This time of year, when the days are their longest and we’re getting both intense sun and rain, I wonder what my big hurry was earlier in the spring. Things happen overnight this time of year. The beets plump, the radishes pop out of the ground, the cucumber vines climb, the squash leaves unfurl.
One day, no garlic scapes. The next day: scapes.
In the prairie we have to relearn the names of all the things, and there is almost always something new. We find ourselves saying: “Isn’t it early for that?” We never remember when flowers bloom and it’s always surprising. Here’s a sample of what a walk in the prairie reveals this morning after the solstice.
Spiderwort is edible. I’ve been dropping nasturtium and mint into ice cubes, and this morning the flower of choice was spiderwort.
Lupine forms these excellent fuzzy seed bods after it blooms.
the too-early purple coneflower
daisy fleabane and the kind of tiny bees (sweat bees?) we see everywhere
The sawtooth sunflowers are drawing bumble bees.
Bluebottles are everywhere, too.
whorled milkweed: we have at least three types of milkweed in the prairie.
Our perennial favorite, also edible, yarrow
some kind of beard tongue
white sage
hawkweed next to the oak grove that is also filled with sprays of daisy fleabane