With an appreciative nod to the great Gordon Lightfoot, the garden is a Summertime Dream. Yes, there’s twittering in the trees, but there’s also plenty of buzzing and fluttering in and around the blooms. Currently, some of the premier buzzy/fluttery magnets are the prolific American Basket-flower, Centaurea americana.
Whether at the beginning of the bloom cycle,
…or toward the end,
…these pink-to-lavender beauties host a myriad of pollinators–day in and day out. Big or small, bee or butterfly (or hummingbird),
…active pollinators fill the air space of the garden, alighting on many blooms, especially nosing in on these fringed flowers.
This is the third year I’ve grown this wildflower. Last year, each individual stalk was tall, but in the drought, not nearly as tall as this year’s crop of baskets. Plenty of rain in April and May encouraged Jack-in-the-Beanstalk growth of the basket flowers and I was remiss in pruning the reach-for-the-stars flower stalks.
I managed to prune this bunch below and I’m happy with their height and bushy character.
Next year (next year, I always say next year!), I’m removing 95% of the seedlings (this year, it was a mere 85%) and pruning 100% of those that remain. The tall growth is fascinating to observe, but these plants simply get too, too tall for this garden. I cut down five or six of the tallest because they tipped over in heavy rain and wind.
I’m fond of these flowers and welcome them as annual visitors. The color, form, and size of the blooms are glorious, but their most important contribution is that they provide so much to so many: pollinators partake of the luscious blooms and at the end of that cycle, songbirds snarf the seeds.
This next week, June 19-25, is National Pollinator Week celebrating all things about pollinators. Check out the Pollinator Partnership for information on how you can help heal your part of the world by partnering with pollinators. Even a small garden of native plants and trees that provide food and protection for larvae and nectar and pollen for adults will benefit pollinators and the wider ecosystem.
Additionally, it will add beauty and joy to your everyday life.
My Gardener Says... 
Wow, you weren’t kidding about that Jack-and-the-beanstalk basket-flower plant, which is much taller than any I’ve ever seen. Maybe someone unloaded a bushel of Miracle-Gro in your yard when you weren’t looking.
I appreciate your tip about Pollinator Week. I’ll mention in my post scheduled for June 19th, which coincidentally already includes two insect pollinators.
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Both mine and my SIL’s (next door) are humongous! These come from the seeds that Linda sent me a few years back. I think they’re mutant basket flowers! That said, the pollinators, and now the birds, are pretty happy with the crop.
I look forward to seeing your June 19 post!!
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I don’t think they’re mutants, Tina. The crop blooming down at the Brazoria refuge are well over my head, as are a couple of small colonies along property lines here in town. The usual ditch height is about three or four feet, but I’m more convinced than ever that mowing keeps those shorter. The pruning you’ve planned ought to keep yours in camera range!
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They are beautiful, regal blooms and pollinator magnets, for sure. Your approach going forward makes sense. All the best for National Pollinator Week!
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I’ve really enjoyed having them in the garden, they just require a bit of wrangling. Next year…
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I always say “next year”. I have not even finished my spring tasks, but now it is over 100 degrees, so I’m done. I think I had pollinator week a few weeks ago. My flowers were loaded with bees I don’t ever remember seeing before. I think down here we are on a bit of a different schedule than up north.
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Spring was lovely this year, but sheesh, June’s a bear! We’re hot and humid and I hate it!!
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Dear Tina,
Thank you for sharing your lovely basket-flowers, swallowtail, and the information about pollinator week. It is so gratifying to have pollinators visit the flowers we plant for their survival and our enjoyment.
If I remember correctly, your trip to Santa Fe is coming up. Have a wonderful time there, hopefully with other flowers and other pollinators.
Tanja
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Thanks, Tanja! I’ve enjoyed watching the pollinators, as always! And yes, the trip is very, very soon! 🙂
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Such a beautiful and useful flower. I am sorely tempted to try growing it… it might just be worth it. I can put it with my giant sunflowers!
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It’ll go beautifully with the sunflowers, that’s how they are in my garden.
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I’ve found a couple of spots where I can collect seeds again, provided the mowers don’t get there first. It’s not just easy to collect seeds from these, it’s quite fun to winnow the fluff from the seeds. I’ll be interested to see if you have birds visiting yours, too. I’ve sometimes seen small birds (who knows what?) pulling seed from the baskets.
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Yes, the birds show up as the seeds develop. It’s mostly the Lesser Goldfinches, but I’ve seen House Finches and House Sparrows as well. These flowers have certainly added some drama to my gardens!
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We recently established another garden (I say established but it is a work in progress which they almost always are forever 🙂 ) for pollinators and will consider trying some basket flowers also. There’s a lot of room for additional plants. It’s going to be a long process as it is where we had several pine trees removed and the ground is full of roots as well as also full of clay. Lots of work to keep an old man out of trouble. 🙂
I’ll post some pollinators from our yard next week for the observance.
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Gardens are always a work in process–there’s no such thing as a finished garden!
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Pingback: 06.19.2023 Pollinator Week | Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog
The flowers are beautiful. I had no idea what height aspirations they held.
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