Public Gardens, Garden in the Woods!

High 79 F
Low  49 F

This week I took a side trip to Garden in the Woods which is a public, wildflower garden with great walking trails.  It is in Framingham, MA.  Lots to see there this time of year!  There does seem to be a bug problem at the Visitor's Center.  Can anyone identify this one!  They do have some nice plants for sale in this area but I did not purchase any.  The trail begins at this water feature.
Click on picture to enlarge
The little red flowers are pitcher plants, Sarracenia. These are Sarracenia oreophila. They are quite intriguing.   Most of the plants in this wildflower paradise have identification tags.  The trail bends down this hill with the Rhododendrons in bloom along the way.  Beneath that Rhododendron is a stand of Maidenhair fern which is just beautiful. Trilliums line the pathways and so do ladyslippers although I only saw the yellow ladyslipper which I have never seen wild in the New England woods except for here in this garden.  Still, they are pretty and very curious.  Along the path there was this bench projecting from the stone wall.  I want a few of these!  Winding around hills and through wet depressions I came upon the bog gardens which have the pitcher plants growing in them.  They seem prehistoric to me with their unusual form.  One of the workers showed me how the flower forms a cup around the nectar necessitating the insect to climb inside this chamber in order to feed and spread pollen.  This one is Sarracenia flava.    A room of yellow for an insect! Have any of you ever heard of turkey beard, Xerophyllum asphodeloides?   The seed head looks like this and it does form a softly textural carpet of clumps on the forest floor.  It is not a plant I have seen before but I found it very interesting. Stopping at Garden in the Woods was a delightful respite from the sales circuit and we must all maximize our mileage these days which is my excuse for visiting along with the educational factor of learning a few new plant names.  Here is one last, ethereal, shot of the Sarracenia. Do any of you grow anything like this?