I have to duck under the button bush when I cross the Gulley Bridge to get into the woods.
There were many summers when the grasses grew so high I couldn’t walk the the path from the farm to the woods. But this year I wanted to be sure not to miss the Button Bush blooming.
Just a couple of weeks ago I took out the mower and cut my path which was growing over since it was cut at the end of spring.
It’s not easy getting the mower over the little bridge, and I could have asked Mike who cuts our lawn to weed wack it again, but I wanted to do it myself.
Something about putting my mark on the path I guess. Like the dogs do when they leave their scat in the middle of the path which they both did after I mowed it.
The Button Bush has the strangest flowers, they seem to me something out of a fantasy.
Perfectly round spheres, made up of tiny blossoms and stamens that reach out so far, in the sunlight they glow like an aura.
Button bushes need a very wet place to grow and can even be submerged in water. That’s why they grow along streams, like ours. They also help to keep the stream bank from eroding.
The button bush growing along the stream the farm is in full bloom right now. It’s full of bees, wasps, butterflies and moths.
In the fall the birds and ducks will come to eat the seeds.
How fun to learn about the Button Bush! I’d never heard of them before.
I was so surprised the first time I was the flowers Barb. Then I found out they are somewhat common. But they only grow well around water, so I’m sure that has something to do with my not being familiar with them.