The Water-Willow wildflowers are blooming on the Cape near the swamps and ponds. They are an aquatic shrub with magenta flowers that grow in whorls. (Click on blog link to see the interesting whorls.)
The flowers are only 1/2 to 1 inch while the plants grow up to 9 feet tall. I’ve seen Water-Willows on the boardwalk on the Red Maple Swamp Trail at Fort Hill and along the banks of the Silver Spring Trail at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
Such a pretty and delicate little flower…
So many people have been asking about the 5 clearings on the Red Maple Swamp Trail at Fort Hill. We bumped into one of the experts and a ranger the other day and they told us the story: (Click on blog link for other photo.)
The reason that they have cleared these areas is because many invasive plants have taken over this area and killed the Red Maple trees. Clearing the land, the trees are able to self-germinate and grow because it is an open area full of sun. The small white stakes that you see are Red Maple seedlings that the park service has planted.
They have already seen much progress and hope that the Red Maple trees will again be the dominant trees in this area.
When you drive up the road at Fort Hill you can’t help being amazed at the gorgeous, hot pink Sweet Pea wildflowers blooming all over the fields. They are just spectacular! (Click on blog link for other photo.)
The Sweet Pea wildflowers bloom from July through September, so you still have plenty of time to see them. They seem to be so much more prolific than in past years. Just beautiful…
