joe pye weed

A single Joe Pye Weed plant popped up near the pond.  

This plant Eutrochium maculatum, is also called Spotted Joe-pye Weed, Purple Boneset, Spotted Trumpetweed.  It is related to the similar Boneset which blooms white instead of purple or pink.

goldfinches on goldenrod

 Sneezeweed is blooming in the background.

blue vervain

 

blue flag

 

Northern Blue Flag Iris versicolor has a deep blue to purple flower.  It is also called Harlequin Blueflag.

It grows on lake shores, swamps, pond edges, and wet meadows.

Blue Flag irises occur throughout the USA, in several varieties.  Some plants are located on the south shore of the pond, and are blooming now.

wild geranium

 

yellow loosestrife

Daffodil (left) besides young Lysimachia leaves

Lowland Yellow Loosestrife Lysimachia hybdrida, a perennial native plant, is sprouting again near the pond.  The  stems will to grow to 30-40 inches tall, then flowers will appear in June.  Some specialist bees will gather the oils that the flower produces to mix with pollen as food for its offspring.

pasque flowers

American Pasqueflower or Eastern Pasqueflower (in the Buttercup family) provides a large amount of pollen for pollinators, an important early-spring resource for female bees to provision their nests.

sneezeweed

Sneezeweed Helenium autumnale, a late-summer bloomer, will feed bees and butterflies and unfold their blooms continuously until the first freeze here.  Sneezeweed can be identified by the wings in each stem; the base of the leaf extends down the stem to the next leaf.  

vervain

Blue Vervain is blooming profusely in the wetland surrounding the pond. Verbena hastata is also called Swamp Verbena, Blue Verbena, Simpler's Joy; it is a perennial herbaceous plant that blooms every summer. The stiff erect square stems remain standing all winter, providing seeds to the birds in cold snowy months. In the growing season the plant has opposite, simple leaves which have double-serrate margins.

The family name for genus Verbena is Latin for "sacred plant" because it has been used for hundreds of years in various health remedies. The Latin specific epithet hastata means "spear-shaped" and describes the leaves of this plant.

The family Verbenaceae includes herbs, shrubs, and trees; among them, teak trees -- highly prized for its furniture wood.

 

monardas - bee balm - bergamot

Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa starting blooming last week all around the pond and in the meadows near here. (left)

The Scarlet Beebalm Monarda didyma started blooming a few weeks ago. (below)

Both plants are in the mint family. 

seed pods

Northern Blue Flag Iris versicolor bloomed in June at the edge of the pond. Now, in July, seed pods have formed. When they are ripe, we'll sow the seeds.  These were only tiny foliage two years ago, and now they can propagate new flowering plants.
 

green sprouting

 After a late, cold and windy Spring season, there is finally some green leaves sprouting in the wetland surrounding the pond. These are the beginning leaves of Golden Alexanders.

boneset, golden in autumn

One native wildflower here displays tufts of seeds that look golden, although the plants are still vital with green leaves.  The seeds have fluffy hairs to carry them on the wind.
 

vervain, golden in autumn

 

Blue Verain Verbena hastata gave a blue-purple pop of color to the pond area in summer. 

Now, the seeds stand glowing against the green reeds. 

blooming water plantain

This summer, scant rain fell in July and August. The pond suffered lower water levels as each day passed.  

Eventually, some aquatic plants that grow at the edge of the pond stood in mud rather than in shallow water. 

But the Northern Water Plantain Alisma triviale thrived despite the drought.  It sent up stems more than 2 feet high on which many whorls of white flowers opened, each about 1/4" across.

blue vervain

Blue Vervain Verbena hastata blooms among the green grasses and rushes around the pond.  

It likes wet feet, so grows close to the water.  

The flowers open slowly over several weeks from the bottom up on a cluster of stems.
 

mountain mint

Mountain Mint Pycnanthemum virginianum  is blooming in the marsh around the pond.  

It offers very fragrant leaves and many small flowers that attract bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, and beetles.

hoary alyssum

oxeye daisy

 

scouring rush

Scouring Rush Equisetum hyemale grows in the wetland around the pond.  It is also called 'horsetail'.

This plant's ancestors have been on earth millions of years.  

The tough stems can be used as reeds for musical instruments.

They also have coarse fibers and silica deposits, so mammal herbivore don't eat this plant.  

Rather than seeds, the Scouring Rush reproduces by spores made by structures on the top of each fertile stem.