Wildflowers abound near Starved Rock

The waterfalls get most of the publicity at Starved Rock State Park.

But for those who search, the natural beauty of this scenic state park extends well beyond water.

Every few days, Kathy Casstevens sends out another photographic dispatch from Starved Rock or the surrounding area. Many of her pictures focus on wildflowers like the one above of Iris pseudacorus, also known as yellow flag. Casstevens photographed this flower today while on a hike.

“Next up is a hike to find a green dragon,” she wrote in today’s e-mail. Moments later, she produced a picture of a double green dragon, shown below.

As Director of Marketing for Starved Rock Lodge, that’s part of her job. But you can tell her pursuit of natural beauty in the Starved Rock area is more a passion than a task.

Last week she produced this picture of the rare showy orchid at Matthiessen State Park.

Prior to that came a cool picture of a mushroom and stick, taken during a hike through Illinois Canyon that yielded nine different types of wildflowers in bloom.

And on April 14, Casstevens found some cooperative bluebells at Starved Rock for this picture.

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