Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Beauty....The Day After


In reality....the yellow dandelion bloom dries out for a day or two before the spent flower opens into the familiar, white, globular seed head.









Each seed has a tiny parachute, to spread easily in the wind.












The dandelion is well-adapted to a modern world. They now grow virtually worldwide.

From reading some of your blogs, I know you love the dandelion for it's edible greens. But, for most gardners, they are a pesty weed that continues to be a problem.

Petunias growing in the walkways as volunteers
I, for one, am a gardner that tries to balance nature. I love the wild of the countryside. I also love my landscape type flower gardens. So, I try to strike a balance with nature, leaving the wild-side on the outer perimeter of my lawn.

Volunteer Petunias after growing a few weeks...where is the walkway?
This means I'm constantly doing battle with the weeds, or in this case, enjoying the volunteers I allow to grow in the walkways........

Meggie Mac

16 comments:

  1. Wow ~ your petunias are gorgeous....how great of them to volunteer...I love when that happens!

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    1. They just show up each year and say "hello" in a big way!

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  2. I still can't resist stopping and picking a dandelion to blow the seeds away! (Not that they need any help out here,the wind blows all the time!)

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    1. Hi Jan.....The wind blows here most days....many times so strong you can't keep a hat on your head!

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  3. Love your volunteer petunias! I find that the volunteers look much healthier than the original plant. I have several coming up in my pots this year and I think I'll thin them out and watch them grow instead of buying more plants. I have had volunteers come up in a tiny crack in the concrete patio.

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    1. Hi Cheryl...I agree with you about the volunteers. Tomato plants are stronger when they come up as volunteers from last season seeds that have fallen to the ground.

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  4. Lovely pictures and a nice purple color. I love picture no 2. Have a nice time.

    Hugs
    Elna

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    1. Hello Elna....I have hundreds and hundreds of them at one time. It's amazing to see the wind catch them.

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  5. I love the fact that they are called "volunteers". They cost nothing and brighten up the yard as much as the pricey annuals.

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    1. Hello Ms Sparrow...these petunias have been doing this for several years in the very same spot!

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  6. I've not heard the term volunteers before for plants that appear but it's a nice term. the petunias look great. Suzy x

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    1. Hi Suzy...these petunias re-seed each year in the same spot....with no help from me. They sprout through the crushed granite walkways...I'd say they are very hardy!

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  7. I suppose you'd count the daisies on my lawn as 'volunteers' Meggie, a daisy starred lawn is one of summers delights for me...........love your pretty petunias. x

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    1. Lily...that must be a beautiful sight. Daisies are my favorite flower!

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  8. I have tried to capture the beauty of a dandelion 'clock' so many times, without success. Lovely photos. The volunteer petunias look as though they are taking a gentle ramble down your pretty pathway. I reckon you have the balance right.

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  9. You have to start making sallad of dandalions:) Small young leaves can be used a bit like rucola sallad...

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