Did you recognize the yellow, flat-topped flower from our last puzzler?
It’s a great flower that’s blooming in my garden right now. Or, you can find it growing wild in the woods. It’s called Golden Alexanders or Zizia aurea. I highly recommend this for three reasons: 1. Because it’s native and 2. Because it blooms late in the spring when there is little else for the native bees, butterflies and other insects. 3. Because it is the host plant for the Black Swallowtail butterfly, which lays its eggs on its leaves, along with other plants in the Apiaceae family, including parsley, fennel, and dill.
This flower grows about 2-3 feet tall, with lots of yellow flowers and blooms from May through June. Mine doesn’t get full sun and it’s doing just fine. You can plant them closer together so they are less likely to flop over. Do you have them in your yard too?
Ready for the next puzzler? It’s another wildflower that you might see blooming right now in a forest near you.