Wetland Symphony

In August, while much of Princeton is largely deserted, wetland wildflowers sing a symphony of sun and soggy ground. Opening their bell-like flowers, rose mallow hibiscus add a brassy exclamation point

to an already florid scene.

In the grass section are wild rice

and woolgrass, which is really a sedge.

Coloraturas include swamp milkweed,

cutleaf coneflower,

and wild senna,

with a new addition this year, cup plant, which cups water in its leaves.

All of this diversity is made possible by controlling the abundance of cattails, which for all their charms might otherwise have reduced a symphony to a monotone.