Clingmans Sunflower

Here is a sunflower I found along the road to Clingmans Dome last week. I don't know which variety it is so I will just call it Clingmans Sunflower for fun. Friday night we went up again and climbed the trail to the tower on Clingmans Dome. All along the trail were Clingmans Sunflowers with just the center part. A very few had yellow leaves. As the days pass this week I expect the yellow petals will sprout and make a photographers field of dreams come true. All the month of August these should be in full bloom if the history of years past holds true.

Bee Balm

Here is a pretty flower you can find along the Clingman's Dome Road and on the trail up to Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is also blooming on in other parts of the park and along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. Now is the time to look for it. You may have to slow down on the highway because it blends into the forest edge pretty well. Even so, there are clusters of this amazing wildflower that make for a colorful scene, especially when it is mixed with yellow sunflowers in places like the Clingmans Dome Trail.