Blackeyed Susan's, photo by Erik W. L. Anderson

August 25th, 2004 - Report by

This week was not much of an adventure in that I had to go to Two Harbors and the only wildflowers seen were on the highway from the moving car - but even that is fun.

One excitement was a group of Northern Bog Orchids just east of the Cascade Park entrance. This is probably our most common orchid but we had not ever seen it there before.

The upsetting thing is how much more Purple Loosestrife there is each year along the highway. When it first appeared I called the DNR and then I called them the next year. They could have nipped the problem before it became a problem but did nothing. Purple Loosestrife hurts the waters for many types of wildlife.
The grasses are beautiful waving in the breeze, the Dock is turning a beautiful rusty brown and the Bush Honeysuckle where it gets enough sun is beginning to turn red.

There still is a great variety of flowers along the highway such as: Tansy, Aster - purple & white, Goldenrod, yellow leaves of Spreading Dogbane, Daisy, Black-eye-Susan, Pearly Everlasting, Yarrow, Canada Thistle, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Fireweed (blooms almost gone) Sow Thistle, Joe Pye, Yellow & White Sweet Clover, Evening Primrose, Rabbit's-foot Clover, Mullein & Spotted Knapweed.

It's amazing what one can see from a moving car, however I wasn't driving,

See what we found last year at this time of year!

Be sure to stop back throughout the Summer  to see our weekly wildflower reports from Lorraine Anderson of Grand Marais, Minnesota.