23 July 2017
Sedges
Today, we finished planting sedges (Carex sp.) and skullcap (Scutellaria sp.) in the mud at the bottom of the gully where water often pools. (SG)
22-JUL-2017
Goldenrod crab spider, male (Misumena vatia)
Here, a tiny male crab spider nestles into the blooms of a queen-of-the-prairie plant. The male goldenrod crab spiders look nothing like the big females and are often overlooked because of their small size.
22-JUL-2017
Interpretation Centre
The side of the building with its display of the large cup-plants.
22-JUL-2017
Cup plants (Silphium perfoliatum)
These tall, beautiful showy plants are native to the eastern US, but they thrive around the Fletcher Wildlife Garden and do well in gardens in the region too. Their blossoms attract butterflies and other insects while the seedheads attract many birds and squirrels.
22-JUN-2017
Pond
Looking east across the pond which has lost its bare brown perimeter and now has a lovely growth of vegetation again after last autumn's rehab work.
22-JULY-2017
Eastern cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus)
Rabbits have been having a few good years, at the peak of their cycle, lots of food, and so we have been seeing more than usual around the garden.
22-JUL-2017
Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnarta)
A showy milkweed, much deeper coloured than the common milkweed. Monarch butterflies will lay their eggs on this plant, as they will on any milkweed species, including the pretty butterfly weed. Like many of the other flowers in the Butterfly Meadow, it is a native plant of wetlands and moist areas.
22-JUL-2017
Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
Not quite opened fully yet, this is a lovely native plant found alongside wetlands, ponds, lakes. Many species of insects find it an attractive source of nectar.
22-JUL-2017
Fringed loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata)
Another plant found in the Butterfly Meadow, and also native to the region. Like Queen-of-the-prairie it grows best in damp situations.
22-JUL-2017
Queen of the prairie Filipendula rubra)
A truly spectacular flower, native to the northeastern US, this gorgeous plant can tolerate part shade though it likes sun best I believe. It prefers moist to damp situations. It is so exotic looking that it is hard to believe this is a plant native to eastern North America, though not alas to this part of Canada. Nonetheless, it thrives in the Butterfly Meadow.
22-JUL-2017
Queen of the prairie Filipendula rubra)
As noted in the previous image, this is a plant native to the northeastern US but thrives at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden. A good place to see it is the Butterfly Meadow.
