Jewelweed is blooming all along the trail by the Kearny Marsh at Gunnell Oval.
The plant is also called a "Touch-Me-Not" or Popper.
The reason: When you touch the seed pod (lower right), the pod pops and the seed goes flying -- an ingenious way to transport seeds away from the plant.
Jewelweed is native, and very popular with Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.
It is used to treat Poison Ivy.
We saw our first DeKorte Daylily this afternoon.
More on Daylilies here.
Next time you visit DeKorte Park, you may notice algae floating in the Kingsland Tidal Impoundment.
We asked Dr. Francisco Artigas, head of the Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute, what was up with that, and he said not to worry:
"This is well known seasonal phenomena we experience in this particular basin in the Meadowlands."
Click "Continue reading..." to learn more.
This spring, when you visit DeKorte Park, you can enjoy the plantings even more.
If you're not a flora fanatic, you may often see a plant or bud that you have trouble identifying. No more.
The Meadowlands Commission has been busy creating signs to go with the plants, so in most cases you'll be able to stop guessing. Those beautiful flowers above, are Bleeding Hearts, as the nearby sign explains.
The idea is to make the park as enjoyable -- and educational -- as we can.
Click "Continue reading..." to see more plants in their finery.
This photo was taken in one of DeKorte Park's many gardens.
These Daffodils were brought to you by April showers.
If you are looking for a great place for a spring walk, look no farther than DeKorte Park, which is just starting to burst with blooms.
Above is the start of the Kingsland Overlook Trail just inside the main gate, including the forsythias.
On the left is a close-up of crocuses one of the many gardens that are coming to life.
(Almost forgot -- there are plenty of great birds arrriving as well!)
The trails at DeKorte are open from dawn to dusk. The observatory is open to the public from 8 to 10 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Click "Continue reading ..." for more photos.
NJMC staffer Marc Schrieks took this shot of Crocuses at DeKorte Park last week.
These guys are in bloom now at DeKorte Park? Who are they?
Click "continue reading..." for the answer.
The witch hazel in DeKorte Park is starting to bloom.
We saw this growing out of a juniper tree while we were on a guided walk last week in Harrier Meadow.
Some of us touched it -- and then we realized that it was likely Poison Ivy.
Any dissenting opinions?
We washed our hands thoroughly with soap and water as soon as we could, and got no rash.
But we were reminded of a basic lesson of walking in the wild -- don't touch plants, especially when you're unsure what they are.
More on Poison Ivy here.
These awesome mushrooms appeared this week by the butterfly garden at DeKorte Park.
They are Shaggy Manes.
Last month, we had asked friends of this blog to help identify an odd pod we had found at Harrier Meadow. The response was: "wild cucumber."
Last week we found one still on the vine and thought we'd share a pic. More on wild cucumbers here.
