A close look at the solitary wasp spotted at Nature Boardwalk.

These past few weeks biologists at the Urban Wildlife Institute have been seeing large sphecid wasps (of the Sphecidae family) buzzing around Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo.

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Blue hyssop is an upright, clump-forming perennial of the mint family that's native to parts of the upper Midwest and Great Plains. It's noted for its mid- to late-summer bloom of lavender to purple flowers and anise-scented foliage. The flowers appear in false whorls, which are densely packed into cylindrical, terminal flower spikes. Their nectar is attractive to bees, hummingbirds and butterflies.

Common Names: giant blue hyssop, anise hyssop

Scientific Name: Agastache foeniculum

Family: Lamiaceae

Native Status: Canada through Northern U.S.

Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial

Height: 2–4 feet

Flowering Time: June–September

Flower Color: Purple, lavender

Interest: Attracts bees, hummingbirds and butterflies

A black-crowned night heron fledgling rests between attempts at flight.

The black-crowned night herons are always a wonderful sight at Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo. Heron chicks have been heard in the area since early May. Finally, now, a number of them are trying to figure out how to fly.

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Sunday marked the second anniversary of Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo. Celebrate two years of growth in the urban oasis with these time-lapse photos showing the landscape in spring, summer, fall and winter.

This beautiful prairie wildflower has weathered the recent drought well at Nature Boardwalk. Butterfly milkweed is a tuberous, rooted perennial. It grows in clumps to 1–3 feet tall and features clusters of bright orange to yellow-orange flowers atop upright to reclining, hairy stems with narrow, lance-shaped leaves. The complex flowers are divided into five parts with upward-projecting hood-like nectaries and conventional petals below. (A nectary is the nectar-producing location of the flower, typically held in some sort of a cup or tube at the end of fused petals.) Spindle-shaped seed pods split open when ripe, releasing papery, brown, silky-tailed seeds for dispersal by the wind. The flowers and leaves are a nectar and food source for many butterflies. The plant’s other common name, pleurisy root, refers to past historic use of the roots as a folk medicine to treat lung inflammations.

Common Names: butterfly milkweed, pleurisy root, butterfly weed

Scientific Name: Asclepias tuberosa

Family: Asclepiadaceae

Native Status: United States to northern Mexico

Plant Type: herbaceous perennial

Height: 1–2.5 feet

Flowering Time: June–August

Flower Color: yellow, orange

Interest: Flowers bloom in summer. Fruit/seed production begins in summer and ends in fall. Attracts butterflies.