Blossoms around the yard

I pay very little attention to the flowers in my yard. Mostly because I give little thought to stuff I don't eat. However, my squash vine has a million buds, and very few squash, so I wondered what's up. Turns out there are both male and female squash blossoms. The female blossoms have tiny little fruits underneath while the male are on long stems, but the females need pollination to continue in fruit production. I think the butterflies and bees in my yard are down on the job.

This got me thinking about all the other flowers in the yard, so I rounded up some images.

Marigolds, protecting the tomatoes

Male squash blossom

Female cucumber blossom

Rose of Sharon

Daisies, which dot the yard since we rarely weed whack

I think this is purple gayfeather, but don't know for sure since it came with the house. It's great at attracting bees, so I'm glad it's so near the raised beds.

Amaranth - almost ready to harvest!!!