Pic(k) of the Week: Orange, then green

Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

A native, wild trumpet creeper vine blooms in mid-summer, as seen from a vantage along the South Peachtree Creek Trail, on an elevated boardwalk over the wetlands of Burnt Fork Creek.

Mason Mill Park: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
21 July 2026.

Campsis radicans — commonly known as cow-itch, cow vine, devil's shoestring, foxglove vine, hellvine, hummingbird vine, trumpet creeper, trumpet vine — is a dense, vigorous, woody, deciduous, perennial vine in the trumpetvine family (Bignoniacea) that attaches itself to structures and climbs by aerial rootlets. It is native to the central and eastern United States, inhabiting woodlands and riverbanks (and growing on roadside telephone poles).

The trumpet creeper has clusters (terminal cymes) of orange to reddish-orange trumpet-shaped flowers, 3 inches long (8 cm), with a yellowish throat and 5 shallow lobes bending backward. They appear throughout the summer (June to September), and are very attractive to hummingbirds.

— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
— Wikipedia.

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Freddie Hubbard: Open Sesame.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Under a twisting mulberry tree

  Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,

For the lesson thou hast taught. ^*

An old, gnarly red mulberry tree (Morus rubra) lives on.

Decatur Legacy Park
City of Decatur, Georgia, USA.
26 June 2026.

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Lester Young: There Will Never Be AnotherYou.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Elegant zinnia

  Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

A common zinnia flower blooms in a summer garden.

Briarlake Forest Park
DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
6 July 2026.

Zinnia elegans — commonly known as common zinnia, elegant zinnia, and zinnia — is an annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Mexico but naturalised in several places, including the United States.

The uncultivated plant grows to about 5½ inches in height (15 cm). It has solitary flower heads about 2 inches across (5 cm). The purple ray florets surround black and yellow discs. Flowering occurs during the summer months.

Zinnias are popular garden plants with hundreds of cultivars in many flower colours, sizes, and forms. The garden zinnia was bred via hybridisation from the wild form.

— Wikipedia.
— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
— Wikipedia.

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David Murray: In the Spirit (composer: Don Pullen)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Echinacea garden

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Native purple coneflower wildflowers (aka echinacea) blooming in a pollinator garden.

City of Avondale Estates, Georgia, USA.
7 June 2026.

Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family. It has ten species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are native only in eastern and central North America, where they grow in wet to dry prairies and open wooded areas

Echinacea purpurea — commonly known as purple coneflower, eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, purple rudbeckia — is an herbaceous perennial in the Asteraceae (daisy) family that is native to the central and eastern United States. The Genus name is Greek for meaning 'spiny one' and the species name means reddish-purple.

It may grow 3 to 4 feet tall; attractive ray petals surround a center of dark purplish brown disc flowers in summer and are long-lasting through mid-fall. The plant prefers well-drained, moist loam but is adaptable to various soil types. It is drought tolerant once established and can grow in full sun to partial shade. It is also deer, heat, humidity, and salt resistant.

— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
— Wikipedia.

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Buster Williams: Batuki

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Pic(k) of the Week: Diamorpha daybreak

  Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

Tiny crimson diamorpha wildflowers, blooming at sunrise, near the summit of Arabia Mountain monadnock *.

DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
3 April 2026 (7:37 am EDT).

Diamorpha smallii — commonly known as diamorpha, elf orpine, or Small's stonecrop — belongs to the stonecrop family (Crassulaceae), in the Sedum species of plants: succulents possessing thick, fleshy sections which retain water, allowing them to survive in drought conditions.

Diamorpha smalli is endemic to the southeastern United States, where the densest populations appear in Georgia, particularly in Panola Mountain State Park and the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve. Two to four inches in height, Diamorpha smallii grows in areas with granite surfaces, appearing in vernal pools (seasonal puddles of water contained by rock or dirt) and solution pits (thin patches of dirt isolated on rock outcrops), adapted to survive in harsh conditions, including high temperatures and limited soil.

Hidden most of the year, Diamorpha smallii emerge in late winter, producing dense rosettes of tiny red succulent leaves. Then, in late March, the plants produce small white flowers (~ ¼ inch). As temperatures rise, the plants lose their bright red color, taking on the appearance of little brown stems sticking up from the ground, holding on to their seeds to forestall dessication during the hottest months of the year. The seeds drop and germinate in autumn.

— Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance.
— Scott Ranger's Nature Notes.
— Wikipedia.

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Dizzy Gillespie: Tin Tin Deo

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Pic(k) of the Week: Trout lily ephemeral

Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

Ephemeral beauty on a winter forest floor: a native wildflower, the trout lily, blooms on Arabia Mountain.

After a 13-kilometer hike on the mountain, I was less than half a kilometer from my parked car when I stumbled upon this cluster of trout lilies blooming on the side of the Mile Rock Trail. To say that I was delighted AND surprised would be an understatement.

This is a close-up. The blossom appears larger in the image than it did in 'real life.'

DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
28 February 2026.

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About the Dimpled Trout Lily

Erythronium umbilicatum — commonly known as the dimpled trout lily — is a species of perennial flowering plant in the lily family (Liliaceae), native to the southeastern United States, primarily in the piedmont and southern Appalachian areas. It is a spring ephemeral [i.e., short-lived] and its preferred habitat is forests.

Erythronium umbilicatum has green, mottled leaves that are up to 8 inches long (20 cm). The scape [i.e., long, leafless flowering stem] is up to 8 inches long (20 cm), bearing a single, nodding, lily-like flower on a 5 to 8-inch stalk (12-20 cm) with 6 petals, yellow on the inside and streaked brownish-purple on the outside, that recurve backward. The conspicuous stamens are brownish-purple in color. The flower blooms in late winter/early spring before the surrounding trees leaf out and cast shade.

— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
— Wikipedia.

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Clifford Brown: Sandu
Album: Study in Brown (Label: EmArcy, 1955)

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Pic(k) of the Week: River Oats on the Creek

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River oats in dappled morning light.

Cecilia Creek along the East Decatur Greenway: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 27 July 2025.

Chasmanthium latifolium — commonly known as river oats, inland sea oats, and wood oats — is a clump-forming, upright grass in the grass family (Poaceae), native to the central and eastern United States, growing in wooded areas and riparian zones.

River oats reach a height between 2 to 5 feet (⅔ - 1½ m) and a width of 1 to 2 feet (⅓ - ⅔ m). Their distinctive flat nodding seed heads resemble oats, emerging green in spring, turning tan in summer, and then purplish in fall. The bamboo-like leaves often turn yellow-gold in fall.

— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
— Wikipedia.

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Nat King Cole: Nature Boy

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Pic(k) of the Week: Black-Eyed Susans on the PATH

Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

Native black-eyed Susan wildflowers bloom in a pollinator garden.

South Peachtree Creek Trail in Mason Mill Park: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 18 July 2025.

Rudbeckia hirta — commonly known as black-eyed Susan and yellow coneflower — is a flowering plant in the aster family (Asteraceae), native to eastern and central North America.

The plant grows to 3½ feet tall (1 m), blooming from late summer into early autumn. The flowers have daisy-like yellow heads, up to 4 inches in diameter (10 cm), with yellow ray florets circling a conspicuous brown or black dome-shaped cone, containing many small disc florets. The species epithet means 'hairy' and refers to short, stiff hairs on the leaves and stems. The genus name honors Olof Rudbeck, a 17th-century Swedish botanist.

— Wikipedia.

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Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine: Cheek to Cheek
Album: Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine Sing the Best of Irving Berlin (Mercury, 1958)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Redbud in the field

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The vibrant yellow and green foliage of a native Rising Sun redbud tree, in spring.

Trailhead Community Park of the East Decatur Greenway: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 7 May 2025.

Cercis canadensis —commonly known as the eastern redbud tree— is a large deciduous shrub or small tree in the legume family (Fabaceae), native to eastern North America.

The Rising Sun™ cultivar —Cercis canadensis (JN2)— was discovered in a Belvidere, Tennessee nursery in 2006. Of unknown parentage, it had been planted from collected seed and was growing in a row of nursery seedlings. Unlike a 'standard' Eastern Redbud tree, the Rising Sun grows only 8 to 12 feet tall (2½ - 3½ m) but is drought and heat-tolerant.

Rising Sun's abundant pea-like, rosy pink flowers appear in early spring before the foliage. Its heart-shaped foliage emerges deep golden orange and matures through shades of orange, gold, and yellow to a speckled lime green. New leaves appear throughout the summer, resulting in a continual mix of colors. The fall foliage is yellow and orange.

— Missouri Botanical Garden.
— Wikipedia.

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Clifford Brown: Sandu
Album: Study in Brown (EmArcy Records, 1955)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Dwarf crested iris

Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

A native dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata) wildflower, blooming creekside.

Trailhead Community Park of the East Decatur Greenway in the City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 7 May 2025.

Iris cristata (also known as dwarf crested iris and crested iris) is a species in the genus Iris, and is part of the subgenus of Limniris (bearded iris). It is a rhizomatous perennial plant, endemic to the eastern United States. Purple blossoms arise on a stalk above the 4 to 8 inch tall leaves. There are 3 unmarked petals; the yellow, fluted crest is on each of three sepals. It is usually found in colonies of several to many plants, growing in chalky soil, in oak woodlands, on rocky hillsides, in ravines, and along streams.

— Wildflowers of the United States
— Wikipedia

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McCoy Tyner: Love Surrounds Us
Album: Uptown Downtown (Milestone, 1989)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Sextuplet brood

Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

A mallard hen (Anas platyrhynchos) was swimming in a bog, right in front of me, just below the camera's angle. She noticed me and, not pleased, let out a stream of loud, agitated quacks. Her six ducklings, alerted to danger, quickly scattered for safety. I couldn't help but apologize to them all as I exited...but not before capturing a photo!

Frog Bog in Legacy Park: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 24 April 2025.

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Maurice Ravel: String Quartet (II. Assez vif – très rythmé)
Musicians: Auryn Quartet
Album: French String Quartets (Tacet 2003; Naxos 2020)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Tearthumb autumnal

Dense thickets of tiny arrowleaf tearthumb wildflowers, blooming in early autumn.

Seen along the banks of Postal Pond in Decatur Legacy Park: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 28 September 2024.

Persicaria sagittata — commonly known as American tearthumb, arrowleaf tearthumb, or arrowvine— is a plant, in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae), native to the eastern half of North America (as well as eastern Asia!). It grows in moist areas along lake shores, stream banks, etc.

Persicaria sagittata is an annual herb growing up to 7½-feet tall (200 cm), with prickles along the stem. Leaves are up to 4 inches long (10 cm), heart-shaped or arrowhead-shaped (unusual for the genus). Flowers are white to pink, borne in spherical to elongated clusters up to 0.6-inches long (15 mm).

— Wikipedia.

Or, as a commenter on Flickr put it:

I find that most wildflowers are really tiny compared to what we normally think of as 'flowers', but no less interesting and beautiful.

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• Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of images posted on Saturdays.
• Photo 40 of 52, for year 2024. See a larger, hi-res version on Flickr: here.
• Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.


• Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10 II.
• Lens: Meike MK 25mm f/1.8
• Settings: 25 mm; 1/80 sec; ISO 200; ƒ/5.6


• For more from YFGF:
  • Follow on Flickr: Cizauskas.
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Pic(k) of the Week: Tick clover, pondside

A small wildflower with a big name: panicled leaf tick trefoil.

Seen blooming on a bank of Postal Pond in Legacy Park: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 12 September 2024.

Is the trefoil a late-summer blossom or an early-autumn-er? You decide.

Hylodesmum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, sometimes called ticktrefoils or tick-trefoils. It is sometimes treated as part of Desmodium. It includes sixteen species native to eastern North America, sub-Saharan Africa, and southeast Asia.

Hylodesmum nudiflorum — previously known as Desmodium nudiflorum and commonly known as naked-flowered tick trefoil, panicled leaf tick trefoil, stemless tick trefoil, or naked-stemmed tick clover— is a species of perenial flowering plant in the legume family (Fabaceae), native to eastern North America. Hylodesmum nudiflorum is typically found in mature, open hardwood woodlands in moist, sandy, gravelly, or loamy soil with high organic content. It is a nitrogen-fixing species through symbiosis with soil-borne bacteria.

Hylodesmum nudiflorum's delicate pinkish blooms, ⅓-inch (0.8 cm), are sweetly fragrant, occurring mid to late summer, borne on leafless stems. Reminiscent of pea-like blooms, the flowers have a rounded upper petal and three narrower lower petals, longer than the upper.

— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
— Wildflowers of the United States.
— Wikipedia.

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Pink Martini: "Sympathique"

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• Pic(k) of the Week: one in a weekly series of images posted on Saturdays.
• Photo 39 of 52, for year 2024. See a larger, hi-res version on Flickr: here.
• Commercial reproduction requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.


• Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10 II.
• Lens: Olympus M.40-150mm F4.0-5.6 R
• Settings: 150 mm; 1/500sec; ISO 800; ƒ/5.6


• For more from YFGF:
  • Follow on Flickr: Cizauskas.
  • Follow on Instagram: @tcizauskas.
  • Follow on Threads: @tcizauskas.
  • Follow on Facebook: YoursForGoodFermentables.

Pic(k) of the Week: Sputnik in the marsh

Like nature's Sputnik,
A buttonbush blooms
Spike'd white
Standing on marshy ground.

Cephalanthus occidentalis —commonly known as buttonbush, common buttonbush, button-willow, buck brush, and honey-bells— is a species of flowering plant in the bedstraw family (Rubiaceae). Native to eastern and southern North America, it is a common shrub of many wetland habitats, including swamps, floodplains, mangroves, and moist forest understory.

Cephalanthus occidentalis is a deciduous shrub or small tree that averages 3 to 10 feet in height (1 to 3 m). Its flowers bloom in late spring and summer, arranged in a dense spherical inflorescence [cluster of flowers], ¾ to 1⅓ inches in diameter (2 to 3.5 cm), on a short peduncle [stalk supporting the inflorescence].

— Wikipedia.

Photo taken in Constitution Lakes Park: DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 12 July 2024.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Master of his domain

Waiting and watching,

The green frog sits atop the pond,

For the moment,

Master of his domain.

Postal Pond in Legacy Park: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 15 June 2024.

Lithobates clamitans —commonly known as the green frog— is a species of frog native to eastern North America. The two subspecies are the bronze frog and the northern green frog.

Green frogs usually have green heads while the body is brown, gray, or dark green. The green head can be more or less prominent on certain individuals. The belly is white with black mottling. Male green frogs in breeding condition have yellow throats. Green frogs are darker colored on colder days to help absorb heat. Adult green frogs range from 2 to 4 inches in body length (5–10 cm); the typical body weight is 1 to 3 ounces (28 to 85 g). The mating call of a green frog sounds like the single note of a plucked banjo.

— Wikipedia.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Pollinator coneflowers

Pink coneflowers bloom in a native plant pollinator garden. A sign of the South!

East Decatur Greenway: City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 1 June 2024.

Echinacea purpurea — commonly known as the eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, hedgehog coneflower, or echinacea— is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to parts of eastern North America. Its habitats include dry open woods, prairies, and barrens.

Many pollinators are attracted to E. purpurea flowers, such as bumblebees, sweat bees, honey bees, the sunflower leafcutter bee, and the mining bee, Andrena helianthiformis. Butterflies that visit include monarchs, swallowtail butterflies, and sulfur butterflies. Birds, particularly finches, eat and disperse the seeds through their droppings.

— Wikipedia.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Lanceleaf coreopsis (sepals & petals)

A native lanceleaf coreopsis wildflower blooms in May in the Trailhead Community Park of the East Decatur Greenway.

City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 5 May 2024.

Coreopsis lanceolata —commonly known as lanceleaf coreopsis and lanceleaf tickseed— is a species of tickseed in the aster family (Asteraceae). It is native to the eastern and central parts of the United States, growing in open woodlands, prairies, plains, glades, meadows, and savannas.

Coreopsis lanceolata is a perennial plant sometimes attaining a height of over 2 feet (60 cm). April through June, it produces yellow flower heads singly at the top of a naked flowering stalk, each head containing both ray florets and disc florets. Each flower measures 2 to 3 inches across (5–8 cm).

The genus name 'Coreopsis' means 'bug-like'; it —as well as the common name, 'tickseed'— comes from the fact that the seeds are small and resemble ticks. The specific epithet 'lanceolata' refers to the shape of the leaves: narrow and lance-shaped.

— Wikipedia.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Small Venus' looking-glass

Look down! It's a tiny, native 'weed' with a sublime name:
"Small Venus' Looking-Glass."

Seen blooming alongside a sidewalk in the City of Avondale Estates, Georgia, USA. 6 May 2024.

Triodanis perfoliata — commonly known as Clasping bellflower, Clasping bellwort, or Small Venus' looking-glass — is a small, annual flowering plant belonging to the bellflower family (Campanulaceae), native to North and South America (from Canada to Argentina). It grows in prairies, along the edges of woods and rocky outcrops, and in disturbed soil, such as roadsides [and sidewalks!].

Triodanis perfoliata grows to a height of 4-18 inches (10–46 cm). On the upper part of the stem, the plant produces bell-shaped five-petaled flowers, approximately ½ inch or less across (1.3 cm), that range in color from blue-violet to pink-purple to lavender, with a white center. There are also flowers on the lower part of the stem but they do not open. These are cleistogamous — automatic self-pollinators that produce seeds.

— Wikipedia
— North Carolina Cooperative Extension

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Pic(k) of the Week: Winter red bud

A native 'Rising Sun' eastern redbud tree, blooming on a lazy day in late winter. Or was it early spring?

The Trailhead Community Park of the East Decatur Greenway in the City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 7 March 2024.

Cercis canadensis —commonly known as the eastern redbud tree— is a large deciduous shrub or small tree in the legume family (Fabaceae), native to eastern North America from southern Michigan south to central Mexico, and as far west as New Mexico. It generally has a short, often twisted trunk and spreading branches.

The Rising Sun Redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘JN2’) is a smaller variety of the more common Eastern Redbud, growing only to about 8-12 feet in height (2.5-3.5 m). In early spring, the tree bursts into bloom before the leaves appear, with tiny, sweet pea-like flowers of lavender-pink hue. This spectacle is followed by the emergence of heart-shaped leaves, which start as a vibrant shade of apricot-orange. As the season progresses, the leaves transition through shades of yellow, gold, and finally, a rich, deep green.

— Wikipedia.
— Nature is a Blessing.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Riparian ragwort

In early spring, tall, yellow ragwort wildflowers were growing abundantly in the wetlands of Glenn Creek.

Ira B. Melton Park, in DeKalb County, Georgia, USA. 22 March 2023.

Packera anonyma — commonly known as Small's Ragwort, Appalachian Ragwort, Southern Ragwort, Plain Ragwort — is a wildflower in the aster family (Asteraceae), native to much of the eastern United States, south of New England.

Small's Ragwort flourishes in habitats that are wet during the winter and dry in summer and is one of the first native flowers to bloom in abundance, beginning in March and continuing into June. The ray and disc flowers are bright yellow, 8-15 rays per flower. The plant grows up to 3 feet tall (1 m).

— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.

Seen alongside the Three Creeks Trail, a "labyrinth of soft-surfaced trails" in and around a 120-acre Piedmont forest in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. The trail connects Ira B. Melton Park to the larger Mason Mill Park. The three creeks of the trail's name are Glenn Creek, Burnt Fork Creek, and South Fork Peachtree Creek; the first two are tributaries of the much larger third.


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