Tag: Greg Lecker

In less than four weeks, all traces of snow have vanished, and within two weeks, we’ll be walking under a tree canopy again.

In the deep shade below the hedge of white cedars edging Iris Pond lies the most snow and ice that I find today. But also here, I enjoy recording the most vibrant color (in this oil color sketch). Saturated yellow-green light on the arborvitae contrasts nicely with the deep blue near the sluice gate.

A single cattail contains 10,000 to 25,000 seeds – and the plant also spreads via underground roots called rhizomes.  These two reproductive methods allow cattails to form dense colonies of vegetation.

From the tan colored wetland rises a tree snag — full of holes.  In one case, I can clearly see through the tree to the sky beyond.  An ecologist would call it a “wildlife tree.”  What animals might be living in the trunk?  

The fruits of the bladdernut are three-lobed, inflated bladder-like capsules.   These drooping bladder-like seed capsules are papery enclosures, green ripening to brown and opening at the tip, to reveal a few shiny yellow-brown seeds.

The berries of winterberry are clustered close to the plant stems. The berries are scarlet – a tomato-red.  Gardeners consider winterberry to be the “Minnesota holly” because it is hardy in our state and offers intense winter interest.

Duckweed grows on this small pool next to Green Heron Pond and within the bog to the east.  Duckweed is a tiny, floating green plant consisting of a leaf or a cluster of leaves with one or more roots dangling down into the water.

Along the trail on the south side of the pond, I find sneezeweed AND black-eyed Susan blooming. 

Artist and Minnesota Master Naturalist Greg Lecker shares the inspiration he found during a recent trip to the Arboretum.

The fern-like foliage always delights me.  For most of the summer and persisting into the autumn, red berries nod above the foliage. If you find similar white berries with a small black dot, you’ve found white baneberry – also called “doll’s eye”. Neither the red nor the white berries are edible!