Common Flower Gems - Classification #4 Yellow Toadflax/Wild Snapdragon (Linaria vulgaris)

Its yellow, showy petals are quite a sight.

Today's common flower gem is the Perrenial Yellow Toadflax, known also as Wild Snapdragon because of its yellow and orange Snapdragon-like flowers. According to Wikepedia, it is a species of toadflax, native to most of Europe and northern Asia, from the United Kingdom south to Spain in the west, and east to eastern Siberia and western China. It has also been introduced and is now common in North America as you can see from these pictures below which were taken here in my local NY neighborhood.

I found these in the same empty lot as the amazing Bull Thistle wildflowers which I identify here.

I've Over-watered my Alyssum! Oh no, poor Ally :(

Proxy image of an over-watered plant. Signs are curled leaves, light green color, and droopy stem.

My Alyssum, Ally, is showing signs of over-watering and is not looking good. Basically the symptoms are light green leaves, droopy stems, curled-up leaves, and moist soil. Seeing that Alyssums prefer dry soil and how much I water my plants, its no wonder this occurred. The general green rule of thumb is to water plants whenever the topsoil is dry to the touch. I'll hold back on the daily watering and pay more attention to the moisture in the container before adding more water from now on.

In an attempt to save the plant, I've transplanted the plant into a different container with a drainage hole, trimmed it to focus the root growth, and am keeping it away from direct sunlight to avoid transplant shock. I just hope its not too late and the roots haven't rotted away. I've planted some more seeds in case it doesn't survive the transplant.

* The Alyssum was actually able to bounce back and now looking pretty good. It was sagging because it was pretty top heavy so I decided to trim it back down and avoid over watering.

Common Flower Gems - Classification # 3 Bull Thistle (Spear Thistle)

The Bull Thistle or Spear Thistle wildflower gets its name from its prickly flower parts. Birds and insects love it because of its delicious nectar. 

I spotted this one in an vacant lot near in my neighborhood and this is the first time I've ever seen this flower. It is an attention grabber and classified as a invasive weed in some areas. It is widespread and grows everywhere from the US, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Scotland. 

Apparently its been watered daily with coffee as you can see by the cups. In all seriousness, hold onto your trash and don't litter.

Bloom 2014 - Impatiens (Jewelweed, Touch-me-not, Snapweed)

Life Cycle: Annual

Uses: Beds, Containers

Sun: Full Shade, Part Sun

Soil: Neutral to slightly acidic

Water: Lightly to moderately

Spread: 12-14 Inches

Bloom Duration: 14 Weeks

Height: 10-14 Inches

8/26/2014
These impatiens have been in bloom for over a month now lasting a week before falling off and the leaves have grown quite large and are a deep forest green. 

8/11/2014
The green foliage growth on my Impatiens has increased dramatically and there's a new bloom almost daily.

7/23/2014
The Burpee seeds I bought were a mixed variety and came in pink and purple as you see and also white. Wish there was a way to tell which color is which before you plant the seed.

7/21/2014
I usually remove the wilting flowers at this point and wait for the budding ones to take its place.

7/18/2014

7/17/2014
My first blooms of the season, pink Impatiens.

 These flowered yesterday and today the second flower bud also bloomed. These seem to grow pretty well crowded - I planted 3 inside a small pot and they just keep getting bigger. I found these easy to grow, hard to over-water, and find that they make a great indoor plant. The foliage shape is quite lovely and covers a lot of ground so the leaves on this plant seem to be a decoration in itself. But I'll get the pruning scissors ready just in case. 

My First Bloom 2014 - Star Lily/Mountain Lily (Leucocrinum montanum)

Here's the online image I used to make my comparison

So this  unidentified plant has been around the house for years, blooms every Spring, and I never really knew what it was before today. After quite a bit of online image research and comparing photos, I am near certain this specimen is the Star Lily wildflower, known also the Mountain Lily. The only reason I can't be a hundred percent certain is because Wikipedia mentions this species is stemless but there are about 5 flowers budding or already bloomed on the stem in the image as you can see below. I'm going to guess it may have grow a stem because of the extra water its been receiving as a houseplant if it is in fact a Star lily. 

I originally believed this to be a star of Bethlehem flower but the features between the two didn't quite match.

This is a Native US species and will bloom randomly for weeks then suddenly stop during Spring.

Heres another shot of the Sand Lily as I prefer to call it. It has 6 white, star shaped petals,  yellow stamens, and thing long grass-like tepals or leaves

Common Flower Gems - Classification #2 Field Bindweed/Hedge Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)

White Hedge Bindweed I spotted at a distance 

Due to common confusion among the two, I've included both Field Bindweed and Hedge Bindweed, its larger counterpart. At first glance, this perennial vine is strikingly similar to the Moonflower with its funnel shaped corolla and arrowhead shaped leaves. But don't be fooled, this impostor below is actually Hedge Bindweed, a common weed in many regions. Difficult to remove due to its deep root system and rhizomes, its rhizome or root stalk (ginger being a type of root stalk) will form more roots and create new plants whenever they are pulled out of the ground. Very difficult to get rid of once infestation is 

Here's some Hedge Bindweed in light pink for all you ladies out there! An amazing and stunning field flower.

There were lots of Hedge Bindweed because it was late June and growth was at its peak.

6/22/15

Recent Photo of Hedge Bindweed

6/22/15

Another recent photo of Hedge Bindweed

6/22/15

More Hedge Bindweed

Here is the similar White Field Bindweed which is confused for Hedge Bindweed. Its  flowers and foliage are smaller and it has two Bracht's behind the flowers instead of just one large one at the base of each flower.

Field Bindweed is smaller than Hedge Bindweed; hence the name lesser bindweed.

Each vine stem will produce about 1-3 flowers.

I spotted some more hedge bindweed near a parking lot fence around my neighborhood too!

Common Flower Gems - Classification #1 Queen Annes Lace/Wild Carrot (Daucus carota)

Spotted this little guy on top. Supposedly I've hear there's a rare oddity where a purple floret blooms at the center so I will be on the lookout and be sure to post if I spot one.

So I was taking a stroll in my local NY park and realized something...I pass by so many flowers all the time, some numerous times throughout my entire life, but I still don't know what they're called. So in an attempt to remedy that, I will be researching & classifying common flowers and weeds that you might also recognize in your neighborhood and post a few facts and descriptions about them.

Queen Anne's Lace is quite lovely and easy to grow. It prefers a sunny position and a well-drained neutral to alkaline soil. Considered an obnoxious weed by some, it can spread very quickly. But the same is said about dandelions and they are among some of my favorite, also edible flowers. Common flowers get a bad rap if you ask me. This flowers numerous small white flower clusters and tall droopy stalk give it the same grace and beauty of a beautiful white swan.

The roots of  Queen Anne's Lace are similar to carrots and are also edible but can be easily mistaken for poison Hemlock.

Remember those purple florets I mentioned earlier?I found some today! And they weren't all that elusive afterall because I found several today.

And just for the heck of it, its a purple Queen Anne's Lace! (Proxy Image)

Non-Bloomers 2013 (Proxy Images)

These seeds I bought never made it to bloom but I'll try again soon!

Bloom 2013 - Moonflower (Proxy Images)

Life Cycle: Annual

Uses: Trellis or Lattice

Sun: Full Sun

Soil: Slightly Acidic

Water: Lightly to moderately

Spread: 8-10 feet

Bloom Duration: 14 Weeks

Height: 8 weeks

I couldn't stop looking at the bloom and awaited each of the following ones anxiously.  The Moonflower is one heck of a sight to behold.

This was by far my favorite blooms of last year and an instant all-time favorite. I received the seed as a wedding gift from an good friend of mine. When I received it, there was no mention of what type of seed it was so I had no idea what I was planting. I was in for a surprise because I soon noticed it was a fast-growing vine plant and going by the big kernel-like seed and images that I found online, I had a hunch it was a Moonflower. The wedding gift actually came paired with another Morning Glory seed but unfortunately it stopped growing after a few weeks after I planted it; I'm guessing because of the small container it was in. This Spring, I bought some more seeds and am growing another one indoors near my windowsill, so I'm hoping this is the year I get to see it bloom. As for the Moonflower it grew rapidly and easily climbed up the bars of my balcony which are about 5 ft high before blooming one night. It was at this time I realized the meaning behind the name - it only blooms at night and will wither by the next morning or so. Later that summer the plant blossomed about three times and each was as stunning as the last. There's a certain elegance and grace this flower has and seeing it was an unforgettable experience.

When I grew my first Moonflower last year, it stayed like this for about a week, the anticipation to see it bloom was terrible. This pod will fall off once it does bloom and if you let it dry up for a few days you can open it afterwards and reuse the seeds it contains. 

Those ace of spade leaves mean its a vine

Moonflower sprouts - the seed will hang onto the sprout until the sepal breaks it off 

Bloom 2013 - Dwarf Tomato Plant (Proxy Images)

Proxy image of a fully grown dwarf tomato plant. Mine wasn't nearly as plentiful and I soon discovered that growing tomatoes require that you give them enough room to grow and lots of sun & water)

Me and my girlfriend both picked up a tomato kit for sale at K-Mart last year complete that came with a few seeds and ceramic pot. After adding the soil to the pot, I planted several  of the seeds although the instructions stated to plant only one. My girl Ironellys on the other hand planted a tomato forest and sprinkled more seeds in the pot than I can count. I soon learned found out that tomatoes need their root space to grow well and so to promote growth, I ended up cutting down a few of the extra tomato plants. My mini tomato plant started to bear green tomatoes and it took about a week for them to redden. I successfully mustered up the courage and ate some of my harvest without any ill effects which I'm still proud of. Its pretty amazing how I basically grew my own food which is why I'm looking to grow some more veggies this winter.

Yellow Tomato Flower

Tomato seedlings. At this stage they already smell like tomatoes, which I found intriguing. 

My First Bloom 2013 - California Red Poppy (Proxy Images)

It was close to three months tending my plants before my first bloom, a Red California Poppy. The seeds I bought were California orange but I wasn't complaining, my bloom was a lovely and welcome sight nonetheless. I remember watering it in my balcony early morning and it hadn't quite bloomed yet but a few hours later I find it fully bloomed with those eye-catching red petals fanned out towards the sun. The thing about Poppies are that they start looking pretty miserable and wilted just after a few days and soon after the petals start falling off. The next time I grow these I might group a few different varities in different pots and stagger the time I seed them so I can watch them bloom several times instead of once.

Full grown Red California Poppy

Macro shot of a Poppy  flower about to bloom

Poppy seedling

New Blog to Celebrate the Spring! (Summer too!)

Welcome to my new blog, Springtime Windowsill! This new blog is long overdue, I actually wanted to create it last spring around the time I began growing my first balcony garden. I've moved since then and don't have a balcony hence the blog title. I'll be posting pictures and sharing my experience with plants and flowers I decide to grow year round, so don't let the blog title mislead you. So follow this blog and stay posted on my new sprouts and blooms! So unfortunately I deleted my FB account - along with pictures I planned to upload from last spring believing that I had backed up! But the beauty of  gardening is that you can regrow seeds year after year and watch them bloom all over again which is what I plan to do seeing that it might be a bit too late now to grow them. But for now, I'll be uploading similar stock images of those flowers that I grew last year for you to see along with a few personal photos I shot of some new flowers I've been growing this spring. That's it and thanks for checking out my new blog site! If you like this one, check out my art blog Keith's Kreations too.