The Common Tansy wildflower is one of the last ones to bloom in late summer or early fall. I saw this one a few weeks ago by the lower parking lot at Fort Hill. It is such a delicate, little wildflower in a vibrant yellow.
Love the button-like flowers. Have you ever seen a Common Tansy?
If you take the trail from the lower parking lot up to Carving Rock at Fort Hill, you can see the most beautiful multi-colored “Porcelain- berries” all along the trail on the left side. They are just exquisite! I have never them before and had no idea what they were. (Click on blog link to see other photo.)
“Porcelain-berry is a deciduous, perennial, woody vine from Asia that can grow 10 to 15 feet a year. A relative of our native grapes, porcelain-berry produces distinctive fruits in late summer and early fall that change from lilac or green to bright blue.”
But there is a major problem: “It invades field and field edges and spreads rapidly. Porcelain-berry climbs on and over native plants, much like oriental bittersweet. Currently it is mostly found in southeastern Massachusetts and along the coast. Birds are attracted to the fruit and spread the seeds.”
Although they are beautiful and look like a vine of tiny colorful Easter eggs, they are a very invasive plant in Massachusetts.
I kept wondering what was eating the tops off of most of the flowers in my yard. And then one afternoon I saw some of my flowers shaking. There were five Goldfinches pecking away at the petals of five my Zinnia plants! Hmmmm.
I guess they have to eat too! This is a Goldfinch that I saw at Fort Hill enjoying one of the Thistle flowers by the side of the trail.
It was a gorgeous, windy day at Fort Hill and the clouds were spectacular! I took a nice long hike and didn’t get many photographs as it was so windy… until I got to the top parking lot and started walking back down to my car.
This is what I saw… it doesn’t get much prettier, do you think? Have you been to Fort Hill lately?
I love seeing all of the new wildflowers during the summer on Cape Cod. This yellow Wood Sorrel was so pretty. I saw it at Fort Hill along the trails and down by Hemenway Landing.
Love the orange dots in the center. So pretty, don’t you think?
The Water Willows are in full bloom near the waters and swamps on Cape Cod. You can see them on the boardwalk on The Red Maple Swamps Trail at Fort Hill or going over the bridge on the Silver Spring Trail at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. They are so pretty and so unique. (Click on blog link to see other photos.)
The flower is only 1/2′ to 1″ while the plant is quite large growing 3-9 feet. They bloom in late July and August near shallow water.
The first photograph is a closeup of the flower. The 2nd photograph shows how they grow in clusters and the 3rd one is how uniquely they grow on the stem.
Have you ever seen a Water-Willow? So pretty and unique, don’t you think?
