purple coneflower; Echinacea purpurea; Asteraceae (aster family)

Back from Montreal, and I have a few days before heading to Cape Breton Island, so I’ll write a few quick entries to autopost.  No time for research and writing details.

Almost every picture I’ve posted since April I’ve taken in the Potomac River gorge, between Great Falls and the American Legion Bridge.  A few were taken along Cabin John Creek, no more than 2 miles upstream of the Potomac.  This one was not, though.  I found this and a host of spectacular plants one afternoon at a really nifty privately owned nature preserve called Craftworks at Cool Spring, near Charles Town, West Virginia.  Please click on the link to read about them, and go visit if you’re so inclined. The property is beautiful.