Although I had never been to an official "Wildflower Festival" in the past, the idea intrigued me. The poster advertising the recent Mount Pisgah Arboretum Wildflower and Music Festival had the right words to lure me in: Music, Food, and Fun. Not to mention a beautiful warm sunny day, wildflower displays, artwork, and nature walks; what's not to like? Expert botanists were on hand to answer your plant questions along with microscopes and books. For the more casual festival goers, there were artworks created out of natural things only, many eco-vendor booths as well as food carts galore. And of course you could purchase native plants to take home.  |
| Pavilion Flower Displays |
It's an intriguing way to celebrate native wildflower appreciation, education, and preservation - and hold a fundraiser in the process. The good folks at Mount Pisgah should know - they have been doing it for 38 years! We spent most of the day at the festival enjoying the vibe and taking a few walks around the arboretum and up to the top of Mt. Pisgah, where the views are expansive in all directions.
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| Art in Nature Entry |
In the larger sense, the festival affirms what many nature lovers already know: spending time enjoying nature is good for you and your health; it's good for society and it needs to be preserved. In this day and age of capitalism-crazed national leaders, this obvious human necessity seems at risk of fading away. The anti-science and anti-environment rhetoric emerging from the new D.C. arrivals is astonishing. One wonders if these odd people have any experience with nature or wilderness. Not to belabor the point, but I'll just leave it at this for now: be vigilant, stay informed, and speak out for nature. There are still many in D.C. who will support us, but they need to hear from us and be encouraged to take action to protect what we have and educate the uninformed.
The festival appeared to be a huge success, at least by the numbers attending and the "miles of smiles" seen. Hundreds attended, seemingly from all walks of life ages. We were impressed by the well organized feel of the event and the army of eager volunteers working the beat. All in all, a day well spent for us!
On the trail to to the summit we saw hundreds of Toughleaf Iris, a few dozen Blue Dicks, and a smattering of Meadow Checker mallow and Oregon Checker mallow. Among the oaks we also saw poison oak growing profusely!
Oregon Checker mallow (Sidalcea campestris) and Meadow Checker mallow (Sidalcea oregana):
Toughleaf Iris (Iris tenax) and Nine-leaf Lomatium (Lomatium triternatum):
Tolmie's Pussy Ears (Calochortus tolmiei) and Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum)
Orange Honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa) and Slender Tarweed (Madia gracilis), with
Purple Sanicle (Sanicula bipinnatifida)
Beautiful pictures and it sounds like you and Sharon had a very enjoyable day!
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