Among the end-of-the-growing-season wildflowers, I'd rate the members of the Gentian family at just about at the top of the heap. The color is drop-dead gorgeous, and the flower form, depending on the species, ranges from ornately frilly to, in this case, firmly closed. In fact, that tight-lipped characteristic gives Gentiana andrewsii its common name, the Closed Gentian. (It's also known as the Bottle or Blind Gentian.) These flowers are not that easy to find, and one member of the family, the Stiff Gentian, is on the Endangered list in Connecticut. G. andrewsii is faring better, but I almost never see it in our woods and fields. However, thanks to a wonderful gift from a gardening friend... and the plant propagators at the Rhode Island Wild Plant Society who grew the gentian that provided a clump of the plants that she was able to pass on, we will hopefully be able to see it lording it over the shade garden. With any luck, its blooms will entice bumblebees, the primary pollinator strong enough to push past the closed blooms and enable the plant to make more seeds. Then, with further luck, we'll be able to pass on the Gentian wealth.