Blue Wild Flowers for Your Garden
The first and foremost homeschool resource available to you is yourself. That's right .....
The following wild flowers are blue to purple in color, and some say this is a favorite color of bees.
VIRGINIA or COMMON DAY-FLOWER (Commelina Virginica) - Spiderwort family
The Day Flower has blue, one inch wide or smaller flowers which tend to be irregular. The flowers are grouped at the end of the stem, and are upheld by long leaf-like bracts. The leaves are lance-shaped and 3-5 inches long. The upper leaves form like a hood of sorts about the flower. These wild flowers prefer moist, shady ground and flower from June through September.
The day flower tends to open in the morning and looking somewhat "alert". In the afternoon, or after the bees have visited and fertilized it, the petals roll up and quickly wilt into a wet, shapeless mass which will leave a sticky blue fluid on your fingers if you touch it.
SPIDERWORT; WIDOW'S or JOB'S TEARS (Tradescantia Virginiana) - Spiderwort family
The Spiderwort's flowers are purplish blue in color but on rare occasion they can be white. There's usually several flowers about 1-2 inches wide, and usually contain clusters of drooping buds between long, blade-like bracts at the end. This one can grow from 8-36 inches tall, and has long blade-like leaves. It prefers rich, moist woods, thickets or garden space, and it flowers from May through August.
Like its relative the dayflower, the spiderwort opens for part of a day only. In the morning it is wide awake and pert; early in the afternoon its petals have begun to retreat and wither away. New blooms appear each day throughout the season though.
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WILD HYACINTH, SCILLA or SQUILL. QUAMASH (Quamasia kyacinthina; Scilla Fraseri of Gray) - Lily family
The Wild Hyacinth tends to produce many pale violet blue flowers, though once in awhile they can be white. There tend to be equal groups of 6 flowers on long, oblong-shaped branches. The plant tends to grow 1-2 feet tall, and has grass-like, short leaves. These wild flowers prefer meadows, prairies and stream banks, and they bloom from April to May.
These wild flowers tend to be low maintenance, and they propogate on their own, without being invasive. In addition to attracting bees, the Wild Hyacinth also tends to attract ants, wasps, flies, butterflies, and beetles.
For planting roses a good garden loam with organic matter is important. It must contain peat moss, leaf mold, .....
Watch for future articles where I'll introduce you to many other wild flowers in a variety of other colors too!
About the Author
© 2005, Kathy Burns-Millyard, The Garden Source Network - http://www.garden-source.com