“Sunday morning, up with the lark
I think I'll take a walk in the park
Hey, hey, hey, it's a beautiful day” Beautiful Sunday lyrics by Green & Baife
It was a beautiful Sunday, a real spring day in Seattle. Ambling along woodland trails, we spotted some nice flowering natives. This false Solomons seal (Maianthemum racemosum) is almost done with its flowering and ready to go to fruit (which are apparently edible). The red twig dogwoods (Cornus sericea) are in full bloom as well. The red alders (Alnus rubra) growing in the muddy marshy spot at the foot of the little hill have lovely bark.
Please note that a lot of the natives I now see are courtesy of the untiring work of many Seattle Parks volunteers, ripping out truckloads of English ivy and Himalayan blackberry and then doing yearly. It’s incredible and valuable work, making our corner of the world more ecologically sound and native pollinator friendly.
#Photography #PNW #NativesPlants #LandRestoration

One of the western monarch overwintering sites is at a masonic cemetery that's being restored for both the grave stones and with native plants. Monarch butterflies are so interesting to me because it's this nexus of urban ecology, applied restoration ecology, plants and pollinator interactions, disease and invasive species; there seems to be something for everyone. #flowers #butterflies #nativesplants #ecology #communityscience