the gates of hell

the gates of hell
The Gates of Hell

Monday, July 10, 2017

Green Wizard

This is the first bloom on Rudbeckia occidentalis 'Green Wizard' in the devil garden (after several years). I suspect the delay is due to lack of sun. This year's bloom is encouraging--I'm hoping for more next year. And I will cut shading branches back further. The top photo is from a few weeks ago. The ring of yellow florets gradually moves upward as new ones open and the older ones are done, but the overall presentation remains primarily a purple-black cone on green sepals.
The wizard has a minion! I think it's Lygaeus kalmii ("Small Milkweed Bug")--in addition to donning fiery colors to complement the devil garden, it contains cardiac glycosides in its thorax that could cause arrhythmias or worse, if I felt like having a beetle snack (no worries there). It's a bit reminiscent of a Tiki mask.


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