The Name Game

Every day brings new discoveries and uncertainties. Back in Boulder, I chose and planted every flower, shrub and tree, so I knew exactly what grew where and when it would appear. But here, I'm always puzzled. Is it a weed or a sprout? I think I pulled up a bunch of yarrow but I'm not sure. Every day is a game of "name that plant" and I'm not doing as well as I'd like. I need to just let go and enjoy the sights.

But if you'd like to put my mind at ease, feel free to correct me, fill in the blanks, or confirm my guesses:

Astilbe -- maybe?

Viburnum -- or?

Closeup of magnificent flower below

What is this magnificent flower?

Every day for the last week or so has been in the 90's -- cruel weather for weeding. Not only is it physically difficult, the weeds love the heat and a new crop sprouts up the day after I've cleared an area! 

I wanted to make sure that I was pulling up the right stuff, so I went to The Mercer Education Gardens to look at their Weed Identification Garden. I was surprised to see that it hadn't been weeded! I really expected each weed type to be neatly separated from the others in a tidy orderly display. But among the jumble of familiar looking plants, I found name tags. The good news is: I didn't pull up yarrow, I pulled up mugwort. 

Ground Ivy

Mugwort -- thankfully, not yarrow

A nice Master Gardener helped me learn how to tell the difference between the Common Blue Pansy that's a weed and the Wild Ginger that is not. (Though she couldn't tell me if it was edible -- wouldn't it be cool if it was?)

Wild Ginger

Common Violet

Can you tell the difference?  If so, you're invited to come and weed with me any time.