No photograph can convey the vivid purple color of ironweed, one of our most spectacular late-summer flowers. A field of ironweed and goldenrod is a sight not easily forgotten. Two species are common in our area; Tall Ironweed is, as its name implies, taller than New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis), but otherwise very similar.
Wherever there are hillsides that no one wants to mow, there is crown vetch. Its cheerful vigor means that it often escapes and invades a hillside on its own, but its happy clover-like pink flower heads make us willing to forgive its bad manners.
This common and poisonous little member of the tomato family grows in vacant lots, at the edge of the sidewalk, and anywhere else it can gain a foothold. Up close, the little white flowers with bright yellow centers are cheerful and pretty.
Bugleweed is common at the edges of ponds, often dangling over the water. Here we see it framed by the clouds reflected in a pond in the Allegheny Cemetery in Lawrenceville.
Spearmint is especially common in urban yards and vacant lots, where it often escapes from cultivation. The prison isn’t built that can hold spearmint, which can be very invasive once you have it. But it’s such a useful herb that its sloppy manners are easy to forgive.
