firewheel
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Color Variation
I have so many Firewheel aka Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella) here that it doesn’t surprise me to find some mutations here and there. As an example, the pale flower in the center of the above photo was the only one on its plant with that coloration, which looks as if it’s missing some yellow pigment.… Continue reading
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Too Much Of A Good Thing
The Firewheel aka Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella) that I seeded last fall have grown so well that in some cases they’re crowding out other things. One of those was my valiant little Texas Mountain Laurel tree (photo above). I cut back some of the surrounding plants to give the tree more space, and to give me better access… Continue reading
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Common Buckeye
Here’s a Common Buckeye butterfly feeding on a Firewheel aka Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella). If you look closely in these next photos, you’ll see a bee as well. They briefly shared the same flower, but I wasn’t able to capture that. Continue reading
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I Was Away For A Week. What Did The Garden Do?
I was out of town for April 13-20, 2024. I had a helper to check on seedlings (to lightly water, and evict caterpillars), but other than that, the garden was left to fend for itself. What was different when I returned? Many of the back yard plants had grown several inches, including Firewheel aka Indian… Continue reading
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An Abundance Of Firewheels
I have three areas defined in the back yard in which I sowed wildflower seeds last fall, and I am also allowing selected volunteer plants to stay as well. In the front two areas, the predominant plant that has grown is Firewheel aka Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella), which has made a magnificent display and which… Continue reading
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A Wildflower Meadow In An Urban Environment
I have only a small piece of land. I am trying to “wildscape” that as much as possible, but I also need to bear in mind that I am in the middle of a housing development where many of my neighbors (and the HOA!) have expectations as to what an urban lot should look like.… Continue reading
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Adding Extra Beebalm To The Front Meadow
My front yard “wildflower meadow” was seeded last fall with Texas Bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis), Indian Blanket aka Firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella), and Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata). The Bluebonnets and Indian Blankets have already grown and are blooming very nicely. I haven’t noticed any Spotted Beebalm yet, but it’s still a few weeks before the expected bloom time. I recently visited… Continue reading
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A Non-Specific Spring Update
I have several projects in process at the moment and I’ll post about them when I have something to report. So today I thought I’d just include some photos of what I see when I’m outside enjoying breakfast/lunch/tea/whatever. These photos were taken on the morning of March 22, 2024. The first round of spring blooms… Continue reading
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Wildflowers In The Front Lawn Area
Last fall I spread three kinds of wildflower seeds in the center part of the front lawn: Texas Bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis), Indian Blanket aka Firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella), and Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata). In addition, apart from thistles and burclovers (which I pull out and discard), I am allowing volunteer plants to stay, and I’m only trimming around the… Continue reading
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Wildflowers In The Back Yard — The “Short” Areas
In my last post about sowing native wildflower seeds for taller plants in the rear part of the back yard, I wrote about the reasons for my strategy so I won’t repeat them here. Here I describe the shorter plants that are being sown in the two areas closer to the house. Some I have… Continue reading
About Me
Nature Lover.
Inquisitive Observer.
Student Gardener.
I invite you to join me on my journey to convert my sterile (from a nature point of view) new house lot to a healthy and diverse ecosystem, as I make discoveries, mistakes, and hopefully progress. I am not an expert or professional. The project started in February 2023 and the location is Seguin, Texas, USA.