Category: Pollinators

Apple Blossom Time

Apple trees at the moment are a huge puff of snow white and soft pink. A delight for pollinators gathering to make the trees buzz with excitement. This pollinator, above, is a Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus).

Two Spicebush Swallowtails (Papilio troilus).

A Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus).

A Nessus Sphinx Moth (Amphion floridensis).

And looking quite similar to the Nessus Sphinx Moth, this is a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe).

This, representing the oodles of species of bees and wasps that visit the apple blossoms, is a Virginia Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica).

It is astounding to stand next to one of these apple trees in bloom and see and think about the number of insects that are feeding on the nectar of these charming flowers. Absolutely astounding.

Gray-headed Coneflower

July, and the hillsides that are my gardens are brilliant with the happiest of yellow thanks to Gray-headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata). Native to central and eastern North America. However in Virginia it is considered an escape from cultivation. A herbaceous perennial plant that can be as tall as four or five feet, and quite narrow. Tall and spindly. But in a mass planting they’re a joy.

Attractive to pollinators, this coneflower is popular with bees, butterflies, wasps, flies, and beetles. AND the occasional Crab Spider.

Come autumn and winter, the seed heads will bring on Goldfinches and other songbirds. A mighty good reason to leave those gardens as they are. A good excuse to let those seed heads be during the winter.

But for now I’m thoroughly enjoying the lift those petals of sunshine yellow bring to my heart.

American Germander

Native to all 48 of our contiguous states and a good bit of Canada too. An herbaceous perennial in the mint family American Germander (Teucrium canadense).

Opposite leaves, squarish stem. Typical of the mint family.

You’ll find Bees of the long-tongued sort, Hummingbird Moths, and Hummingbirds them selves, as pollinators. And if you’re looking for a word to impress someone, the flowers are said to be zygomorphic. Meaning there’s only one line along which the flower can be divided into equal halves – creating a mirror image.

American Germander being in the mint family, I would think that the plant’s leaves are edible. But first off, the leaves are bitter. That certainly helps if you have problems with critters browsing in your gardens. And as is so often the case with plants that surround us, it presents a danger. American Germander has high levels of neoclerodane diterpenoid, which causes liver damage. Look but don’t eat!

White Turtlehead

I’ve only ever seen the caterpillar of the Baltimore Checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton). Never the adult. That one sighting was an hour from my cabin at Buck Hollow in Shenandoah National Park. Since that brief observation I’ve learned that the main larval host plant of the beautiful Baltimore Checkerspot is White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra).

I’ve learned that the Baltimore Checkerspot is the state insect of Maryland. A state that means a great deal to me. So I’ve planted White Turtlehead in one of my gardens. Hoping it might bring me luck. And with that luck a Baltimore Checkerspot to my garden.

One of the Turtlehead’s pollinators is the bumblebee who uses brute force to reach the flower’s precious nectar.

My flowers are white while others of this same species sometimes have a slight hint of pink or lavender.

White Turtlehead is a herbaceous perennial, native to most of the eastern half of the United States. It prefers damp conditions such as stream banks where it grows two or three feet tall. Full sun to partial shade will keep it happy. Blooms arrive mid summer into early fall. And in the meantime I’m patiently waiting and hoping.

Wild Geranium

Popping up with their bright pink petals on trail edges. Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum), an herbaceous perennial native to eastern North America.

Before they send up their buds Wild Geranium looks like this. The leaves are palmate with five sizable lobes. The leaves also have smaller lobes and jagged edges. This is what you need to watch for if you want to find Wild Geranium before the blossoms.

Pollinators of Wild Geraniums are many types of bees, including honey bees, bumblebees, and mason bees, flies such as syrphid flies, and butterflies and skippers.

Normally I see small groups of these flowers blooming their hearts out sending good vibes. This must be a particularly content bunch of Wild Geranium bundled together at the edge of a trail.

So many blooms. So many different species of flowers and trees celebrating spring. All calling to me to join in the revelry.

Blueberries

I’m watching both the progress the blueberry blooms are making as well as the calendar. Watching the blossoms grow and mature. Watching the weeks go by on the calendar. Right now in early April there are only tight buds on the many bushes.

And it’s hard to say since this is weather related and as we all know the weather can be extremely capricious. Hard to say when the blooms will be open.

Hard to say when the butterflies and bees will be called to the blueberry flowers. Called by the nectar and pollen. Called to pollinate the blooms that will become delicious morsels of goodness.

It will seem like forever to me. Going from compact buds to petite orbs. Forever and still not exactly what I’m waiting for.

Slowly slowly those petite orbs will swell. And go from apple green to a lavender blush to finally deep blue. But I’ve learned over the years I can’t be too quick. Those first berries looking so luscious blue are still lavender blush on the other side. The far side hidden and waiting to fool me. Be patient. They will turn totally inky blue with a white bloom with time. That’s what it’s all about. Patience and waiting.

I’ll be waiting. All this time. Waiting to pull out simple ingredients.

Waiting to turn those berries, those luscious inky blue with white bloom berries into blueberry pies. Other things too, but oh those pies!

Greenbrier, and Catbrier

Greenbriers and Catbriers are in the Smilax genus of plants in the family Smilacaceae. About 300 species of these vines live worldwide. Twenty of the species are native to North America north of Mexico. Eleven are native to Virginia.

The small flowers of Greenbriers and Catbriers attract bees, beetles, and flies as pollinators, with their carrion scent.

The flowers produce blue-black berries that attract birds and animals throughout the winter. And I’m surprised how many animals eat the leaves of these plants.

And of course the thorns! I really had to hunt to find an image of the thorns. For me that’s the most memorable part of these plants. BUT I’ve gotta give these plants credit. They’re a valuable part of the environment.

And I love to see the leaves dappled with rain drops as it twines through the beautyberry bush.

Trout Lily

If ever there was the perfect use of the word “diminutive” I think it would be for describing Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum). A lily that grows to be just six inches tall. A bit too big for a doll house but still mighty small for a lily.

It’s flower which dips shyly has no petals but six radiant yellow tepals surrounding six stamens with an ovary in the center with three stimata. Bees are the flower’s pollinators. And contents of the seed capsules will, I’m hoping, increase the population of the Trout Lilies.

Today I’ve come upon emerging Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla), Wood Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum), Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) and Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) but still no Trout Lily. I’m looking forward to being able to share these plants with you once they are up and gleefully blooming. Stay tuned!

Cutleaf Toothwort

A spring ephemeral, a perennial native to eastern North America. Cutleaf Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata).

The “toothwort” of its name is thanks to the appearance of its rhizome.

The Cutleaf Toothwort likes woods with mesic soils covered with lots of leaf litter. This certainly must be the description of the woods where I live. Many of these plants greet the spring each year up here, including a few spots where colonies have formed.

Buds protected by four pale green sepals open to reveal four barely pale pink petals. At the center of each flower is a style with a sphere topped stigma which are surrounded by stamens with green filaments of varying lengths topped by yellow anthers.

Many different pollinators visit these blooms. Fruit of the Toothwort is a slender pod about an inch long containing a single row of tiny seeds.

When the invasive, Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata), starts growing in the area of a population of Cutleaf Toothwort its numbers soon decline. A good reason to fight those invasives.