Thursday, June 7, 2018

Spring Garden at Point State Park

The Point State Park in Pittsburgh has a Spring Garden where you can see different kinds of interesting plants.  It's a relaxing part of the park adjacent to the   river side where bikers  and walkers go to.  I love when a park offers this kind of   feature because  I  for one,  enjoy learning about plants.  It's very educational for me.
Here are some of the plants that we  saw there. I have seen foamflower plant before but I have no clue what it was.  The foamy appearance on its bloom makes it a favorite   feature by butterflies and other  creatures that enjoy its pollen.
Did you know that the foamflower leaves  were used to make an astringent  was for mouth sores and other wounds?   I  also like that it is a perrenial.
Before I introduced you to the next plant, my son was fascinated by  this tree.  We saw an insect that looks like a hornet that keeps digging in and out of the tree.  It's amazing how much  he could do.  I mean look at the bottom of the tree, that dust  pile says a lot.
Another perennial plant  we saw is this wild blue phlox.  I love different kinds of phlox plants but I have never knew about this one.  
The phlox that I've had in my old house before  crawls into the ground but this one  is upright.  It's bloom is gorgeous too.
I have always wonder what an elderberry looks like because we bought a jelly one time at an Amish store but I didn't know what an elderberry is.  Did you know that the raw berries and other parts of this plant is toxic?  You can only use the purple berries, otherwise, it will make you sick if you  try to use the raw ones.  
Okay, I probably seen white snake root but I never knew what it was.  It said that this native herb poisons the meat  and milk of cows  that grace on its leaves and blooms.  That is  a dangerous plant  for farm owners.  As you can read in the photo, thousands of European-American settlers, including Abraham Lincoln's mother, died from this  "milk sickness".
So yes, aside from  the Fort Pitt Black House, this is one of my favorite part of our Memorial Day adventure in Point State Park.
We cooled down  to this area after  a hot sun exposure at  the fountain.   
I mean it was probably boring for my kids but I enjoyed  this stroll here in the Spring Garden.  

I think we will go back to this park next time because we did not get to see the museum but  that will give us an excuse to go back there.  I hope you learn a little bit from the featured plant on this post but you probably know  all of these already if you were born  in the US.  I am still learning a lot of stuff 13 years  after I migrated here in the land of the free.  

18 Smart Readers SAID::

candy said...

Always fun to visit different parks. Nice the kids are learning about different plants and trees

melissa chapman said...

The growth and trees in that park are so interesting and fun to explore. I wish i lived near there to go on a great hike like you did.

Liz Parker said...

I have actually never been to Pittsburgh ... only Philly and Bethlehem (a college roommate lived there so I visited her). This looks like a fun park to visit in the summer though.

joannabri said...

What a beautiful park to check out. It looks like y'all had a wonderful time. I love all the shade trees.

Jeannette said...

That is amazing what that hornet did to that tree! I wonder what kind of bug that was. It is very interesting to say the least.

Marysa said...

We love exploring the great outdoors. This looks like a beautiful place to check out. It's nice to get the kids outdoors and off their electronics.

Terri Steffes said...

I enjoy hearing about different parks. I know that those are usually unique places to visit.

Rachel said...

I really enjoying learning about native plants when I go to parks. I love when they have the educational information for me to find.

Emily said...

This looks like a beautiful area to explore! I like that there is a label with a description of each plant. I am always wondering what particular plants are and this takes out any guess work.

Bradley Finnearty said...

My daughter was talking just a couple of weeks ago about this park. She said we should go there on one of our day trips. It looks beautiful.

Sara Welch said...

Little gardens like this are a lot of fun! I would love one near me.

Sarah Bailey said...

Oh my goodness how beautiful does this park look! I would love to get to go and spend some time wandering around it myself.

The Super Mom Life said...

My kids love visiting places like this! We will definitely check it out if we are ever in the area.

Anosa Malanga said...

Wow, I only learned about the foamflower upon reading this article. I love the place, very clean and lots of green plants. I hope I can personally visit it too.

NPC said...

Wow, this park is absolutely beautiful. Looks like you all had a great time.

Brianne said...

I just love visiting parks this time of year! It's amazing all the activities you can find in one! My kids love taking nature walks!

ricci said...

I love a great state park!! It looks like y'all had a great time exploring this one!!

britstrawbridge said...

I love looking at all the different flowers in the park! I love that there are signs to show you what is what!

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