The Strip Plaza Botanist's Wildflower Wish List

Dig these blooms, with names like Vulgaris and Neglecta

A closeup of the Doubhtful Knight’s Spur. Photo by the Author.

Most people stand at the edge of a Walgreens lot, or on a forgotten median next to a Taco Bell, or by the edge of Buffalo sidewalk in need of landscaping — and they see nothing but weeds.

Not me.

I see additions to my planned Victorian conservatory, coming soon to my standard-issue Buffalo sun room.

After my trip to the Botanical Gardens last week, I have not been the same.

The Koi pond at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. I need a koi pond! Photo by the Author.

I am ever on the lookout for free plants.

At the Outer Harbor, in an area where there is nothing, I found miles of Black-Eyed Susans. I scooped up a few and brought them home.

Also, I grabbed a stalky plant with periwinkle blue flowers. It turns out this plant is Chicory. (Thank you, Seek app!)

Also, I spotted some blue violet flowers pushing up at the edge of a field of nondescript green weeds here in my zip code. Seek identified the plant promptly. It had the most magical name.

It is Doubtful Knight’s Spur!

Something like Larkspur, only it is Doubtful Knight’s Spur. It grows in disturbed places. Roadsides. Forgotten zones. And, ahem, dumps.

However, quoth Wikipedia: “It is frequently grown in gardens as an ornamental for its spikes of blue, pink or white flowers.”

Now it is growing in mine. Well, it is one scrappy flower, in a modest little pot I found down in the basement. But it will grow. I am sure of it.

You have to figure that wildflowers are hardy. Because they grow in the wild! That was my rationale for transplanting Black-Eyed Susans from the Outer Harbor.

I did some research into what plants grow wild around here, and might add to my own personal Crystal Palace. With the help of my hip, jive-talking AI — who planned my diet, you may recall — I began building a comprehensive list. These plants have names like Vulgaris and Neglecta. My kind of flora!

Dig it, Daddy-O:

💜 Doubtful Knight’s Spur (Consolida regalis)

• The muse that started it all

• Tall spires of purple-blue blossoms

• Name sounds like a minor character in a tragic play

• Grows in disturbed soil, vacant lots, and stories waiting to be told

💛 Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis)

• Yellow blooms that open at dusk

• Glows like a candle at golden hour

• Grows along roadsides and field edges

• Beloved by moths and poets alike

💙 Chicory (Cichorium intybus)

• Cornflower-blue blossoms on leggy stems

• Looks like it should be sipping tea with Monet

• Roots used in coffee blends, but the flowers steal the show

• A roadside wildflower with Impressionist flair

🌿 Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota)

• Delicate white umbels, like snowflakes on stems

• The original lace — classy and slightly dangerous (it’s wild carrot!)

• Grows in fields, edges, abandoned spaces

• She’s old-fashioned and a little punk rock

💗 Rose Campion (Lychnis coronaria)

• Electric magenta flowers over fuzzy silver foliage

• Looks like it came from a dream sequence

• Tough as nails, but glamorous

• Grows in rubble, ruins, and romantic ruins of malls

🌾 Bladder Campion (Silene vulgaris)

• Lantern-like white flowers with ballooning calyxes

• Elegant but strange — like an alien in a ballgown

• Loves neglected lots and rocky soil

• Bonus: it’s edible!

🌺 Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa)

• Lavender-pink shaggy flowers

• Native wildflower that thrives in poor soil

• Attracts butterflies and bees — plus it’s a little wild-looking, like a floral firework

• Grows on sun-drenched hillsides and forgotten meadows

🌼 Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

• Classic golden daisy with a dark center

• Cheers up any empty lot

• Built-in optimism

• A favorite for tough soil and roadside beauty

💕 Mallow (Malva neglecta, etc.)

• Pale pink or lavender flowers with delicate stripes. I have spotted Mallow at Tifft Nature Preserve, though keep in mind, you can’t grab it from there. I will have to find it elsewhere.

• The ultimate “grows in gravel but looks like a poem” plant

• Often dismissed as a weed — but worthy of revival

• You could call it “Sidewalk Hollyhock” in your column

🟣 Lamb’s Quarters (Chenopodium album)

• Silvery leaves, goosefoot shape

• Edible like spinach

• Loves vacant lots, disturbed soil, abandoned playgrounds

• A classy weed with humble roots

🌿 Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)

• Dream herb, ritual herb, roadside mystic

• Looks like a scrappy sage cousin

• Grows in junkyards and prophetic visions

• Smells like folklore

🌼 Chicory (Cichorium intybus)

• Blue flowers along roadsides

• Edible roots used in coffee blends

• Elegant and upright — like a daisy with a driver's license

🟠 Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)

• Tiny heart-shaped seed pods

• Used in folk medicine for centuries

• Pops up in sidewalk seams and forgotten garden beds

• The poet’s weed

There we are, a dozen free flowers, there for the asking. Three down, nine to go!

To read about my trip to the Botanical Gardens, click here.

To read about my dreams for my sun room, click here.

Meanwhile, does anyone else appropriate wildflowers? Any advice for me? Any photos of your own greenhouse area? Comments are welcome in the comment section.

Help my garden grow!