The summer peak of blooming is currently underway at the West Virginia Botanic Garden and is being dominated by seas of yellow and white blooms.
The seas of yellow are being formed by huge swaths of wildflowers in the pollinator beds. In one bed, prairie coneflowers (Ratibida pinnata) have taken off and are forming a dense display of tall stalks (about 5 feet) capped with brown cones and downward tilting yellow petals. These plants were seeded as part of a mix three years ago and every year they have developed further to become the dominant wildflower in their bed.
In another wildflower area across the way, perennial oxeye sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) is pushing out multiple blooms on even taller stalks over 6 feet tall. Here, purple is the complementing color as wild bergamot bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) is also in bloom. Between these two tall bloomers, bees and butterflies have plenty of choices.
In yet another pollinator patch, the yellow is driven by the black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) that has been blooming in full force for a few weeks now. There, it is complemented by many other wildflowers including common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) providing a food source for monarch butterfly larvae.
White flowers are also forming masses, most notably in the Yagle Garden. Here, tree form hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) is in bloom pushing out multiple large cones of white compound flowers. At their feet, the Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum) is blooming with their flat caps of white petals. Nearby, rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is in bloom with white hibiscus flowers hiding a touch of red in the center.
To complement the white in the Yagle Garden, yellow again is part of the show with fennel now blooming. Fennel has spread itself around the Yagle Garden, displaying feathery stalks capped with flat yellow blooms that insects relish.
There is, of course, a full range of complementary colors and blooms underway at the WVBG but is hard to miss this trend of yellow and white making it a special time for a visit.
FOR INFORMATION, MAPS, AND MORE, go to WVBG.org or visit at 1061 Tyrone Road in Morgantown.
