The heat of the last week has made working in the garden during the day very difficult. So I’ve spent most evenings out there instead.
A perk of this change has been seeing the evening primroses at their best. The pale yellow flowers show up well even as the light starts to fade, looking delicate and ghostly above the shadowy foliage of the border.
But before it gets too dark, it’s worth taking a close look at the detail of the flowers. The long stamens and style, with its large, cross-shaped stigma are elegant and give a distinctive look to this evening primrose. (I believe it’s Oenothera stricta ‘Sulphurea’, a short-lived perennial.)
The evening primrose below is a different plant – this one is Oenothera macrocarpa. It’s much shorter and has darker yellow flowers, which stay open for longer. (They’ve been open all day here today, perhaps because it has been cool and rainy for a change.)
I hope that macrocarpa will self-seed around my garden the way Oenothera stricta does. They are drought tolerant and great for moths and early-morning bees, so they’ll be welcome wherever they pop up. I shall be sprinkling some of the seeds around as they ripen to give them a little help.
And before I go, I must just give this link for anyone who fancies a bit of armchair garden-visiting: https://ngs.org.uk/virtual-garden-visits/
The NGS is the National Gardens Scheme in the UK, which holds open days in private gardens aid of charities. (Mostly nursing and health charities, so particularly appropriate this year.)
Because the gardens have been unable to open to the public, they have posted videos of them instead. (Though now many of the gardens are starting to be able to open.) There are lots of excellent garden videos there, so I hope you enjoy them!
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 
Gorgeous these flowers are!! Thanks for the link, Ann!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Indira! 🙂 I hope you enjoy the gardens – there’s lots to see.
LikeLike
We have a native beach primrose that’s lovely. I’m not sure of its species name, and I’m on my ipad, where Ifind research awkward. But it’s the same in appearance and habits as yours. Thanks for the sunny photographs!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds as if it may well be an Oenothera species – and they do seem happy in dry sandy soils.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I had an evening primrose once but it didn’t like me and only stayed one year. I see lots in neighbouring gardens year after year and wish I could encourage another to grow and seed. Last week gardening was much nicer in the warmth of the evening than in the extreme heat of the day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My first attempts to grow evening primroses didn’t work out so well either. I think they just happen to like where they’re growing now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love both these beautiful yellow primroses – the water drops look especially good on the top one! I looked at the ngs website – bookmarked it as there is a lot to look. There are some incredible gardens listed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Water drops are a great bonus to photographers! 🙂 There’s a great variety of gardens on that site and enough to keep us busy for a good while!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really appreciate how your photography captures the intricate details of these beauties. Thank you for your work, Ann.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your lovely comment, Shelly! 🙂 The details of flowers keep me fascinated and I’m glad to be able to share them.
LikeLike
You did well; it’s hard to keep all the parts of an evening primrose flower in focus. Oenothera macrocarpa is native in my county in Texas.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Steve! You have some lovely wildflowers in Texas! I’d be very happy if Oenothera macrocarpa was a native here. 🙂
LikeLike
Yes, a nice sharp image and lovely soft tones, Ann. I love the white first image. We have an Evening Primrose, just your run of the mill common yellow variety, here that just showed up and I really never keyed it out to come up with an ID. Guess I should. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Steve! The first flower has been seeding itself around the garden for the last couple of years – I’m very pleased about that! When I Googled it, I was surprised to see how many different evening primroses there are. Maybe I’ll get a pink one in the future… 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I share your love for Evening Primroses, Ann. Colorado actually has several native species, and it’s always a treat to come across them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the idea that you could see these growing wild – what a wonderful sight that would be! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
A lovely sight, indeed, Ann.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful 🌸
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you – I’m glad you like them! 🙂
LikeLike