The view from my back deck

The field behind has always been a hay field. In 2008 they turned the ground over at least 4 times, then planted something different. It was harvested like hay, but had to be planted each time. Did the same thing last year.This year they have not touched it.
And now it looks like snow from my deck. For the next two photos I was on that slope to the left. I was trying to show you how full it is.

There has also been Common Milkweed in the past, and I have caught it a time or two just loaded with all different types of butterflies, including Monarch.

This field did have some of the orange variety, which my book says is Butterfly Weed. Don't tell anybody, but Jimmy dug me enough for us to place it in 3 different locations in our yard.

But this is what the field is full of.

I had thought it was the bigger daisies until I walked out there to photograph the whole field.

These daisies are in the all the un-maintained fields this year.
And the white clover is in all the yards.
I have never seen as much white clover as we have in East Tennessee this year.
The yards looks like snow too, and it doesn't take but a couple of hours after mowing to look like it is in full bloom again.

My daylilies are in full bloom too, but I thought I would share this first.

Daisies in the fairy garden

A photo of my yard art including some daisy blossoms. Hope everybody is doing fine, been very busy here. Not finding time to blog and we leave on vacation tomorrow morning. John, Lindsey and Mason are going with us for our annual June vacation to St Pete Beach. So many irons in the fire right now, hopefully when we return there will be time to blog again.

Little Brown Jug Wildflower

When my mother gave me this she told me the name was Wild Ginger.Thought that was the name until I went to the Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, April 2008. Wild Ginger is a totally different plant, but the Little Brown Jug is sometimes called Wild Ginger (like my mother did), according to the Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers book. You can see why it is called Little Brown Jug. This first photo of the brown jugs was taken April 4, 2009.

The funniest part of this is that I never even knew those 'jugs' were underneath the leaves until I started learning about wildflowers. This plant had been in my yard at least 5 years, moved twice. This photo was taken April 18, 2009.

A closer look at the brown jugs, taken April 26, 2009.

The jugs are under these pretty green leaves.

Small Iris found in GSMNP and in East Tennessee

Several times during April I visited the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to photograph the wildflowers. Although my timing was very close to the wildflower peak in the park there were still lots of evidence of blooms to come in a week or two. I would have liked to returned again, but just did not have time. These first 2 photos are from the park.

The bottom four photographs were from my own yard, 7 days later.

I am no expert and tried to compare the two, and not sure if they are the same or not.

The "Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers" . The title was Crested Dwarf Iris (Iris cristata), it said....Widely distributed at lower elevations of the Smokies, this beautiful iris does much to brighten the roadsides during April and May. The flower is usually a rich blue, but occasionally a light purple or even white. It is 4 to 6 inches tall and is found mostly on open slopes. Spring dwarf iris (I.verna var. smalliana) and southern blue flag (I. virginica) are the only other native species of this genius within the Park and neither are common here. They can separated on the basis that southern blue flag is the only one with a flowering stem more than 6 inches tall and crested dwarf iris has crested sepals whereas spring dwarf iris does not. Iris is the Tennessee State Flower. Look for the crested dward iris in Little River Gorge, Bud Ogle Nature Trail, and Porter Creek Trail.


Reading that and looking at my photos compared to the 2 top ones, taken in the park, I don't have a clue if mine are the same. Nor do I now know which of the iris in the park I photographed, I assume the Crested Dwarf Iris, since it is the more common. I do know I saw evidence in all 3 of the locations they mentioned and only saw actual blooms on the last day I was at the park.

Queen Anne's Lace

Just don't get too close to these in the fields, or you will come away with chiggers.

These photographs were taken during the summer, but I saw some this past week that looked like this. I guess it just keeps on keeping on until frost.

Yellow Flowers at Spring City Park

I took this photographs Thursday morning, after it had rained all day on Wednesday. The sun had not really come out at the time I took these, so the water was still all over the blooms. I probably would not have posted them so quickly but they looked so similiar to Darla's post on Thursday.

These were taken at the Spring City Nature Park, not to be confused with the Veterans Park in Spring City where I keep getting the Heron photographs. Veterans Park is on one side of the railroad tracks and is right at the edge of Watts Bar Lake. The Spring City Nature Park is on the other side of the railroad tracks, and is located in the one caution light 'city'. Both parks have very nice walking tracks. Can you tell this little town is beginning to grow on me? God at work.

Yellow wildflowers across the road

These wildflowers are in bloom across the road along the guardrail. The other day my husband said "Why don't you take some pictures of those?", I replied "Been there, done that". Now you get to see the pretty flowers too.

Black Eyed Susans

Never have understood these flowers being called Black Eyed Susuans. The center looks dark brown to me.

Either way, I have always liked them. They look really good with Coneflowers and dark daylilies. I only have a small batch now, hope to have more next year.

Wildflowers along the roadways

I took this photographs in early June along the side of the road. I think they are Bachelor's Button.

Wildflower Chicory

This wildflower is along the side of the roadways here in East Tennessee. We are usually zooming by it. This is a close look at it.

Wildflower - Honeysuckle

Here is another one. The common Honeysuckle. It seems to be in bloom so profusely this year in East Tennessee, and the smell is wonderful. Don't remember it like this in the last several years, but it brings back memories of my childhood. You don't want this one in your yard, but it looks great along the fence rows right now.

Wildflower - Thistle

The name Thistle doesn't usually make most people think 'beautiful', but I think they are. Call me crazy! My neighbor happened by as I was photographing this thistle, and he now thinks I will photograph anything and everything, not just the birds in his yard.

Wildflowers

Ox Eye Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum)
Golden Ragwort (Senecio aureus)


Sometimes the simpliest of things can be the most beautiful, like these wildflowers found in East Tennessee.

Ox Eye Daisy

I like the simplicity of this one. In was in the hay field behind my property.