For everything that drives me nuts about social media, there are still some awesome things it can be used for, one of which is identifying flowers!
This week I’m wrapping up my summer flower series with this little scene I found on the side of the road, up near Clingman’s Dome. I noticed these flowers blooming as I drove by and I loved the color contrast of the red flowers with the green ferns. I actually drove past it on two different occasions before I finally decided I needed to stop! For years I have – incorrectly – identified these flowers as Indian Paintbrush. I guess I’ve seen *actual* Indian Paintbrush out west somewhere, and in my head the two flowers were the same. Well, a couple weeks ago when I posted this image to social media, calling it Indian Paintbrush, I was kindly corrected by someone who saw the image and properly identified it for me as Bee Balm (sometimes spelled Beebalm, it’s in the mint family!). After a quick Google search and comparison, I realized the person was totally right! At a glance the two look similar, but upon closer inspection, they are in fact quite different. So, as always, I’m grateful to learn something new!
I’m still trying to work out what direction I want to take for my next series, so next week’s Picture of the Week is going to be a surprise for both us! 🙂 Regardless, I’ll have an image to share, and perhaps a story to tell. Till then!
–Dan Thompson