The Wetland, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

There are two river birch at the end of the Wetland, which are doing very well.

This has been a great place for the song sparrow, mallards, frogs, tree swallows and other birds.

The pickerel weed has been beautiful, as well as earlier, the swamp milkweed, the yellow iris, the poppies, the black-eyed Susans and many other flowers.

The purple loosestrife heads the list for the bad.  While it is a beautiful flower, it is very invasive, and if left will completely dominate the wetland in a few years.

This ragweed will add to the autumn sniffles for many people.

This stinging nettle is not welcome for people who might touch it, but there are butterflies which use it as a host plant.  But much better to have the false nettle, which is growing in the meadow.

Now I think this pilewort is ugly, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the bees can be seen on the tips of these fully blooming flowers searching for nectar.

This is horseweed, which I think is an apt name for this flower, although some people think it is magnificent.