The wildflowers have been muted in this year of weather extremes — dry, dry spring followed by a midsummer drenched with intermittent showers.
But perhaps encouraged by the damp weather of late, swamp honeysuckle is in full bloom around Island streams and wetlands, its white vase-shaped flowers sending their perfume into the air on foggy morning walks.
A member of the heath family, the deciduous shrub can be found in coastal places from Maine to Georgia. It is also sometimes called clammy azalea, owing to its sticky corolla — especially apt in this summer when everything seems sticky and clammy, both indoors and out.
This article appears in July 16, 2021.