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Monday, September 15, 2008

Late summer beauty

Late summer isn't usually touted as a great gardening time. But it has its own kind of beauty. This was on my mind yesterday as we hiked the meadows and woods of the Schuylkill Center in upper Roxborough. Not a soul was around, and no wonder, given the humidity. A human soul, that is. The place was literally abuzz with critters. If you stood still amidst the sea of Eupatorium serotinum or late boneset, you could see and hear bees, wasps, flies, beetles, moths, butterflies and birds drawing nectar, collecting pollen, eating seeds from the big heads of these natives. Often, several of each of those things would be on the same stand of flowers. It was an amazing sight. If you look closely at this photo, you'll see a bee. Not just a bee ... we saw honey bees and bumble bees and all sizes of wasp. And if you need any convincing that native plants draw and sustain wildlife, please. Visit www.schuylkillcenter.org/. and hightail it over there. Try a Sunday afternoon when the place is deserted. See you there. 
Posted by Virginia Smith @ 4:46 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
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About Virginia A. Smith
Ginny Smith, a Philadelphia native, worked as a reporter at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Ohio – with six short months at the end of the Bulletin tossed in – before returning to Philadelphia in 1985 to join the Inquirer. Her favorite beats here have included Center City, roving around Pennsylvania (and getting paid for it!) and alternative medicine. She’s also been City Editor and Pennsylvania Editor. Ginny has been happily writing – and learning - about gardening fulltime since 2006. She’s won two silver medals of achievement from the national Garden Writers Association and in 2011, Bartram’s Garden honored her with its Green Exemplar award for her stories about “the region’s deeply rooted horticultural history, cultural attractions and bountiful gardens.”
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