Grey headed cone flowers

These are favorites of mine because they look like they are dancing.  I used this one as a background or wall paper as it is called on my computer.  If you like it go ahead and download.  They like to bloom starting in mid to late July and are mostly done before the end of August.   I love to photograph flowers and I have read that flower photographs are very common and really no that interesting yet according to my Google Analyitics for this site there are a lot of people looking at the flower photographs . . did I say thank you?

forget me not

If you are ever walking near the woods and find a clump of forget-me-nots you will not forget it.  They are oh so tiny and very beautiful.

prairie clover

The prairie clover is a native species and they are just starting to bloom.   I found patches of them along the bike paths on the North side of the Mississippi River west of downtown.

spiderwart

June is when the spiderwart blooms.  I found this flower in a large patch at Como Park.

wood anemone

I got out on my bike on Friday and headed for the woods to hunt for wildflowers.  I found a few species blooming in  Battle Creek Regional Park.   The wood anemone likes to grow in clumps in wooded areas.  These were growing at the base of a tree.

Have a happy mothers day.

I did not notice it until a couple of days after I wrote this post but this plant it blood root not wood anemone.

Astors

This is the third species of Aster I found with out really trying. I have no idea how many species there are here in Minnesota.   I found these growing in clumps in Cherokee park in St. Paul.  Like most Minnesota wild flowers they are small and delicate.

Purple Asters

Purple Astors – another Minnesota wildflower that blooms in the fall.  They just started opening and in another week or so they will be gorgeous.  I found these at Harriet Island regional park.  There is a patch of them right by the parking lot closest to the pavilion.

White Asters

There are several varieties of wild asters that are in bloom right now.  They come in several colors and there are a at least three varieties of white asters that I have seen in local parks.  The plant in the picture is the most common variety of white aster  in the Twin Cities metro area.  They remind me of tiny daises and I have always enjoyed them.  The photo was taken near lake Como last weekend.  I know where to find some purple asters on the North end of the lake and will be hunting for them this week.

spider wart

The pretty flower with the funny name.  This is a tradition for me. I love these flowers.  I found this one downtown in Mears Park.  On the way to Illinois a couple of weeks ago I saw bunches of them growing along the road.  They are wildflowers. The plants kind of look like spider plants with long thin leaves and the flowers grow in clusters.  It doesn’t seem like each flower is open for very long.  I found some last year in the rain and went back the next day to take some photos and all of the flowers were gone.  I guess that is why I like to keep my camera handy and stop to use it when I can because we don’t always get a do over and sometimes later, someday or tomorrow never arrive they are just excuses.

Wild mustangs

Another picture from the wild horse preserve in South Dakota.