As summer turns to fall, I have to remind myself that there are still almost two months of blooms to go! Now blooming at the WVBG are many of the garden favorites including hydrangea, sunflowers, zinnias, hibiscus and mountain mint. And, for native perennial lovers, cardinal flowers, Joe-Pye weed, turtleheads and sneezeweed are all in full bloom.
New to the West Virginia Botanic Garden on Tyrone Road are the sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale. These late-season asters are known as excellent pollinator host plants, and prefer well-drained, moist soils. They get their name from being used in a dried leaf preparation as snuff to rid the body of evil spirits. The distinctive sneezeweed bloom includes lovely scarlet petals with a cap of complex reproductive structures. The sneezeweed can be found in the Butterfly Garden.
At the WVBG we have Joe-Pye weed in both the Butterfly Garden and the Yagle Garden. This late season native perennial comes in a number of varieties and we have the hollow Joe-Pye, Eutrochium fistulosum, in the Butterfly Garden and baby Joe-Pye, Eupatorium dubium, in the Yagle Garden. Both are blooming now and attracting butterflies and hymenopterous pollinators in large numbers. They are also attracting a large predatory European hornet, Vespa crabro. This predator can be seen prowling the blooms hunting other insects like beetles, wasps and moths. These hornets are the largest eusocial (the highest level of social organization in a species) wasp native to Europe and the largest wasp in found in North America as they were introduced in the 1840s.
While there is much more blooming, I will turn to a lovely foliage display that nature is providing at the WVBG. In the basin that was once the floor of the water supply for Morgantown, the sandy and acidic soil conditions support many species of moss, lichens and transitional shrubs and trees. The trail that cuts through this area is called the Pixie Cup Trail for the lichens that can be found along the route. However, the scene is dominated now by the lovely red foliage of the sourwood tree, Oxydendrum arboretum. This native tree reaches only about 25 feet in height and along the Pixie Cup Trail they are mostly less then 10 feet tall and form a short wall of red and green foliage as you explore this unique habitat.
If you take the trail, it will lead you to a bird blind sculpture and to the edge of the remains of the pond that is the remnant the city’s water supply. None of this beauty was planted and is a lovely ecological example of a transitional landscape.
So, please come enjoy and explore the WVBG as summer wanes and become a member at WVBG.org today.
