Yellow is the first color of fall. Fields of goldenrods in flower are among the first. Goldenrod sometimes gets a bad reputation for causing allergies, but the flowers are bee pollinated, so the pollen gets a ride on an insect, not the wind.
The real culprit for those with allergies is Ragweed. It’s many little green bell-like flowers are full of golden pollen, distributed by every breath of wind. Try shaking the stalks of flowers and you can see for yourself. Aachoo!
Along Indian Brook Trail a large patch of tansy also has yellow flowers, but very different shape from goldenrods. Can you figure out how these are pollinated?
Mowing the fields at Broadmoor begins in September. Clumps of native grasses are left unmowed to provide seeds. Someday there may be whole fields of native grasses at the sanctuary. What insects and birds will we see then?
