Other birds such as goldfinches feast on the small seeds. Hummingbirds pollinate the flowers in the process. The eye-catching red flowers attract wildlife, especially hummingbirds and butterflies, which drink the nectar. A few plants usually bloom on the shore near the foot bridge to the small island there. The Bowman Conservation Area side of the pond is usually a good place to look. As water use lowers the water level at Sandra Pond, you may be able to walk along the newly exposed shores. Follow paths along the shorelines at Sandra Pond (the Westborough Reservoir) or Mill Pond and look in partly shady spots. And so, too, has the cardinal flower, although it is not yet endangered in most states.Ĭardinal flower blooms from July to September, but the best time to view it in Westborough is usually the last week of July or the first week or so in August. As people have filled or drained North America's wetlands, first for agriculture and then for development, the cardinal flower's habitat has been disappearing. The tall plants grow in partial shade in the wet ground at the edges of ponds, streams, and sometimes even swamps.Įuropean explorers were impressed by this beautiful wetlands flower when they first found it growing in Canada in the 1620s, but sadly, its numbers have been declining ever since. Its showy, intense red blossoms are a treat for people who fish from shore or travel Westborough's waters by canoe or other boats. Named for the red robes of Roman Catholic cardinals, cardinal flower ( Lobelia cardinalis) is a well-kept secret of the woods because of the way it hugs the shorelines.
Cardinal flower attracts hummingbirds, butterfliesĪ prime hummingbird and butterfly flower and perhaps our most beautiful native wildflower, the brilliant red cardinal flower is getting ready to bloom at the water's edge of Westborough's ponds and streams.
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