A walk around the yard

A walk around the yard today revealed the first of my rudbeckia blooms. They're small and need to be transplanted and they look like some bug is rather happy with them, too!


And a rose bud. Not enough to make gulkand but a rose nevertheless!

Some mint that has flowered. Not a great picture but the blooms are every teeny and this is without a macro lens.

Some lingering sedum blooms

Pink delosperma that is threatening to take over the little bed

A bee having its fill on my Russian Sage that is bending over with the weight of the teeny blooms

And my mums are flowering early this year. They have barely grown some leaves.

That pesky but pretty mountain harebell pops its head everywhere

And some other new and unwelcome visitors this year. I didn't notice any last year. They are growing in a carpet of grass, weeds and spent Russian sage blooms.


I'm happy! This is so much better than last year!

Flower Fest - V for Verbascum Thapsus

Yet another noxious weed. This time, I knew it was a weed. It had to be! I found it at the Walker Ranch on one those special days in fall when they open it up to the public. The ranch, that is. The open space around the ranch is accessible to the public year round. We were just back from a cold camping trip in the mountains and we went under-dressed for what appeared to be a gorgeous day but with cold winds blowing from the mountains. My ears couldn't bear the cold wind anymore and I returned to the car, which had been warmed by the sun. When I looked up at the sky, this is what I saw:


So, of course, I had to hop out again and brave the wind...


Known as common mullein or great mullein, this weed can grow over 7 feet tall. A wet spring can result in leaves that are as long as 20 inches.


Long dried-up brown stalks are a common sight by late fall. This plant is not native to the US but is found all over the continental US!

Wikipedia notes that it has been used since ancient times as a remedy for skin, throat and breathing ailments. It has long had a medicinal reputation, especially as an astringent and emollient. It contains mucilage, several saponins, coumarin and glycosides. Dioscorides recommended it for diseases of the lung and it is nowadays widely available in health and herbal stores. Non-medical uses have included dyeing and making torches.



This is my entry for the letter V in the Flower Fest - the A - Z of Flowers.

Flower Fest is the brainchild of Nature & Me and Sree. Every two weeks, the focus will be on a letter of the English alphabet. The current letter is V. I am submitting photographs of flowers as my entries.

Tags: Flower Fest, Verbsacum Thapsus, Mullein