Wildflowers
Whether hiking or paddling, wildflowers are almost always a striking part of the scenery. They can be tiny, as if shy, or big as a fist, as if to scream “look at me!” Getting to know them, their bloom times, their habitats is yet another way we come to better understand and appreciate forests, fields, marshes and waterways. I almost always have a camera along when I enter the special state of mind that is a day in the outdoors.
The very striking and big blossoms of Pinxter Flower, or pink azalea, edge of the Connecticut River, Lord Cove, Old Lyme, CT.
Flowers of the catalpa tree, an uncommon species in the north. There are two species of catalpa, northern and southern, and they are very similar. Both grow wild especially along riverbanks. I photographed these catalpa flowers from my kayak while paddling along the Farmington River in Simsbury, CT.
Joe Pye Weed is a big, showy wildflower that often grows in colonies. This plant was growing alongside the Farmington River Trail in Farmington, CT.
Lupines growing beside Lake Tahoe, California side of the lake.
Aptly named, starflower is a small wildflower that prefers moist woods. Not only the flower, but even the whorled leaves evoke a star. This one bloomed in mid-May close to a small stream in Northeastern Connecticut.
Swamp Rose-Mallow, Outer Banks, North Carolina.
Rose-Rush has a showy, interesting flower. It grows only in Florida and a few counties in Georgia on sandy soils. Flowers are solitary, with a wire, leafless stem. I came upon this plant in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Kitching Creek Trail, near Jupiter, Florida.