Just look at all the wildflowers in this field! Can’t see them? You’re just not looking closely enough. Believe me. They’re in there.

But first, let me say this post is sort of incomplete. Earlier this week, I took the photos you see today, but I was in a hurry. I’d planned to return to this spot and another place to get some more pictures for a better selection. Then, a couple of days later, I sprained my ankle and can’t go tromping around the weedy roadsides right now. But let’s get on with it!

I live in an unincorporated area of the county, not in town, so that gives me ample opportunity to see the beauty of nature in the raw. The long-established verges on the shoulders of the roads are a palate of colors. But some virgin forests have been cleared for new development or sale. These “disturbed areas” reveal other plants. My little trek this week was into one of those waste places.

The wide varieties of graceful grasses aren’t technically flowers, but the diversity of color and form is beautiful too.

I’ve been admiring these yellow spikes in an area I pass almost daily. My research says it is Showy Rattlebox. The name comes from the sound the seedpods make when they dry. This plant is in the pea family.

I don’t know the name of this little flower, and I almost missed seeing it, but I found it unusual. Small yellow flowers grow on a plant with bright red stems and elongated leaves of red and green.

I don’t know the name of this one either. At first, I thought it was the same red flower that grows on a vine I often see covering fences. However, the leaves of this blossom are like soft pine needles, and it’s not a vine.

I’m guessing here that this is a type of wild ageratum. The white variety is not as common as the blue, but it does show up sometimes. But I could be wrong. It also looks sort of like boneset.

I found a good patch of blue wild ageratum but didn’t get back to it.

I have a couple of good resource books to identify Alabama wildflowers, but it takes a better eye for detail than I have to recognize many of them. In addition, it can be both confusing and daunting to compare photos and descriptions to make an accurate identification. For instance, out of the 150 types of goldenrod, about 60 varieties are found in the southeastern United States. And I think at least half of those are within a two-mile radius of my house.

Okay, friends. I gave you my best shot for this week.

I’ll say “goodbye for now” to @cavershamjj of The Propagator blog site, who started and maintained Six on Saturday. Here’s what he had to say about it. https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2022/10/15/six-on-saturday-transition/ 

He’s turning the hosting over to Jim Stephens of Garden Ruminations, at least for a while. He can be found here: https://gardenruminations.co.uk/ 

I guess I’ll see you all next week.

Shalom, Dottie