Echinacea and coneflower growing beautifully this year

Echinacea, also referred to as coneflowers, grow beautifully in Virginia. I planted seeds last fall are now flowering. Here are some recent shots from June.

Daisies are in full bloom in Northern Virginia (2017)

Nice to see these lovely flowers blooming. Fortunately, they usually go straight through summer. I especially like to look at the daisies after a nice rain. Here are some June 2017 photos from my wildflower garden.

 

Chasing butterflies on Skyline Drive (part 1)

This past weekend we decided to go for a ride and see where the day would take us. We ended up on Skyline Drive, starting at the Front Royal entrance. We've done this trip several times before, but always in the fall. 

It was really fascinating to enjoy the park in the summer. We drove 62 of the 105 miles and saw stunning scenery, lots of wildlife and gorgeous wildflowers. Not to mention it was a beautiful 73-75 degrees the entire ride, unlike the high 80s and 90s we have in Northern Virginia.

The milkweed and other wildflowers attracted tons of butterflies. These beauties were literally everywhere you turned. Here are some shots I took.

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Wildflowers at Chapman's Mill (Broad Run, Virginia)

Last weekend we took a ride out to Chapman's Mill in Broad Run, Virginia. After we explored the mill, I couldn't help but notice the wildflowers that were scattered in a few places surrounding the structure. I have seen these for years on the East Coast and I don't know what they are called. I've been calling them wild daisies.

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