Bloom Day - River Flowers

     With few exceptions, my September blooms look a lot like my August blooms, so feeling pressed for time, and wanting to do something different, this month's Bloom Day will feature some of the plants I saw yesterday while kayaking along the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. This part of the river is about halfway between Williamsburg and Richmond, and is far enough from the coast that the water is mostly fresh, which changes the plant palette I normally see when I paddle.

     The most abundant flower I saw was Helenium autumnale. Its common name is sneezeweed, which is not very endearing, but it came not from anything to do with alergens, but from the fact it was once used as snuff. The species was so numerous, a nearly continuous band of yellow wrapped the shoreline.

     Helenium was not the only yellow flower on the shore. Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke) was blooming, as well as...

     Rudbeckia laciniata (cutleaf coneflower).

     Not all the blooms were yellow. Lobelia cardinalis (cardinal flower) was still showing a little red, despite being at the end of its season.

     Conoclinium coelestinum (blue misflower)

     Pontideria cordata (pickerel weed)

     One flower I did not expect to see was Hibiscus syriacus (althea, rose of Sharon). With the exception of the newer, sterile cultivars, this plant has a reputation for seeding around the garden, but I saw several growing along the bank, far from any garden bed.

     Rosa palustris (swamp rose)

     There were acres and acres of  wild rice (Zizania aquatica var. aquatica) growing in the vast marshes. The seeds were just starting to ripen, and years ago would have been an important crop for the local native Americans.

     The plant I enjoyed the most along the river had no blooms at all, but it is one of my favorite trees, Taxodium distichum (bald cypress). Any time I can paddle among these giants is a good time.

     Bloom Day is held on the 15th of each month, and is hosted by Carol at May Dreams Garden. If you pay her a visit, please tell her I said thank you, and that I apologize for bending the rules, yet again.

(A different account of this trip is available at my kayaking blog, A Tidewater Paddler, and all of the photos can be seen on my Flickr page.)