Every year for most of the past decade, I find a wildflower in my garden that I didn’t plant. Each year it’s a different wildflower and typically not repeated by either seed or root during the next growing cycle. The wildflowers have all been Texas natives, usually spring or spring/summer bloomers. Each plant has appeared in a different spot: some in the back garden, some in the front; a few popped up in containers where other things were housed, and several have grown along the southern side of my house, where there isn’t much of a garden, only a utilitarian pathway.
Where do these garden gifts come from? Maybe birds have dropped seed by way of their excrement, maybe seeds wafted into my garden space from the wind. Perhaps, wildflower nymphs, being such quirky critters, choose to leave me something new and unique to my garden– just because they can.
This year, Texas Thistle, Cirsium texanum, was the wildflower nymphs’ gift of choice.
This pretty-in-pink flower bloomed in June and July, having arrived as an attractive, though prickly, evergreen rosette. Trust me when I say that those prickles HURT! Actually, the wildflower nymphs left the rosette last year, but no flowers appeared, as Texas Thistle is a biennial, blooming in its second year. I was aware of the rosette last year, but left it alone and unidentified.
While I never observed any eggs or larvae on this foliage, the Texas Thistle is a host plant for the Painted Lady butterfly, Vanessa cardui. Indeed, I enjoyed the presence of several flitting Painted Ladies earlier this summer. Thanks , Texas Thistle, I’m glad someone likes that foliage!
Bright blooms develop atop stems with few leaves, about 18 inches from the base of the plant. Once open, they resemble deep pink Koosh balls.
Insects, especially native bees, are big fans of this plant. Here, a Leaf-footed bug, Leptoglossus, and its nymph (immature form of the bug), rest on a bud. They were probably doing some bug-like slurping, but I didn’t see any damage to the bud or plant.
In the information about Texas Thistle from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center website, the bumble bee is specifically mentioned as a frequent pollinator of thistles’ disk blooms. Lots of bumbles have graced my garden this year, though I observed none of them on the thistle flowers. However, other native bees relished the nectar offered and picked up pollen as they worked the blooms. I’m not sure what species of native bee this little one is, but its pollen pantaloons are packed with rich pollen, gifts from the flower.
Most years, the wildflower nymphs have gifted one individual plant of one species. This year, there were two thistles that magically bloomed: the one of this post, growing in full sun along the side of my house, and a second, in a pot of variegated American Agave, in part shade, in my back garden. That one didn’t produce as many flowers as this one, but both completed their life cycles; I hope that the seeds will assure some thistles in my garden in future seasons. Also, the other nymph wildflower gifts have been annuals, but as mentioned, Texas Thistle is a biennial, 2022 its year to flower. Those wildflower nymphs, they like to mix-it-up and keep me guessing.
So, wildflower nymphs–what will it be for 2023? I await your gift(s)!
My Gardener Says... 
The Wildflower Nymphs really have your number! What a treat to have something unexpected showing up to delight the senses and further attract pollinators. I’m curious what the protocol is – how do you leave a Nymph a “thank-you” note?
LikeLike
They do, indeed! It’s just weird, though. One plant. A different plant each year. For a number of years.
I was wondering about a thank-you–what would I leave for them?
LikeLike
There is nothing better than a gift from nature.
LikeLike
True, true!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your wondering about where the “stray” wildflowers came from has overtones of the line by Dylan Thomas: “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower / Drives my green age….”
You came up with a funny phrase in “pollen pantaloons.” You could probably spin the idea of “wildflower nymphs” into a children’s book.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Appropriate quote!
I think the corbiculae do look like pantaloons, but I suspect fewer and fewer people even know what pantaloons might be.
LikeLike
The word has an interesting history:
https://www.etymonline.com/word/pantaloons
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nature is the constant giver of gifts and your Texas Thistle is a lovely one.
LikeLike
It was a welcome gift this summer, Steve.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve thought for years that a novelist or short story writer should create a female character named Vanessa Cardui.
LikeLike
That’s a great name! Vanessa Atalanta is also good, but Cardui is a better last name.
LikeLike
I imagine the birds will enjoy the seed. I think you are brave to host a thistle… thorns drive me nuts!
LikeLike
That thistle is mean, too! I mostly stayed clear of it, but used my thickest gloves when I pruned it to the ground.
LikeLike
Even non-gardeners can receive gifts like yours. A couple of years ago, I was graced with a beautifully blooming Texas Nightshade plant in one of my few pots. Eventually, it even attracted its very own assassin bug.
I do love these Texas thistles. I think the buds are especially pretty, although when in full bloom I’m sure the bees enjoy them even more!
LikeLike
I love it when there is serendipity in the garden–so much fun!
I agree with you about the buds. The thistle bloomed at the same time as the height of the basket flower blooms, so it looked like a miniature!
LikeLike
Thistles are such great pollinator plants and it really is too bad they are often maligned in gardening. What a gorgeous plant!
LikeLike
They really are such excellent pollinator plants. I found that it was mostly the native bees who visited; that’s a win situation!
LikeLike
That nymph is especially playful, methinks.
LikeLike
I was thinking it is a cheeky nymph, but playful works, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nymphs really are so cool. Thanks for sharing this. 🌱😁
LikeLike