Surprises of Rainy Days

We had a lot of rain in July and August, not enough to cause destruction, but just too keep the grass too wet to mow. Two dry days in a row had my husband eager to get on the riding mower and mow down our crabgrass. I decided to take a stroll around the yard before he mowed.

First, I wanted to give my grandson a break and fill the front birdfeeder. Much to my surprise, there were beautiful tiny flowers growing around the feeder. I'm guessing that the birds dropped the seeds. I don't know what either of these flowers is called.

Each of these small white flowers is smaller than the diameter of a dime!


Each of these blooms is about the diameter of a nickel. I couldn't see the "veins" until I downloaded the photo to my computer.

As I walked past the birdfeeder towards the front of our lawn where it slopes down to the road, I was amazed. The first photo in this post above represents a small section of the masses of wildflowers that greeted me. I couldn't believe my eyes. The entire area, which measures about 40 feet across and runs about 15 feet down the slope, was covered in wildflowers. The scene wouldn't fit into a single shot.


Off towards the side was a mass of brown-eyed Susans. I captured a small section here.

Then I stood and stared at the mass of flowers. There were many flowers I didn't recognize among the lavender clover, white clover, and Queen Ann's Lace. At first, I thought I was looking at a lot of lavender clover, but closer inspection revealed that most of the lavender blooms were small lavender and white flowers I did not recognize.

Friends told me they thought this flower is crown vetch. I googled it and sure enough the photos that turned up look just like this.


The name of these small yellow flowers is a mystery to me. I love their unusual shape. Very pretty!



These grow in other parts of the yard, too. But they make a beautiful part of the wildflower mass. I don't know what they are called. I call them "daisylets" since they look like miniature daisies to me.

There were a few other flowers that I didn't do a very good job of photographing. Maybe next year. Dave and I have decided the slope won't be mowed. I hope you enjoyed my little tour of the wildflowers.

One thing I find very interesting is that we do have an area in the back yard that we have let grow wild for the last three years because it provides a nice space for the the birds to forage and get out of the elements. Most of the plants and wildflowers that grow there are different from those on the slope.

Here is a photo of the weedpatch taken from the deck.

Here is what the rainy weather this summer has taught us:
"Don't Mow, Let the Wildflowers Grow!" :-)