Wildflowers. I love the way they surprise you with a mix of colors and shapes - even their seeds are so different - some as tiny as a bit grain of salt, some with wings, some with burrs to help them spread. These are from my front yard. I live in 1950's subdivision that is inside the perimeter highway. Most of our yard is shaded because we have some big old trees. But there's this one patch, by the street, that is pretty sunny, and a steep enough hill that when I mow it I spend a good deal of time struggling to stay on my feet! Kids and butterflies love its chaos. So do the big stitching spiders. I took these pictures over a series of afternoons in the spring and summer. So wonderful to find these shining faces, these windows into other worlds, right there in my suburban front yard.
Black-Eyed Susans are a hardy, traditional southern wildflower that do well in the heat of summer, turning their faces to the sun rather than wilting and hiding from the heat!
Day lilies can take over, and are often found where the ground has been disturbed and left untended. For some people, they are pests, but they are great at preventing a soil bank by the road from eroding. Also delicious sauteed in butter, they were a vital gift of nutrition in late spring and early summer when people depended more on local, seasonal foods.California poppy, Dahlia, cosmos - they dance and brighten and attract bees and butterflies - the poppies tend to fade as the heat comes on, then bloom again in the cooler autumn.
