Blogs

Field Report- June 21, 2024

I have seen a few new flowers this week: bitterweed, spring ladies’-tresses, rough sunflower, poor-joe, smooth rose-mallow, and the pink crape myrtle trees. Both roundleaf and narrowleaf eupatorium are starting to form flowers. This was the first time I’ve seen the poor-joe plant. It’s always exciting to learn a new species! What plants are you… Continue reading Field Report- June 21, 2024

A Closer Look at Queen Anne’s Lace

Take a closer look at Queen Anne’s Lace. Have you ever noticed that the flowers on the outside edges are larger than the others? What about all the ants and other insects that explore the flowers? Have you ever looked closely at the seed head?

Field Report- June 13, 2024

What’s blooming on the trails this week? The crape myrtle, sourwood and mimosa trees are flowering. This year, I’ve noticed that the white crape myrtle flowers come out first, followed by the lavender flowers. I haven’t seen any trees with pink or red flowers yet. Does it always happen that way? For small plants, I… Continue reading Field Report- June 13, 2024

Mills Spring Greenway

Have you had the chance to explore the Mills Spring Greenway in Morrisville? I recently went for the very first time, and I highly recommend it! The Mills Spring Greenway runs between Paramount Parkway and Carrington Mill Boulevard. The flat trail is 1.16 miles long. The office buildings on Sync Street are on one side… Continue reading Mills Spring Greenway

What Flowers Will Bloom in June?

We’re getting into the summer flowers as June approaches. It will be another busy month for new blooms. These are the top 5 flowers that I saw in June last year. Don’t forget to check the June Flower page to see even more flowers that will be blooming next month.

What’s That? May 28, 2024

What’s going on with this hairy cat’s-ear? The stem is really thick and bent. The flower head is flattened and it looks like there’s more than one flower. I’ve never seen anything like that before, so I decided to look it up. This is called plant fasciation. It is a rare condition of abnormal growth… Continue reading What’s That? May 28, 2024

Nice Catch!

I always enjoy watching the Great Blue Herons in the retention ponds. They are such beautiful birds! Yesterday, I stopped to watch a heron standing along the edge of one of the ponds. It was still for quite a while, and then it jumped! I thought it was about to fly away, but it stuck… Continue reading Nice Catch!

Field Report- May 22, 2024

It seems like every day there is something new blooming along the trails. Over the last two weeks, I have seen: orange jewelweed, rabbitfoot clover, asiatic dayflower, pokeweed, Carolina false dandelion, southern rockbell, black-eyed Susan, prickly pear cactus, silky dogwood, goldenmane tickseed, American persimmon, narrowleaf skullcap, butterfly milkweed, lizard’s-tail and leopard’s bane. I even saw… Continue reading Field Report- May 22, 2024