Closed Gentian Plays Hard to Get

I love my closed gentian plant. The way the pollinators have to force their way into the flowers is amazing to me. When I purchased this plant, I got two plants in my pot. The white one which is blooming now and purple seen in the background. The purple always blooms later than the white. Its leaves are a slightly darker green.

Up until now I have been unwilling to try to divide these two plants. I have promised myself , however that come spring I will ask Ed to divide these plants. They each deserve a place of their own. If the worst should happen and they don't make it, I will replace them. Watching the bumblebees struggle to get inside those flowers like a lady putting on a too tight girdle, it too big a treat to miss!

A Beautiful Day For A Walk

What could be better on such a gorgeous September day that a walk around outside. Amy and I headed off and took the path up the hill disappearing out of sight of the garden. At the top of the hill, Amy's meadow is a sea of yellow, glowing on this sunny day. As we walked along together I gave her the camera to see what would catch her eye.




We followed the path around the high meadow stopping by the garden bed in the back to see of there was a zucchini to be had. We did see one small squash and a couple of blossoms, but nothing big enough to pick. From there we took the path that goes up and down along the fence line. Shaded by the trees, this spider web still glistened with dew from the morning fog. A tiny brown spider is visible tending the web. I love the thorns and think this is quite the photo. One photograph of a huge fly on a milkweed plant was too fuzzy to get a good look. I was a bit disappointed to miss seeing him twice. With lunch time approaching we headed back to the garden.




We stood and watched a bumblebee wriggle his way into the blue closed gentian. he wriggled in there and then came back out head first. It's a fascinating and rare sight. It's one that I'm glad Amy got to observe. It's so bizarre everyone should get to see it.




I was not surprised that the red hibiscus caught her camera's attention. I was however quite surprised by the intriguing close up detail inside the huge red flower. I had never noticed it before.

What a fabulous walk on a beautiful day made even more special by doing it together!

Up Tight Flowers

The closed gentian is blooming. This is the second year for this fascinating specimen here. As luck would have it when I purchased this plant , it turned out to be two , one blue, one white from the same pot. Sometime I suppose I will have to try to separate them, but for now I just enjoy their unique flowers. The white plant is ever so slightly ahead of the blue. Bumblebees have forced their way into many of the white blossoms,but most of the blue flowers are still closed up tight. It might be the end of August, but there is still cool stuff going on in the garden.

Ed dug more potatoes today. The copra onions have been brought in for braiding. The peppers are beginning to produce. That includes six plants that we bought marked new ace that definitely look hot not sweet. Tomorrow I need to suit up and cut the okra pods that are ready. We are looking forward to trying those.

The high humidity and frequent rain has take it's toll. The zucchini and summer squash plants are gone. The powdery mildew won this time. Sometimes it's best to face facts and dispose of infected plants for the good of the others. The tomato plants may be next.

For many plants it's all about going to seed now. Weeding done now is profitable, paying big dividends for next year. The goldfinches are visiting the sunflowers. In the fields the goldenrod has begun to bloom. A couple of varieties are blooming now, more will join them and continue until the frost. The New England asters are just beginning to show their purple. The purple and gold is a sure sign that September is upon us. I have to be honest, I love this time of year!

Wow, It Actually Works!

After watching the bumblebees struggle to get into the tightly closed flowers of closed gentian, the last thing I expected to find was viable seed. Here we have flowers that have produced seed. To me it's one of the real miracles of nature!



Many of the flowers didn't produce any seed. These dried flowers are empty with no sign of seed development. Getting some seed to plant is a wonderful surprise!

Tight Squeeze

When I posted "Breaking and Entering " back on August 27, I never thought I would get a chance for these pictures. Here it is almost a month later, the closed gentian is still blooming and Voila! This bumblebee is on his way in.


Here is the same bumblebee backing out. You can see from the size of the opening in the still blue flower exactly how tight that squeeze is.


This picture is a different bee. There was much wriggling and buzzing going on while this one was in the flower. I was totally surprised to see that this bee turned around inside and came out head first. Who ever thought that you could sit and watch flowers and see anything so cool?

Breaking and Entering

Closed Gentian is an incredibly interesting plant. In the world of flowers where getting pollinated is the name of the game, this one plays hard to get. I have stood and watched a bumblebee use his front legs to force his way into these tight blossoms. It's a mighty struggle with the bumblebee pushing the petals aside with his feet so he can squeeze in to get the pollen inside. The bee remains inside for some time with much wriggling and buzzing and then with some difficulty, he backs out. One can only imagine what seduction technique the closed gentian has that makes the bumblebee willing to work so hard to get in there.


The white variety blooms a bit sooner. At least one bumblebee has visited some of these blossoms. You can see what the blossoms look like after the bumblebee has forced his way in, and then backed out. I'm nearly as fascinated with the closed gentian as the bumblebees are.