Coneflower Blossoming
This Eastern Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpure) is one of many that are about to pop open and provide food for our pollinators all summer long. I cannot wait to see what shows up in our gardens and yards – the bees, the butterflies, and the unexpected. The plant has a beautiful look to it even before the flower explodes with stunning colors. Every single bit of nature is art! Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreConeflower Spiral
Speaking of coneflowers, this Echinacea milkshake coneflower plant is going to start blossoming soon. I loved the infinite spiral look to it here with such an artistic appearance. It seems more like a painting than a natural part of the garden, but nature is art, and green is good! Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreFringed Polygala (Polygala paucifolia)
RTPI President Twan Leenders was looking for native orchids recently in the Allegheny National Forest, but it turned out he was just a little too early for them to bloom. However, he did come across one of his favorite spring ephemerals – Fringed Polygala (Polygala paucifolia) which is somewhat orchid-like in its unusual appearance. Photographed for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History and the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project.
Read MoreApril Flowers
It seems this warm year brought us a lot more March showers and April flowers rather than the traditional saying – thanks, climate change! I do not know what these little ones are but they like to poke up in this same area of grass every year in the early spring. There is always, always…always…more to find out about the world around us. Look up, look down, look all around… Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreHappy Spring Daffodil
Happy first day of spring from one of the most widely-recognized signs of spring across the world – the daffodil. These flowers are about to pop, and earlier this week I saw my first bumblebee of the year. Spring, you are here! Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
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