures of multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora). This photo is of a buttercup of some sort, possibly the meadow buttercup, (Ranunculus acris), but I’m not sure, exactly. That particular plant is native to Europe and Asia and is common blooming in pastures in the spring. it’s a weed, of course, and as a non-native, it’s almost certainly out of favor. But it’s still a pretty little thing.

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Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily)

Photograph taken on Sunday, March 31, 2024 by Henry
Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily)

Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily)

After the sunrise and morning worship service, we stopped at home and then took brunch to Cathy’s mom. By ‘we’ I mean Cathy and Dorothy. Dorothy came down for the weekend and we were glad to have her here. Brunch was relatively simple, with quiche Lorraine, fruit salad, Kings Hawaiian rolls, orange juice, and sparkling cider. We also brought a lamb cake that Cathy made yesterday and Dorothy decorated this morning.

From there we went to Berryville Road where it touches Seneca Creek. We walked upstream along the creek and enjoyed the Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) and yellow trout-lilies (Erythronium americanum). It was perhaps a week or two before the real peak but it was still pretty amazing.

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Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily)

Photograph taken on Saturday, April 04, 2026 by Henry
Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily)

Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily)

As we like to do this time of year—and specifically on Easter weekend—we took a walk on Seneca Creek from where it meets Berryville Road. We call this the Bluebell Island Walk, although from this side, we aren’t actually on what we call Bluebell Island most of the time. We walk upstream on the east/north bank of Seneca Creek. One year we walked on the Seneca Bluffs Trail on the other bank, which is also a nice walk but there are more bluebells on this side. In addition to the Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), there are trout lilies (Erythronium americanum), yellow violets (Viola hastata, more properly the halberd-leaf yellow violet), and, more and more, incised fumewort (Corydalis incisa), a non-native, invasive perennial.

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