Summer Blooms

Hi River Roaders,

We’re getting close to the time when we can all be together on site. If you happen to show up this week, here are some of the blooms you will see.

We have a wonderful stand of woodland sunflower (Helianthus divarcticus) in the bridge garden. This is a wonderful plant that is long blooming, a favorite of pollinators, and produces seeds for birds. We’ve been working on transplanting this around our site.

Small white asters (I’m not sure of the species) in the bridge garden.

A wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) in bloom by the Playground. This is one of the plants that was planted as part of a Girl Scout project last year.

Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) starting to bloom behind the sculpture in the Memorial Garden. According to Penn State, mountain mint attracts the most pollinators of any plant.

Bee balm (Monard didyma) in bloom by the vegetable garden.

Rose of Sharon behind the handicap parking.

The butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) that Jan planted a month ago in our new wildflower garden are quite happy. This bodes well for years to come.

We’re starting to see the impact of cicadas laying eggs at the ends of tree branches. Their favorite, by far, is our oak trees, followed by our largest birches.

Stay cool,

Joe