Spotted Touch-me-not, a common inhabitant of damp areas around the pond.

The flower of Skunk Cabbage generates enough heat to melt the snow and ice around it and is one of the earliest seen in the swamps that surround the pond.

Pickerel Weed becomes covered with purple blossoms in the late summer decorating the shallow areas of the pond.

Purple Loosestrife is an invasive plant, grows in wetlands and tends to push out native species.

Fragrant Water-lily flowers in mid-summer.

Buttonbush grows along the edge of the water pushing its roots right into the pond. It forms dense thickets in the swamps around the pond and helps stabilize the soil from erosion. The steady drone of a multitude of bees announces the arrival of the flowers in mid-August.

The Bullhead-lily loves the same shallow areas of water that the Fragrant Water-lily and Pickerel Weed also inhabit.

Pickerel Weed and Fragrant Water-lily along the edge of the pond.

Many flowering plants grow in the shallow areas including a species of “Potamogeton” with oblong leaves floating on the surface and a flowering sedge emerging from the water. These plants stabilize the soil, provide shelter and food for fish fry and are beautiful to behold closely.