Bloom Time - Meadow Beauty

First we have Maryland Meadow-Beauty, Rhexia mariana.

This flower is growing in the area out back that we've stopped mowing. It showed up last year and to our pleasure has returned. There are several plants which have just started to bloom.

We also have Virginia Meadow-Beauty, Rhexia virginica, growing in the bog garden. Lots of it.

Whereas the R. mariana showed up on its own, R. virginica was purposely planted. The key difference is not a you might think from the images, in the flower, although R. mariana is generally paler than R. virginaca. No, it is in the stem with mariana having a round stem and virginica a winged one.

It is nice to have them both adding some July color to the yard.