Asters blanket roadsides and ditches with bright color in late summer and early fall and provide an important source of nectar for bees and migrating butterflies. They are typically abuzz with insect activity.
Today's photo is a wild New England Aster. These flowers range in color from shades of blue, purple and lavender to pink with shades of purple and blue being the most common in my area. I found this gorgeous pink specimen along the roadside last summer.
Asters blanket roadsides and ditches with bright color in late summer and early fall and provide an important source of nectar for bees and migrating butterflies. They are typically abuzz with insect activity.
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Today's photo is Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.) growing through a fence along the road. This plant gets a bad rap for being an invasive species, but I have always found it extremely beautiful as it adds a brilliant splash of purple to the landscape.
Loosestrife was introduced to the United States from Europe in the 1800's as a medicinal and ornamental plant, explains the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). The problem is: This aggressive plant spreads rapidly and displaces other native plants, posing a risk to wildlife that depends on them. You can find loosestrife growing along roadsides, in ditches and in marshy areas throughout Maine. It may be tempting to add them to your backyard, but it is not recommended. This plant spreads at a rate of a foot a year and self seeds readily. One plant can produce up to 30 flowering spikes and produce an amazing 3 million seeds each year, says NRCM. If you enjoy the beauty of loosestrife, go ahead and have fun photographing this beauty, but resist the urge to transplant them into your backyard. Thanks for stopping by. If you enjoy my photos and blog posts, please share them with others who may be interested, too. Wild lupines (Lupinus perennis) grow profusely across most of the state of Maine and are often seen along roadsides and in ditches. This remarkable flowers bloom in mid to late spring bringing color to the landscape. They range in color from pure white and pastel pinks to deep rose, blue and purple.
These lupines are from my flower garden. The photo was taken in the early morning when the rays of the morning sun struck the the two spires in the foreground. It is easy to see why lupines symbolize imagination, as they add a dreamy story-book quality to the garden as they interact with the changing light throughout the day. This delightful little flower is blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium spp). I grew up calling this flower blue grass and assumed that Kentucky was called the Bluegrass State in its honor. I envisioned a landscape covered with these tiny blue flowers. I learned today that it isn't true. Kentucky is called the Bluegrass State, but it has nothing to do with the blue-eyed grass. Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis) is an entirely different plant and does not have blue flowers. It gets its name from the blue hue of the mature grass and was probably named by the first settlers who arrived when the prairies and pastures were filled with mature grass about to go to seed, as this is when it casts a blue hue.
I'll be honest. I'm a little disappointed to learn that the landscape in Kentucky isn't blanketed with bright blue flowers, but that doesn't make them any less beautiful. Blue-eyed grass really isn't a grass at all and is related to the iris species. It can be found growing wild across much of North American, including Maine. I found these delightful little purple violets growing along the side of a woods road. These Maine wildflowers bloom in early spring in Maine and are often in bloom during Fiddleheading time. My mother always marveled and their beauty and declared she would bring something to dig them up for her wildflower garden the following year. Somehow, she always forgot her promise by the following year, but that didn't quell her excitement when she saw them again.
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November 2021
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