It turns out that this is the work of the eriophyid mite, which only bothers coneflowers. They make a meal of the soft tissue at the base of the flower, which causes the distortion seen above. The mites are far too small to be picked off...the only thing that can be done is to cut off the diseased flower head and keep an eye on the rest of the plant.
Some good news in the garden, though. A local gardener gave me several fading columbines from her garden in the hope that although the bloom was over, the flower might live long enough to produce seeds. Columbines are famous self-seeders, so I was thrilled to see a drift of green all around the dead plant.
Columbine seedlings look almost exactly like wood sorrel, a lemony-tasting edible weed that I'm forever pulling out of the garden. I had so many columbines at our old place in Indianapolis, though, that I can see at a glance what I'm dealing with (columbine on the left, wood sorrel on the right).
Once the seedlings mature a bit, they're even easier to distinguish from wood sorrel.
In about two weeks I'll thin these seedlings out to give the strongest seedlings the best chance at survival. It will be quite a show next year! I'm building up my shade garden, with columbines, foam flowers, hostas, and coral bells. Coral bells with light-colored leaves can tolerate full sun, but those with darker leaves prefer the shade. They make a gorgeous pop of color when they flower!
The plants are a nice distraction from our chaotic construction. The frame for the addition is built, although we're waiting on several windows and doors. Shop lighting has been installed in the barn, and a concrete floor poured. Insulation and HVAC is coming soon...I think.
The fields finally got a mow, although they remain stubbly and bordered by weeds, because of our rickety fences. We're hoping that next year's livestock will take care of that little problem for us.
It's a nice view back there.
We ALL enjoy it! :)
As I write, I can see a variety of birds, a woodchuck, and two rabbits in the barn yard. I see the rabbits nearly every day, and I'm always adding new birds to my backyard bird list, too. Just yesterday I saw a male American goldfinch. Score!
We're still enjoying fresh wild blackberries...for a while, almost a pound a day! I've made crisp, pie, pancakes, quick bread, and muffins.
It's probably not a cost-effective way of getting berries, of course. I go out in the early mornings, about every two days. I'm buzzed by horse flies and mosquitoes. I prick my fingers again, and again, and again. I've ripped my shirt. It takes at least 30 minutes to visit all the bushes, and I know I could get a couple of pints at the grocery store for a few dollars. I really enjoy the experience, though, thorns notwithstanding!
One thing that I'm always trying to be careful about is ticks. They carry more than Lyme Disease - all sorts of fever diseases, encephalitis, and many other nasty-sounding things. They don't climb in trees and fall down from above, like I used to think. They climb grass - short or tall - and wave their front set of legs. They are masters at grabbing on if you brush past. It usually takes them about 24 hours after attaching to you to transmit their bacteria, so if you catch them fast, you're probably going to be all right. But they're awfully sneaky. We've pulled ticks off of Claudia and Borga. I've caught three ticks crawling on me, but thankfully they hadn't yet bitten. Todd had a tick embedded in his side a few weeks ago, and I've found them crawling on his clothing, my outdoor hat, and even the ceiling of Todd's car after a hike. TICKS ARE EVERYWHERE, and my homemade essential oil spray does absolutely nothing. So we will just try to stay vigilant...enjoy the flowers, but watch out for the ticks that might be lurking nearby. Eek!
Have a great week!
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