Cannas are spectacular summer bulbs. Paddle-shape leaves wrap in ruffles around stems, tapering to refined buds. The buds open into eye-catching flowers of red, orange, yellow, and pink from late spring or early summer to first frost. Cannas are commonly referred to as “bulbs,” although they are not true bulbs. They multiply beneath the soil from a rhizome, an underground stem. The red cannas are from Hickory whereas the golden ones are from Santa Monica, California.
This Prothonotary warbler looks like a bit of spring sunlight with its golden-yellow head and breast set off by blue-gray wings. “Prothonotary” refers to clerks in the Roman Catholic Church, whose robes were bright yellow. To a Prothonotary Warbler, a great breeding habitat features dead snags and trees full of holes, always near water—whether rivers, swamps, or bottomland forests. The Audubon Center at Beidler Forest, South Carolina is home to numerous Prothonotary warblers.
Dry yellow leaves indicate Fall at the Looking Glass Waterfall in North Carolina
Fall at the Waterfalls
Brilliant yellow flowers still grace the gardens in Hickory, NC
Brilliant Yellow