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.

Common Columbine

I sat and photographed this common columbine bloom as the light changed,
but I like the first photograph the best.

Very slight difference in the 2nd and 3rd photograph.

I have 4 or 5 clumps that look like this.

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.

White Wildflowers in GSMNP

All these photos of white wildflowers were taken in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. All except the last one were taken April 2009. The first 2 photos are Foamflower.
Next is Fraser's Sedge

These 2 are Rue Anemone.

Not to be confused with the last 3, which are Great Chickweed.

This last photo of Great Chickweed was taken April 2008,

during the Wildflower Pilgrimage.

Bishop's Cap - Wildflower in GSMNP

Bishop's Cap seems to be abundant in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Very delicate flower that blooms in April and May at elevations up to 2,500 ft.

The stems are 10 to 15 inches.

Dog Hobble -Wildflower in GSMNP

Dog Hobble is only found in the Southern Appalachians

according to the Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers book.

These photographs of Dog Hobble were all taken in the

Great Smoky Mountains National Park April 18, 2009.

I think the flowers are so pretty, but the shrub isn't much to look at.

The book says "In pre-Park days, when bear hunting was practiced, the heavy bears could escape pursuing dogs by forcing their way through dense thickets of these shrubs, whereas the dogs became 'hobbled' by the tangled growth."

Purple Phacelia (Phacelia bipinnatifida)

I went to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park on Wednesday to capture some last snow photos. I think I waited one day too late. I did get some snow photos, but I was more excited about the wildflowers.

I stopped on the way home at the Chestnut Top Trail

and was able to photograph some wildflowers.

The Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers book says this about the Purple Phacelia..."Reaching a height of 12 to 24 inches, this is the tallest of the four phacelias in the Smokies. Purple phacelia blooms in April and May. It is found in some abundance at the start of the Chestnut Top Trail and along Park roads and trails from the valleys up to 2,000 feet elevation."