Viper’s Bugloss ~ Echium vulgare
Western Mountain Aster ~ Symphyotrichum spathulatum
Yellow Monkey-flower ~ Mimulus guttatus
Chickory ~ Cichorium intybus
White Clematis ~ Clematis ligusticifolia
August 2, 2011
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Montana Outdoors 
The photo of the viper’s bugloss with the salsify seedheads in the background is very striking. I spent about a year in Ontario about 10 years ago and it was a common flower there. I haven’t seen it anywhere I have been in the US. Great detail on the St. John’s wort. When I lived on the homestead, we would soak the flowers in olive oil, which can be used on aches and pains and to help heal sprains and sores. Believe it or not the yellow flowers turn the oil a beautiful deep ruby red.
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Comment by kateri — August 2, 2011 @ 9:43 pm
There is plenty of St John’s wort around here. I’ll try soaking some in olive oil (I certainly have no lack of aches and pains to use it on).
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Comment by Montucky — August 2, 2011 @ 10:20 pm
So lovely to see the colorful wildflowers – a nice break from those 8 months of snow shots! LOL
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Comment by Bo Mackison — August 3, 2011 @ 5:53 am
It is! I wish it would be a longer break though. There are still snow shots available on the higher mountains. I turned around short of my destination a week ago because the trail was still snowed in.
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Comment by Montucky — August 3, 2011 @ 9:34 pm
Yet another post of fantastic pictures. I really appreciate these when I can’t get out in the woods as much as I would like.
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Comment by Dave — August 3, 2011 @ 8:21 am
Thanks Dave! I haven’t been out as much as I wanted this summer either; trying to get a remodeling project done.
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Comment by Montucky — August 3, 2011 @ 9:35 pm
love that first picture. and the chicory too
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Comment by silken — August 3, 2011 @ 9:00 am
Both of those flower types produce a lot of color this time of the summer and they do well in the hot and dry conditions.
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Comment by Montucky — August 3, 2011 @ 9:36 pm
Love the Vipers Bugloss and the White Clematis is gorgeous, also!
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Comment by allbymyself09 — August 3, 2011 @ 10:20 am
^^^ I couldn’t sign in with my Blogger acct. 😦 — this is Barbara/ 3B Digital Art)
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Comment by allbymyself09 — August 3, 2011 @ 10:21 am
Thanks Barbara! I’ve had problems with some of the blog sites too: I don’t know if it is my browser or all of the changes the sites have been making.
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Comment by Montucky — August 3, 2011 @ 9:37 pm
Hi Montucky, Your pictures are great. I like that vivid blue of the Aster. Have a super day!
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Comment by wildlifewatcher — August 3, 2011 @ 10:52 am
I like all of the asters too. They are really blooming now!
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Comment by Montucky — August 3, 2011 @ 9:38 pm
I cannot believe how many wildflowers are still in bloom. Nice!
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Comment by thedailyclick — August 3, 2011 @ 1:52 pm
There are still lots to go, especially higher up. I’m hoping to get into some new high country next week and hope to find some new flowers there!
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Comment by Montucky — August 3, 2011 @ 9:40 pm
How can those lovely blue flowers have a name like that?
I saw asters on another Montana blog ªevorover) yesterday, so I am not surprised.
Strange though, our st john’s wort is mostly gone by. The same with the chicory.
Is clematis a wild plant out there?
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Comment by sandy — August 3, 2011 @ 2:20 pm
We have two types of wild clematis here, blue and white. The blue blooms early and the white in late summer.
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Comment by Montucky — August 3, 2011 @ 9:41 pm
This may be your best series yet! The chicory is eye-catching, and thank you for the whole-plant view of the bugloss, a new one on me, though now that you’ve shown it to me, I’ll probably notice it on my next hike!
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Comment by Kim — August 3, 2011 @ 4:19 pm
Thanks Kim! The bugloss is about through blooming now, at least at the valley level. Probably some higher up still in bloom.
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Comment by Montucky — August 3, 2011 @ 9:42 pm
Love the first photograph of the carefully planned garden of nature. I see sever beautiful specimens there and the combination is perfect… mother nature knows what she is doing! Beautiful shots!!
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Comment by kcjewel — August 3, 2011 @ 5:04 pm
Mother Nature sure does know how to landscape, doesn’t She! I see so many scenes that look just like little gardens of which any gardener would be proud.
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Comment by Montucky — August 3, 2011 @ 9:44 pm
They’re all so beautiful, but I especially appreciate the St. John’s Wort, you’ve really done it justice!
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Comment by farmhouse stories — August 3, 2011 @ 8:38 pm
Thanks Cait! Not everyone likes St. John’s Wort, but it has a very pretty blossom!
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Comment by Montucky — August 4, 2011 @ 8:52 pm
All are so very pretty and brilliant. I really like the Western Mountain Aster and St. John’s wort. Great series of wildflowers!
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Comment by Anna — August 4, 2011 @ 7:51 am
They are very heat tolerant, these flowers of late summer and I’m glad for their beauty!
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Comment by Montucky — August 4, 2011 @ 8:55 pm
With every post you make, I could start all my comments with, “Your photographs are totally beautiful and I am amazed at the variety of flowers or _____.” I like the St. John’s Wort in so far as beauty is concerned — just my taste (I probably shouldn’t be tasting that though; I’ll have to go to my medicinal plant manual). How far did you have to range to find these flowers?
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Comment by Jack Matthews — August 4, 2011 @ 1:52 pm
In this series all but one were within about 5 miles of my house; the other about 30 miles. I have been posting the flower photos roughly in chronological order and they all result from my wanderings which are mostly in an area about 50 miles long and 20 miles wide and from 2100 feet in elevation to about 7500 feet. Seems like a fairly large area, but really less than 1% of the whole state.
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Comment by Montucky — August 4, 2011 @ 9:02 pm
Awesome aster and chicory. One of my Flickr contacts had a photo the other day of a flower that she was asking if it was chicory (sorry for the awkward sentence structure) and it sure looks like yours so I guess I’ll go tell her it is 🙂
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Comment by Candace — August 4, 2011 @ 9:35 pm
This is the time of summer for Chicory to bloom all right. I don’t know of another similar flower, although there could be one.
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Comment by Montucky — August 4, 2011 @ 9:50 pm
Lovely St. John’s-wort… had it in my garden once (used as a ground cover on a slope) but ripped it out to put stepped beds to allow landscaping of the slope without having everything run downhill! Just did a Google search on St. John’s-wort and depression because I seemed to recall reading somewhere that it was a herbal remedy for treating depression… Wiki reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_John%27s_wort#Depression_treatment_use
Super images of the Chicory, Mountain Aster and White Clematis… so crisp and clear!
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Comment by Victoria — August 8, 2011 @ 11:41 am
For about 5 years I worked for a company that manufactured herbal products (contract manufacturing) and we encapsulated a lot of St. John’s Wort. It was a big seller. Never tried it myself though.
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Comment by Montucky — August 8, 2011 @ 9:41 pm
All those flowers blossom here too but your amazing pictures make me realize how very beautiful they all are !
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Comment by isathreadsoflife — August 14, 2011 @ 12:42 am
They sure are beautiful little things. They are gifts to us!
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Comment by montucky — August 14, 2011 @ 3:43 pm