dull pale pink to deep mauve
We have 14 types of native milkweed here in Minnesota. All of them are beneficial to Monarch butterflies. This one is the common milkweed which is a prolific breeder, so much so that it sometimes referred to as a noxious weed. The milkweed leaves are very large, and often hide these captivating flower clusters–so I took the liberty of removing the top leaves so you could see the flowers. You can see the latex drips from removing the leaves. My local Minnesota Wildflower guide describes the color of the round clusters as “ranging from dull pale pink to deep mauve, the tips of the star-shaped crown often cream colored.” Dull pale pink, deep mauve, cream. Yes, please!
common milkweed flowers (Asclepias syriaca)
P.S. I have been doing STILL during a very interesting period of plant re-classification. As genetic identification becomes more cost effective and ubiquitous, I am witnessing many plants get reclassified. Milkweeds are a good example. The Asclepias genus contains over 200 species distributed broadly across Africa, North America, and South America. It previously belonged to the family Asclepiadaceae, which is now classified as the subfamily Asclepiadoideae of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae.
Le champagne des fées
Elderflowers are in bloom so we decided to try making a naturally bubbly–aka lightly fermented–French limonade called Le champagne des fées (Fairy Champagne). My son sat at the kitchen counter patiently pulling the tiny elderflowers (¼ inch each) off of 15 umbel heads. It took an hour for about 2 cups of flowers. The resulting ivory-colored pile was one of the prettiest things I have seen in a while. I had no idea that each teeny tiny flower was itself perfection.
St-Germain is an artisanal French liqueur made from fresh, hand-picked elderflower blossoms. On the bottle it says “made from a thousand flowers”. I always thought this was hyperbole, But now I understand.
Beauty x 1000
elderflowers (Sambucus canadensis)
the gift that keeps on giving
The blue flag iris stems I photographed five days ago have been siting on my kitchen counter ikebana-style in a shallow pasta bowl with water and flower frogs. I thought the whole arrangement would last a day, maybe two. But here we are, five days later and it is still looks great. All the original blooms have faded, but hidden behind each of them was another bud just waiting for it’s chance to shine. And what elegant buds they are…like a Japanese tanuki hair brush dipped in purple paint ready to make marks on a fresh sheet of washi paper. Swoon.
blue flag iris– flower and bud (Iris versicolor)
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Look at all that exquisite veining on them (nectar guides for the pollinators)! And two more buds waiting in the wings for your future admiration. The curved stem ain’t bad either :) Well done, as always!
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It was fun while it lasted
Happy Summer Solstice! This is is the aftermath of the daisies I photographed nine days ago. It is weirdly evocative, isn’t it? Being busy has unexpected advantages–subjects that hang around long enough to have a second chance at being commemorated as STILL subjects.
Spent roadside daisies
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At 78 I feel like these daisies. Not quite dead yet, but heading in that direction. Your book is a joy, and I am going to consume it in the same way you created it; one day, one photo at a time. Because my eyesight is failing, I need to look long and hard at everything. Your book is perfect for that. And it would appear, so is this blog. Thank you for both.
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something a little different
I am finding it interesting that the black background does not motivate me to do flat-lay photos in the same way the white background did. On white, flat-lays felt natural–almost scientific. But on black, without the soft shadows on the background, it feels a little…well, flat.
driftwood pieces from the south shore of Lake Superior
So pretty! Not only is the blossom color sublime, so is the fragrance, IMHO.
All the plant reclassification just confuses this old lady. I’m just gonna keep calling an aster an aster til I’m pushing up daisies (or whatever they’re called now).