Visiting the Arboretum: All members and visitors need to make a reservation in advance of their visit to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. We hope to see you soon!

By Holly Einess

I arrive early at the Arb in hopes of beating the heat and head toward Green Heron Pond. A few white puffy clouds float against the blue morning sky. I pass Russian sage in full bloom, attracting numerous bees. The orange centers of purple coneflowers glow like small suns.

Purple coneflowers

Nearing the pond, I come upon a colorful patch of flowers—gray-headed coneflower, anise hyssop, blazing star, brown-eyed Susan, American bellflower, and bee balm. A large bird flies overhead and lands in a nearby tree. It's partially hidden behind a tree trunk, so I quietly move around for a better look, and find it's looking at me!

Barred owl

A number of passers-by ask what I'm photographing, and all are delighted when I point out the owl. I hear one man say, "Up there! A barn owl!" and I gently correct him, explaining that the barred owl gets its name from the horizontal bars on its chest, which the barn owl lacks, and is far more common than the barn. Unlike most Minnesota owls, barred owls have dark (rather than yellow) eyes and can often be seen hunting during the day.

As I start down the boardwalk I'm a bit dismayed to see that purple loosestrife is abundant. While beautiful to look at it, it's non-native and invasive, and tends to crowd out native plants.

Purple loosestrife

Plenty of native plants are also in bloom along the boardwalk, including goldenrod, blue vervain, and purple fringed orchid. There are birds in abundance as well. Two cedar waxwings hop about in a tree; a ruby-throated hummingbird alights on a branch and scratches its head; a juvenile robin peers into the distance, its speckled breast a clue to its membership in the thrush family.

Juvenile robin

Swamp milkweed is being visited by various pollinators, including one of the cooler insects you'll see in Minnesota—the hummingbird clearwing. This moth hovers like its namesake as it sips nectar with its long proboscis, and its wings are, yes, clear. 

Hummingbird clearwing, front
Hummingbird clearwing, side

The tamaracks are looking green and healthy, their soft needles an alluring hiding place for an inquisitive bird (I'm thinking female goldfinch).

Inquisitive bird

The path back toward the picnic shelter is lined with joe-pye weed just starting to bloom, drawing in a tiger swallowtail. While all male tiger swallowtails have characteristic yellow-and-black coloration, the females are dimorphic and can be either yellow or black.

Tiger swallowtail

On the last part of my walk around Green Heron Pond I find still more plants in bloom, among them cup plant, ironweed, cardinal flower, and boneset. It is full-on summer, with all its attendant vibrancy and abundance. Get out to the Arb and soak it all in while you can!

Holly Einess is a Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer