For more information on bog plants, please see research on northwoods shoreland types . By August, these flowers have been replaced by long, slender pods typical of the milkweed family. Like its relatives, this milkweed attracts monarch butterflies that lay their eggs on the foliage. Each blossom appears to be one flower but is actually made up of many smaller flowers. Those flowers in the outer ring each have a 'ray' or petal attached, while the innermost flowers do not.
Asters color the garden beginning in late summer and last through autumn.
Plants may reach 1-3 feet in height. One of the first flowers to bloom in the spring, its bright yellow blossom and dark green, glossy leaves stand out against the bleak, brown background in early May. A member of the snapdragon family, the white petals of each flower do resemble the head of a turtle. A spike of flowers sits atop a two-foot stem. The flowers begin blooming from the bottom and continue upward on the spike during mid-summer.