I was taking a hike at Fort Hill the other evening when I saw this little bit of purple out of the corner of my eye. It was on the side of the trail at Fort Hill and pretty hidden in the climbing vines.
But, I was able to take a photograph of it and then look it up in my wildflower book when I got home. It is a Climbing Nightshade wildflower and very delicate and pretty. Its flowers almost look like the Shooting Star wildflowers that I used to see out in Colorado.
The Climbing Nightshade is a climbing vine with purple shooting star shaped flowers with 5 petals which grow in clusters at the end of long stems. The flowers are just 1/2″ to 1″ and bloom from June to August.
This is my first Climbing Nightshade. Have you ever seen one?
I planted a lot of flowers in my yard here on Cape Cod to try to attract the butterflies and hummingbirds. This White Cabbage butterfly liked my Zinnias the best!
A White Cabbage butterfly is about 1 and 5/8″ with black on its forewing tips. The male has one black spot and the female has 2 black spots, so this is a female.
After she had her fill of the Zinnias, she alighted on the rock slab at the base of our bird bath and spread her wings, showing her true colors.
I was taking a walk the other day when I saw this pretty little Spotted Wintergreen wildflower. I did not know what it was until I got home and could look in my wildflower book.
The white, waxy flowers grow facing downward ( as seen in the second photograph) and then when they bloom they face upward toward the sun.
Have you ever seen a Spotted Wintergreen? So pretty!
It’s the time of year for the Hydrangeas to bloom on Cape Cod and they are spectacular! Everywhere you look there are Hydrangeas…blue ones, pink ones and white ones.
I rode around on my bike looking for that perfect photo-op of a Hydrangea and this is what I got.
The pink Roses in our garden are blooming like crazy this summer! They are just spectacular! i don’t think I have ever seen so many blooms on one bush. This photograph is of 3 Rose bushes in our backyard garden.
Beautiful, don’t you think?
Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.
