#purple milkweed

[anipgarden]

*cracks knuckles* Alright everyone strap in.

Hi, I'm Ani, the appointed Milkweed Queen of several Discord group chats, and I'm gonna talk about some of my favorite types of milkweed because its Earth Day, I'm bored, and I had nothing else ready to post. Everyone ready?

I'm not going to give these a formal ranking, I'm just going to ramble about them.

We all know the important reasons to like milkweed--supporting Monarchs, feeding the pollinators, restoring native species to your local habitat and creating an environment for many creatures to live in, that's all fantastic obviously. With that established, this ranking system will have little to do with that. We're talking aesthetics, babey! And any fun facts I happen to toss in are, well, fun facts. If you learn about a new kind of milkweed from this, or want to chime in with your own favorites, by all means let me know!

Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)! If you've been following my blog for awhile, you likely know I've been on a Grand Quest to find, purchase, and/or grow swamp milkweed for a few years now. Honestly, though, who can blame me! Look at those vibrant pink flowers, contrasting with those bright green leaves! Love at first sight, I'm telling you. I've also heard that it smells like vanilla. Vanilla! It's also, reportedly, one of the few types of milkweed that excels in wet environments, and even though my environment isn't very wet, we stan a queen for that quality.

Whether you prefer to call it Sandhill Milkweed or Pinewoods Milkweed, Asclepias humistrata is a champion of sandy soils and also my heart. I hadn't looked too far into this species until late last year, when I was helping another friend look at different milkweeds, but how could I not look into this beautiful plant! With pink stems and veins as early as the seedling stage, pinkish-white flowers and a low-growing spread habit, I would be honored to grow such a specimen in my garden. Their inch-thick, foot-long tap roots help them to quickly spring back to life after a wildfire, providing important food and habitat for creatures returning to the area. How lovely!

Redring milkweed (Asclepias variegata) is another species I hadn't looked too far into until this year, and honestly at great detriment to myself. I'll be honest! I may have ignored this queen at first because I'm not big on white flowers, but those red rings...! Ooh, I want this so bad. The leaves are also fairly big and a lovely dark green, which just makes the white and red pop out more!

Heartleaf milkweed (Asclepias cordifolia) is honestly so iconic, I wish it was native to my region! If you live on the West coast... grow some for me please. How can you not love this specimen! Dusty green heart-shaped leaves directly attached to pink stems, these stunning deep reddish-purple flower clusters...! I continued following one of the most annoying people I'd ever witnessed on Instagram for two months just because I first saw this species in a tiktok of his.

Purple milkweed (Asclepias purparescens) is honestly just. A queen. What else is there to say? Look how purple she is! So purple I almost can't believe it's even real, and yet they are! Not native to my region, far as I know, which is a bummer. I've heard they're hard to grow, but if you can manage it? Share your secrets with the world, honestly, we need more of this plant in our lives.

Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is honestly just a classic. I love the light pink of the flowers, and those leaves are huge! I've heard they spread like wildfire, but with clusters of blooms like this? How can you even be too mad about that?

Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa). Honestly I'm not going to pretend I was always crazy about this species, but the more I see it pop up on iNaturalist, the more I find myself growing fond of it. These flowers look like crazy fireworks, and honestly, kinda have to stan.

"Oh, Ani, you have so many lovely favorites! Do you have any least favorite--" Tropical milkweed, hands down. I appreciate it's value as more of a 'babys first milkweed' plant but I'm tired of seeing it everywhere, especially knowing it's a bit invasive in my area?

Anyways, these are some of my favorite milkweed species! What are some of yours?

#milkweed #pollinator gardening #asclepias #asclepias humistrata #asclepias incarnata #asclepias syriaca #asclepias variegata #asclepias cordifolia #asclepias purparescens #asclepias speciosa #swamp milkweed #sandhill milkweed #pinewoods milkweed #redring milkweed #red ring milkweed #heartleaf milkweed #heart leaf milkweed #purple milkweed #common milkweed #showy milkweed #gardening #flowers #pink flowers #purple flowers #white flowers #ani rambles #out of queue #pollinator garden

[ainawgsd]

I'm loving this purple milkweed. So pretty!

And some more petunia appreciation

#flowers #gardening #purple milkweed #milkweed #petunias

[textless]

#spider #flower crab spider #insect #hunting #photographers on tumblr #textless #amadee ricketts #flower #marigold #aster #milkweed #yellow #orange #purple #macro #in the yard #arizona #garden

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

Bzzz!

Just some bees in my garden and in the fields and on a neighbourhood walk. :)

Featured bees include bumblebees (native), green sweatbees (native), honeybees (invasive), carpenter bees (native), and some I'm not sure about.

Featured flower hosts include bull thistles (invasive weed), rose of sharon (invasive), New England aster (native), cup plant (native), starthistle (not native), Nuttall's sunflower (native), purple coneflower (native), anise hyssop (native), white wood aster (native), swamp milkweed (native), sow thistle (invasive weed), creeping charlie (invasive), creeping thistle (invasive weed), wild rose (native maybe), wild bergamot (native), bride's feathers (native), bigleaf lupin (native maybe or invasive), and upright prairie coneflower "Mexican hat" (native species, but a cultivar).

All my photos, unedited. Don't mind the weirdness of the third last photo. It's my phone's "portrait" which I found out belatedly can have, uh, interesting results.

#bees #bumblebees #insects #hymenoptera #bees wasps and ants #honeybees #sweatbees #carpenter bees #my photos #photography #blackswallowtailbutterfly #bees on flowers #flowers #native North American plant species #native North American insect species #thistles #milkweed #sunflower #purple coneflower #upright prairie coneflower #swamp milkweed #lupin #bigleaf lupin #asters #New England aster #white wood aster #coneflowers #wild rose #starthistle #creeping charlie

[aisling-saoirse]

Spontaneous Growth in Rubble, Philadelphia - March 27-29, 2024

#my big secret is that i enjoy some invasive species in cities #but if i were to see these my back forest i would have a different mindset #dead nettle is the purple #the green is some form of mustard i see around philly...not sure what it is honestly #urban ecology #wild flowers #photographers on tumblr #original photography #Philadelphia #Pennsylvania #rubble garden #i threw milkweed and coneflower in there last year but it didn't take sadly

[hyssopandbee]

Milkweed is beautiful! Smell one if you can (safely, as it’s also a very busy flower).

#milkweed #wildflowers #gardening #gardencore #purple flowers #cottagecore

[plantanarchy]

The first bed I put in at this house is just over one year old! There are three different species of milkweed in this bed (common, showy, and swamp) as well as some species Achillea millefolium I saved while weeding at work two years ago, plus some mountain mint and a ton of dill and fennel. I just added some seedling zinnias and tithonia, plus a flat of dwarf marigolds, but I won't be mad if the rest of what's growing here outcompetes them. Last year this was just a patch of nasty bare ground full of so many rusty nails and mysterious bits of metal, all hard clay and creeping charlie. Now it's a little space for pollinators.

#the only thing missing is my hummingbird attractant #i could still plant some purple salvia #my plants #garden content #also i need to thin the baby milkweeds but i hate to do it

[kcdrummergirl]

Milkweed

#my photos #photography #adventure #exploring #minnesota #kcdrummergirl #hiking #outdoors #wild flowers #green #purple #red #milk weed #milkweed #save the bees #pollination #pollinators

[spleen9000]

looks like it's starting to be baby monarch caterpillar season, just wanted to put out a reminder to please not take them home to raise. captive rearing of monarchs seems to be one of the factors contributing to the OE parasite that has been becoming more and more of a problem for them.

if you want to watch monarch caterpillars grow, the better way to do it is to plant some (preferably native) milkweed in your garden and watch for eggs and caterpillars on there! if you do choose to plant a non native variety that doesn't die back in the winter, just make sure you cut it back to the ground every six months or once any caterpillars or pupae are gone/hatched, so that the parasite doesn't have time to build up on its leaves.

#here in the bay showy milkweed and narrowleaf milkweed are native #my favorite is showy milkweed. it has big beautiful glaucus leaves and big bunches of pale pinky purple fragrant flowers :)

[anipgarden]

Some top tier Creature Sightings from today. I may post more pics for some of these later but for now. Creature. Awwww mannn. So we back in the mines—

4/28/2023

#outdoor gardening #flowers #yellow flowers #tropical milkweed #salvias #purple flowers #caterpillars #monarch caterpillar #hummingbirds #ruby throated hummingbird #wasps #paper wasps #monarch butterfly #bumbleebee #pollinator gardening #out of queue #ani rambles #anis garden #anis garden 2023 #my garden 2023 #my garden

[ainawgsd]

Liatris is blooming!

And there's coreopsis and milkweed everywhere.

#gardening #flowers #liatris #coneflowers #rudbeckia #black eyed susan #coreopsis #hummingbird mint #verbena #purple milkweed #heliopsis #false sunflower

[textless]

Garden flowers.  Cochise County, Arizona, September 2022.

#flower #garden #arizona #summer #photographers on tumblr #textless #amadee ricketts #pink #orange #purple #green #in the yard #osteospermum #cosmos #milkweed #morning glory #whats the story morning glory #moonflower #datura #white #yellow #chocolate flower #september

[thebelmontrooster]

Hot And Dry Wildflower Walk, 6-4-23

Leucanthemum vulgare (Oxeye Daisy) on 6-4-23, #943-60. Hello, everyone! I hope this post finds you well. I decided to go for a wildflower walk on Sunday afternoon even though it was bright and sunny and the temperature was already almost 90° F. There was a nice breeze, so it wasn’t so bad. We haven’t had much rain and it seems many of the wildflowers I usually see are non-existent. Only the…

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#Achillea millefolium (Common Yarrow) #Allium vineale (Field or Wild Garlic) #Apocynum cannabinum (Hemp Dogbane) #Argynnis cybele (Great Spangled Fritillary) #Asclepias purpurascens (Purple Milkweed) #Conium maculatum (Poison Hemlock) #Cornus drummondii (Roughleaf Dogwood) #Dianthus armeria (Deptford Pink) #Dichanthelium clandestinum (Deertongue) #Elephantopus carolinianus (Leafy Elephant&039;s Foot) #Elmus virginicus (Virginia Wildrye) #Erigeron annuus (Annual or Daisy Fleabane) #Florinda coccinea (Black-tailed Red Sheetweaver) #Galium aparine (Cleavers/Catchweed Bedstraw) #Helenium flexuosum (Southern Sneezeweed) #Leucanthemum vulgare (Oxeye Daisy) #Penstemon digitalis (Foxglove Beardtongue) #Phytolacca americana (American Pokeweed) #Pontia protodice (Checkered White) #Potentilla simplex (Common Cinquefoil) #Ribes missouriense (Missouri Gooseberry #Sanicula canadensis (Black Snakeroot) #Sisymbrium officinale (Hedge Mustard) #Smilax tamnoides (Bristly Greenbriar) #Verbesina virginica (White Crownbeard/Frostweed)

[love-elizabeth]

I'm so happy to be surrounded by thriving tropical nature again, like this lovely giant milkweed. 😍 🌱 🌸 ☀️ #explorida #roamflorida #igersflorida #bradenton #pureflorida #florida #fun_in_florida #LoveFL #nature #naturelovers #depthoffield #purple #myheartinshots #garden #gardening #nature_brilliance #milkweed #giantmilkweed #calotropisgigantea #igers941 #palmasolabotanicalpark #bradentonarea #gulfcoast #manasota (at Palma Sola Botanical Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpxL0V9Hpog/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#explorida #roamflorida #igersflorida #bradenton #pureflorida #florida #fun_in_florida #lovefl #nature #naturelovers #depthoffield #purple #myheartinshots #garden #gardening #nature_brilliance #milkweed #giantmilkweed #calotropisgigantea #igers941 #palmasolabotanicalpark #bradentonarea #gulfcoast #manasota

[stopandlook]

Scientific Name: Asclepias viridiflora Common Name(s): Green comet milkweed Family: Apocynaceae (dogbane); prev. Asclepiadaceae (milkweed) Life Cycle: Perennial Leaf Retention: Deciduous Habit: Forb USDA L48 Native Status: Native Location: Plano, Texas Season(s): Late summer

#Asclepias viridiflora #green comet milkweed #Apocynaceae #perennial #deciduous #forb #native #Plano #Texas #summer #late summer #flower #green #purple #medicinal plants #toxic plants #poisonous plants #Asclepiadaceae #milkweed #plantblr

[headspace-hotel]

Today I saw a liverwort for the first time!

I stood and watched a little heron perched on a tree and saw the most brilliant, jewel-like metallic blue and green dragonfly with wings the velvety black of the night sky.

The ironweed is blooming in rich royal purple, jewelweed in vivid orange, wingstem in bright sunny yellow, and cardinal flower in unbelievably vivid scarlet. Yellow goldenrod, magenta phlox, white Virginia clematis. Meadows and streambanks along the hiking trails are rainbowed with wildflowers. I appreciate wildflowers individually, but placed together their bright colors are a whole other tier or beauty.

There's a spot with a little meadow full of milkweed and the monarch butterflies have a breathless majesty that never goes away no matter how often I see one.

Walking home I heard a chorus of frogs and stopped for a while to listen to them.

Somehow I'm most excited by far about the liverwort.

#nature #ALIVE! #plants #creatures