Towering over your head . . .
Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
Lucy in the sky with diamonds,
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," The Beatles
This past weekend I purchased some blue flax (Linum Lewissi) seeds and debated using them. Today, I decided that I definitely would and started them in some peat pots and placed them in some plastic Ziploc bags to germinate. I debated starting them because the pictures that I saw online of them showed some rather scraggly looking stalks as it is a wildflower. What won me over was the history of the flower. First and foremost, they are named after Lewis of the Lewis and Clarke Expedition. They are a native plant that was one of the 178 that Lewis and Clarke introduced to the world as American plants. For more on their history go to: http://www.santafebotanicalgarden.org/subpages/POM%20May09%20Blue%20flax.html
In addition, they are attractive to butterflies and birds. I am hoping to attract some beautiful wildlife to our front yard so that by the time our wrap around porch is ready the blooms, birds, butterflies, and bees will give us a beautiful vista.
As with the blue flax, I found more information online about another of the dry stream plants I've chosen: milkweed, which I sowed two weeks ago. Three of the plants have germinated and moved up to the grow light. What excited me about these was an post written by Jan at http://thanksfor2day.blogspot.com/2010/08/monarch-for-wildflower-wednesday.html
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| Center tp pots: Milkweed seedlings |
She explained that milkweed is the only place where Monarch butterflies lay eggs! Jan also provides information on having your garden certified as a Monarch Waystation. Wow! Now, I am so hopeful that my ciderellas take off. If you'd like free milkweed seeds there is a website that will send you some:
http://www.growingthehomegarden.com/
I kind of like the scraggliness of the Blue Flax, it's interesting. It looks like a great choice for a rock garden or your dry stream bed. Thanks for the info about Milkweed, I'm definitely going to get some to plant!
ReplyDeleteI passed on the Stylish Blogger award to you. Congrats!
http://shannon-thegardenstate.blogspot.com/2011/02/stylin.html
Thanks so much, Shannon! I am very excited about the milkweed, but so far only three seeds have germinated. I am not sure why. One is looking awesome; one was great, but I somehow uprooted it :( and one is still very small. Good luck with yours!!
ReplyDeleteMilkweed is definitely a beneficial plant for monarchs. We have the orange butterfly weed in our garden but not milkweed. I think the butterfly weed is another host plant but I'm not 100% sure.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info on butterfly weed, Dave. I don't have any, yet . . .
ReplyDelete