April Wildflowers

I went out for a long walk yesterday and was pleased to see that Nature outside of the gardens was blooming to beat the band. There are certain wildflowers that I look for to tell me that Spring has really and truly gotten started.

Along the Hazard Rd. entrance to Ballard Park are some amazing carpets of Lesser Celandine. That's really how they grow, in thick carpets of yellow and green that seem to whisper "Take off your shoes and walk here!" Despite the name, these are not in the Celandine family, but in the Buttercup family. They grow in damp, low-lying areas, often near running water.

Lesser Celandine flowers are pretty good-sized, about the size of a small Dandelion. But my favorite flowers are the very tiny ones that I have to crawl to on my belly to get a good macro shot of them. There are a few that are early Spring bloomers. Below left is Thyme-leaved Speedwell, with tiny, tiny little white-with-lavender-stripes flowers. You won't see those lavender stripes unless you bring along a magnifying glass or have a macro setting or lens for your camera; that's how tiny the blooms are. Some members of the Mint family are also early Spring bloomers with very small flowers: Heal-all below right, and Ground Ivy at the bottom. They also tend to grow in low-lying damp areas near running water, and grow in carpet-like masses.

But tiny wildflowers aren't the only things blooming right now; trees are starting to get some color, too. No leaves quite yet, but some trees get flowers and catkins early on, like these Black Willows, sprouting their light-green catkins beside Hazard Rd.

I'll leave you with this view of the shores of Gooseneck Cove starting to take on some early Spring color. Given the warmer weather we've had lately, not to mention the rain, these colors should gain intensity pretty soon. Enjoy!

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger