Tag Archive | Photography
Helping an Endangered Orchid
When I worked for state parks in New York on Long Island, one of my responsibilities was to monitor the populations of rare plants. I do not recall what year it was, but it was in the 1990’s when we had a very dry summer. In July of that year, I happened across the crested […]
Wild Orchids Part 1
When you think of orchids, large showy blossoms of various colors seen in plant centers is what comes to mind to many people. But the wild orchids of the northeastern U.S. are smaller and tend to be a single color. Summer in the north is the time of year to find various species of wild […]
The Soap Bush!
When I worked in state parks in New York, I frequently conducted guided tours of parklands to school, scouts and the general public. One of the shrubs I featured in the early summer was sweet pepperbush when this plant bloomed. I tore off a flower and demonstrated how it became an abrasive soap to wash […]
The Fragrant Berry
When I grew up on Long Island and visited the sea shore, I always enjoyed the fragrance of the native northern bayberry. Breaking off a leaf and crushing it in your fingers releases the bayberry scent often used in candles today. Later in the summer, the flowers turn into fruit that are green at first, […]
Not Your Garden Azalea
When gardeners think of azaleas, there are thoughts of going to a nursery to purchase these shrubs to plant around the house. But in our native woodlands there are wild azaleas that thrive in acidic wetlands. One such azalea is the swamp azalea. It has showy, fragrant white flowers that bloom in the early summer. […]
Candelabras of the Meadow
From Georgia to Labrador in wet meadows and fens, fuzzy white flowers clustered together grow among rushes and sedges and other wildflowers. These candle-like blossoms with compound leaves are from a plant named Canadian Burnet. These flowers, laden with pollen attract bees and other pollinators. Since it grows in acidic environments, it absorbs tannins making […]
The Plant Sowed by Ants
In dry, sandy clearings from Florida to Canada on the east coast trailing arbutus, an evergreen plant, blooms in the spring. It is visited by bumblebees, a major pollinator for this plant, Once the flowers are pollinated, seed capsules with a fleshy parts develops. Ants find these grains and carry it to their underground bunker. […]
