Pic(k) of the Week: Echinacea garden

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Native purple coneflower wildflowers (aka echinacea) blooming in a pollinator garden.

City of Avondale Estates, Georgia, USA.
7 June 2026.

Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family. It has ten species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are native only in eastern and central North America, where they grow in wet to dry prairies and open wooded areas

Echinacea purpurea — commonly known as purple coneflower, eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, purple rudbeckia — is an herbaceous perennial in the Asteraceae (daisy) family that is native to the central and eastern United States. The Genus name is Greek for meaning 'spiny one' and the species name means reddish-purple.

It may grow 3 to 4 feet tall; attractive ray petals surround a center of dark purplish brown disc flowers in summer and are long-lasting through mid-fall. The plant prefers well-drained, moist loam but is adaptable to various soil types. It is drought tolerant once established and can grow in full sun to partial shade. It is also deer, heat, humidity, and salt resistant.

— North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
— Wikipedia.

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Buster Williams: Batuki

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Pic(k) of the Week: Hydrangea on creek

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A wild bigleaf hydrangea shrub (Hydrangea macrophylla), illuminated by riparian morning light.

On Glenn Creek in Melton Park
DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
23 May 2025.

Hydrangea macrophylla — commonly known as bigleaf hydrangea — is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to Japan, that has become naturalised in the Americas. It is is a deciduous shrub growing to 10 feet tall (3 m) with large heads of pink or blue flowers in summer and autumn. The opposite, serrated leaves can grow to 6 inches (15 cm) in length.

— Wikipedia.

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Coleman Hawkins: Body and Soul

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Pic(k) of the Week: Jerusalem artichoke...in Georgia!

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A native Jerusalem artichoke blooms in an urban meadow.

East Decatur Greenway
DeKalb County (Forrest Hills), Georgia, USA.
4 June 2026.

Helianthus tuberosus — commonly known as Jerusalem artichoke, sunchoke, sunroot, wild sunflower, or earth apple — is an herbaceous perennial edible root vegetable that is a species of sunflower in the Asteraceae family. It is native to the eastern and central United States and parts of Canada.

Helianthus tuberosus grows 5 to 10 feet tall (1.5–3 m). The leaves have a rough, hairy texture. The flowers are yellow, 2-4 inches in diameter ( 5–10 cm), with 10–20 ray florets and 60 or more small disc florets. The flowers are briefly fragrant, giving off a light, vanilla-chocolate perfume.

The plant's tubers are edible, similar in texture to water chestnuts, with a nutty flavor. They may be boiled, mashed, roasted like potatoes, or eaten raw. They do not contain starch like potatoes; instead contain inulin, which converts to fructose, and may be tolerated better by diabetics. The knobby tubers are harvested in the fall, approximately two weeks after the flowers fade (October-December).

Despite its common name, Jerusalem artichoke is not an artichoke and not associated with the city of Jerusalem. The 'artichoke' in its name comes from its similar taste. 'Jerusalem' is believed to be a corruption of the Italian word 'girasole,' meaning sunflower. Italian settlers in the United States likely referred to the plant as girasole because it resembled sunflowers.

— North Carolina State Cooperative Extension.
— Wikipedia.

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Freddie Hubbard: Little Sunflower

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Pic(k) of the Week: Coreopsis lanceolata

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A field of native lanceleaf coreopsis (coreopsis lanceolata), initially planted along a city street, now blooming wild every spring season.

DeKalb County, Georgia, USA.
5 May 2026.

Seen along (and planted by) the East Decatur Greenway (part of a 342-mile network of off-road trails in and around the metro Atlanta, Georgia area, built and maintained by the non-profit PATH Foundation for walkers, runners, skaters, and cyclists).

Coreopsis lanceolata — commonly known as lanceleaf coreopsis, lanceleaf tickseed, lance-leaved coreopsis, or sand coreopsis — is a North American wildflower, a species of tickseed in the Asteraceae (daisy) family, native to the south-central US. It typically grows to 2 feet tall (60 cm) in prairies, glades, fields, and roadsides, thriving in sandy and rocky soils. The plant produces yellow flower heads singly at the top of a naked flowering stalk, each head containing both ray florets and disc florets. Each flower measures 2-3 inches across (5–8 cm).

The genus name comes from the Greek words koris meaning "bug" and opsis meaning "like" in reference to the shape of the seed which resembles a bug or tick. The specific epithet means lance-shaped referring to the leaves.

— North Carolina State Cooperative Extension.
— Wikipedia.

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Lee Morgan: Häschen

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Pic(k) of the Week: Live. Laugh. Love.

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Decatur Arts Festival
Decatur, Georgia, USA.
4 May 2024.

A jewelry artist was using a street mural as a backdrop for her product photos when she glanced my way. I captured the moment, unposed. Her clothing complemented the mural's pastel tones. Her hat bore the phrase, "Live. Laugh. Love." The image isn't askew; it's the slant of the city street that creates the illusion of tilt.

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Art Blakey: Once in a While

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