Spotted a native wildflower patch at the old railroad tracks today

I was walking my dog along the old railroad tracks behind the industrial park yesterday and noticed a huge patch of purple coneflowers growing right through the gravel. There were at least 30 plants in a cluster about 20 feet long, all blooming in full sun with no help from anyone. It got me thinking about how tough some native plants are compared to the fussy stuff I baby in my backyard garden. Has anyone else seen random wildflowers popping up in weird places like this?

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the_nancy1h ago

Are we really acting like some coneflowers growing by train tracks is a deep life lesson now? I've seen dandelions taking over cracked parking lots and crabgrass thriving in literal sidewalks. That's not nature being noble, that's just plants being opportunists. Purple coneflowers are basically the weeds of the native plant world anyway, they'd grow on a hot asphalt roof if you let them. It's not that deep. Your backyard fussy stuff is fine, you're just comparing apples to oranges. Or in this case, coneflowers to whatever bougie hybrid you're coddling.