Sunday, August 11, 2013

Mid August/Nature Notes

 Cranberry Marsh, Whitby, in August

Saturday the sun was still high in the sky, the colours bright, the temperature cool.  It was a beautiful day here.

Largest square: Question Mark butterfly sunning itself. Moving clockwise: common burdock (Arctium)- in many places declared a noxious weed, joe-pye weed (Eupatorium ) - culivated varieties are sold in garden centres; jewelweed or spotted touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis) - the sap is supposed to protect you from poison ivy, but I have never tried it, butterfly on purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) and fluff on Canada thistle (Cirsium aevense) - loved by goldfinches for lining their nests.

FYI:  I include botanical names because the common names vary around the world but the botanical names stay the same.

Purple loosestrife taking over the marsh

Very prettty but also invasive, purple loosestrife is multiplying at a frightening rate. An alien plant rom Europe, its roots form a thick mat, reducing space and nutrients for indigenous plants. But I have heard a beetle has recently been relwased here to check this colony's expansion.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more NATURE NOTES.

20 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

beautiful array of rich color and texture.

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

HI Tina Wonderful collage fo flowers and that fantastic butterfly. Gkad that beetle is going to top that invasive plant.

LONDONLULU said...

The colors are astonishing - a beautiful day captured in your collage.

RedPat said...

What a lovely array of colour you gave us!

Michelle said...

Beautiful colors today in your collage. Wishing you a great week ahead!

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

That is a nice collection.

Leave It To Davis said...

I hope the beetle they imported doesn't do more harm than the plant! It always seems like when they do things like that it backfires! I love your pictures and information about each flower. I didn't know impatiens sap were supposed to ward off poison ivy! That's a good thing to know!

Stephanie said...

Gorgeous colors in your collage and the purple ones in the last photo. We have Butcher's Broom that has grown all over the valley that is also invasive.

Lowell said...

Your photo is very much August! Hard to believe we're almost 1/2 way through the month. Soon cooler weather will come (I'm really looking forward to that!)

I've not heard of this pretty but invasive plant. Let's hope the beetle doesn't somehow take on alien characteristics and eat everything else, too! :)

Randy said...

What a beautiful place.

Cezar and Léia said...

Lovely mosaic!The purple field is adorable!
hugs
Léia

Kerri Farley said...

Gorgeous Collage!


http://thesunriseofmylife.blogspot.com/

cieldequimper said...

Oooh I like how the marsh is being taken over!

Lisa Gordon said...

What a beautiful mosaic this is!

MadSnapper said...

the question mark looks real enough to fly out into my living room.

Leora said...

The loosestrife is wonderful. Enjoy the great weather. What treasures you have found.

Laura said...

such a joyful, color-filled series!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful collection of nature photos!

MyMaracas said...

It's nice to see someone who loves "weeds" as much as I do.

I know the purple loosestrife is a major threat to natives, but it surely is pretty. And it always makes me anxious to hear that something has been introduced as a control for something else. It seems there are usually unintended consequences for that.

Rambling Woods said...

Lovely collage and I am happy you caught a butterfly as there are so few..I have been reading about attempts to control invasives with biologic methods..I hope it doesn't open another can of worms..Michelle

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.