I was just out minding my own business, looking for some Jewelweed to collect some seeds from. Earlier in the day, during a bike ride, I saw some growing in a creek along the side of a quiet road. It's hard to find some that isn't surround by poison ivy. That afternoon, as I turned up the road in my car, I looked for a place to pull over, but I had some one behind me and the only place to park off the street was in front of a No Trespassing sign. So, I kept going, hoping the guy behind me would turn into a driveway. In the process, I went further up the street than I had planned, and stumbled upon a section of the creek even better than the first. I knew it as soon as I saw it, Great Blue Lobelia!
I have never seen any growing in the wild before, and there was a lot of it! The pollinators were all over it! It was such a magical little spot, growing amongst the Lobelia was Swamp Milkweed (also first time seen in the wild, not a garden), Jewelweed, Wingstem, several Asters, some unidentified sedges, Boneset, PawPaw trees and a couple non natives, Polygonum persicaria, and something that looks like a helenium, but I'm not sure. The color combinations were simply stunning. Roanoke is typically such a dry place, I'm not accustomed to seeing these moisture loving plants.
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| Spotted Jewelweed |
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| Polygonum persicaria (I think) |
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| Unknown? |
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| Boneset |
I found this spot totally by accident, and yes, I did manage to collect some Jewelweed seeds, despite half of them "popping" into the creek before I perfected my technique, hence the other name Touch-Me-Not. The source of this little creek full of magic is a spring at the base of a mountain. Here's a picture of what I assume is some kind of community springhouse, it was one of the few places not to have a No Trespassing sign. Water was coming out of a pipe and seeping out of the corner of the foundation.
The diversity and richness of this random spot along a nondescript country road will have me coming back to see what's blooming for a long time.
It might help to identify that yellow one if you take a picture of the back of the flower.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful place! Go back later and collects from the Lobelia too.
And that smartweed might be Polygonum pensylvanicum, a native.
Hi Julie. For you picture with the caption "unknown", I'm pretty sure it's a Yellow Crab Spider.
ReplyDeleteEllen, thanks for the tip on the Smartweed! It makes me feel better to think it's native because there's a lot of it in that area and it's really quite attractive.
ReplyDeleteMarsha, thanks! ;)
What a great find. Sounds like a nice stretch of the creek.
ReplyDeleteHeather