When a photo is of a painted plant is any of it real? This was on the side of a building on Las Olas Blvd in Ft. Lauderdale. Copyright 2018 Pamela Breitberg
The plant on the wall is art; the plants on the ground against the wall are real. However since it’s all captured digitally is any of this real?! Copyright 2018 Pamela Breitberg
This bright bouquet was just growing in cracks in the sidewalk/curb area. I believe it’s actually not an official “weed” but a naturalized cluster of Bush Daisy (Gamolepis chrysanthemoides).
Most people see a puddle with a little weedy grass growing out of a crack in the sidewalk/pavement. When I walked past this spot I saw a miniature island paradise complete with sunshine peaking out of a few clouds in blue skies. I am ever the optimist. I look imaginatively at people and things.
Puddle or someone’s paradise? I must get out the microscope; but risk being run over. Copyright 2018 Pamela Breitberg
The Thistle is prolific, meaning “happy”, in Chicago’s Lincoln Park environment. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Eastern Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus) shows up voluntarily along paths and roadsides. The flowers are thumbnail sized and bloom in bouquet arrangements tempting passersby to capture their loveliness. Today I brought them home as images saved.
Portrait of Daily Fleabane. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Nature’s bouquet. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Chicory and Bee. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
The blue blooms of Chicory easily draw attention against the neutral grays of concrete. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Chicory (Cichorium intybus) graces the walls edge along Lincoln Park’s lakefront pathway. I call this plant by its nickname, “Cornflower“. Typical of many plant names both Chicory and Cornflower identify several unique species. Chicory shown here is an invasive Eurasian weed. Its cheerful blue flower is a welcome sight along an otherwise gray-toned location.
Concrete barrier along Lake Michigan serves as a flood wall and walking path in Lincoln Park. Chicory blooms appear frequently along side this pathway. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
This is a member of the lovely vining Morning Glory family, opening its blossoms as the morning light highlights its beauty. However, this species is one of those non-native, Eurasian varieties that is a dreaded invasive visitor in American gardens. Known as Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) I enjoyed taking its portrait during a morning bike ride along a Lake Michigan pathway in Lincoln Park, far from any cultivated gardens. They appeared a fair distance from a prairie restoration area and were isolated from the golf course by a stone wall making their appearance more tolerable to the native purist. This Bind Weed did emulate its name wrapping around other vegetation proliferating this informal, unplanned area of horticulture.
Portrait of an invader (pretty but unfriendly). Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Catching the sunlight. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Busy morning on the Bind Weed Morning Glory. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Emerging Musk Thistle (Carduus Nutans) found along the Grant’s Trail in St. Louis during a morning walk. Beautiful, but untouchable for all its bristles.
Musk Thistle bloom with bud in background. Copyright 2017 Pamela Breitberg
Opening Musk Thistle flower. Copyright 2017, Pamela Breitberg
For more details see: http://extension.missouri.edu/p/ipm1015
Macro view of the lovely Dandelion. Copyright 2016, Pamela Breitberg
Dandelion in the lawn. Copyright 2016, Pamela Breitberg
Now, back to nature. Here’s a couple of images of the “lions” that roam freely (and aggressively) in our lawns. The Dandelion (Taraxacum), as a flower, is pretty; take a close look.
Natural bouquet of Frost Aster. Copyright 2016 Pamela Breitberg
This native perennial is aptly named, Frost Aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum). It is one of the last blooming perennials in Chicago-land, ending only when a hard frost sets the stage for winter’s dormancy. The abundance of blooms is magnified by the circumstance that the plant is a rhizome, existing as spreading gatherings of the parent plant. The previous post showed the Frost Aster along the lakefront path in Lincoln Park. Those colonies lived on the side of the wall opposite of Lake Michigan, preferring the dryer environment of a gravel path.
Attention is focused as the sun momentarily spot lights this bouquet. I centered the composition, to emphasize the natural vignette around this vibrant cluster.
May frost come later than sooner.
For more information on Frost Aster: http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/fr_aster.htm