The clematis seeds are the frilly things that help carry the seeds in the wind. Dunno what the berries are.
On August 8 I found some volunteer turtleheads in the drainage ditch between my yard and the former swamp. I'm 99% that these are the truly wild, native type. Their leaves are slightly different than the cultivated versions, not to mention that they are no where close to the color that I have planted elsewhere in the yard. Those wild ones are ahead of my cultivated pink ones (pictures taken on same day The white turtlehead is said to be the chief plant host for the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly larva. I do see those butterflies around my gardens, especially around the black eyed Suzies. However, those butterflies could just as easily be Harris' Checkerspots, that like flat top Asters, which there are an abundance of around here too. Heck, I could have both types of butterflies for all I know. I'll have to remember next year not to mow / weed wack those volunteers down.
On a hydrangea today. Lots of butterflies around today. Hummingbirds will be leaving soon with the cold overnight temps.
There have been a lot of grasshoppers here for the last couple of weeks. Hummingbird feeder hasn't been hit for a couple of days, but I'll leave it out for a while more yet.
If it is Japanese knotweed, it is a very aggressive invasive plant. Around here, municipalities will help you eradicate it.
Japanese Knotweed, like fishingpol said. It blooms this time of year and insects love it. There is some in the ditch next door and I am constantly fighting it back. heavy shade is the only thing that will control it, or judicious poisoning (on a regular basis). Probably best way of poisoning (if that is your approach) is to cut off canes and pour vine and stump killer down inside. Spraying tough plant killer on the foliage works to an extent but not as well. Digging out is tough as the roots will go down several feet and pieces of root will live forever waiting for favorable conditions. Called it into our town a couple of years ago. They said "thanks" and never did anything.
There is a roll out wire mesh available that helps control it. It is placed over the area of knotweed in the spring and the shoots grow into it and strangle itself. I'm not sure if it can be done after it is cut down on re-growth. Bad stuff for sure.
Not much of flowers or foliage here. I wished I had taken a before pic. So, I scrolled back in this thread for a pic of the bed. I found one of half the bed I believe that us yellow baptism. It had spread and took over the bed. It was time for it to go. I used a pitchfork to loosen the ground. Then using a 4-tine cultivator/hoe, I pulled it out. All of it. Other weeds were intermixed. I also pulled out a couple of yucca plants. I found it difficult to clear fa.len leaves from them. The compost pin is full. I did leave behind the spirea bush. As I'm sure I missed a number of roots, I covered the are with corrugated cardboard, then the mulch. I'm hoping that'll kill off anything left behind. Eventually, I'd like to put daylillies in there. Maybe, this time next year. We'll see. For now, I'll enjoy the clean look.
I like to use cardboard too since it will break down after a while. Or a couple of sheets of the brown packing paper that occasionally comes in packages. For really tough stuff, like poison ivy, I used cardboard covered with empty pellet bags and let those sit for two years. .
The last of my perennials is now in bloom. Not sure exactly what it is, but reminds me the flower season in my yard is nearing it's end.
A few pics. Wildflowers are still blooming. Most fell over with last storms, but are still going. Ninebark has a few blooms. It fully bloomed back in the spring. The butterfly bush had bloomed and I cut most of the spent blossoms off. Got a second bloom. Smaller clusters, but the pollinators liked them. Still have butterflies and hummingbirds around. Not for long.
You can actually eat the young shoots in the spring as they're coming up, when they're about the size of asparagus. As far as how they taste raw, envision dropping a granny smith apple into some rich dark brown dirt and taking a huge bite Supposedly steamed or grilled it tastes better. In my last house I wiped out a large patch of it by repeated cutting over a period of several years. I wouldn't doubt it came back by now though. That stuff is horrendous. I remember it had actually grown through the concrete slab under my shed, cracking it apart. There are three varieties of that plant well established here: Japanese Knotweed, Giant Knotweed, and a naturally hybridized version of the two called Bohemian Knotweed which is worse than either parent plant.
