A jumble of spring wildflowers

A bed of wildflowers, all in a jumble. Too many ferns, volunteer Forget-me-nots, thug Columbines but some goodies managed to settle in, too.


I'm very fond of this Early Meadow Rue: Thalictrum dioicum of the Buttercup Family. Bees love it and when the slightest breeze wafts by, it twinkles.


We always call these Canada Anemones: Anemone canadensis of the Buttercup Family.


These glossy flowered early bloomers are commonly called Swamp (or Marsh) Buttercups: Ranunculus septentrionalis of the Buttercup Family. Buttercups in general are garden thugs, but this one stays neat.


I'm pretty sure this one is False Rue Anemone: Isopyrum biternatum. Another member of the Buttercup Family. Too tiny to be a garden bully. The bigger leaves are columbines, and the purple leaves are Labrador violets.


Goldenseal, Hydrastis canadensis. Another member of the Buttercup Family. I wish this one was more vigorous in spreading. Too bad it's not as bumptious as it's Buttercup Family cousins, because the roots are collected for folk medicine and are becoming rare. The flowers are very temporary.


I love the way Trilliums turn pink when they're beginning to fade: Trillium probably grandiflorum. I say that because it turns pink with age, it doesn't smell, it doesn't nod, the flowers have stalks, and there is no marking on the petals. That's as far as my field guide goes, so I say T. grandiflorum. Same family as Wild Oats, the Lily Family.

How did that Wild Cranesbill geranium get there? I guess it wants to duke it out with the ferns. Geranium maculatum of the Geranium Family.


Jack in the Pulpit from the Arum Family: Arisaema triphyllum.


This one stumps me. I thought it was a skunk cabbage when I dug it up, but it hasn't bloomed - probably too dry where it's planted. Looks like some kind of Arum to me.


Now this one is Wood Poppy, a.k.a. Celandine Poppy: Stylophorum diphyllum of the Poppy Family. I'm pretty sure.


Mayapples under the quince in another bed, between the peony and some bigroot cranesbill geranium. Some people call Mayapples Mandrake, but it's not the hoo-hoo Mandrake of legend. Podophyllum peltatum of the Barberry Family. I just noticed in my field guide that Twinleaf, Jeffersonia diphylla is also in the Barberry Family.

The weather finally surrendered to spring

Each year, we become more and more fascinated with the baby animals around here. This year, the horse farm up the road had 2 colts so far, and there was on very uncomfortable mare that we haven't seen for a few days. Both of the colts are pale, although the other one is more buff colored.
The willow tree in the background is so golden. They are common in the meadows here, and I love the color of the first growth each spring.
There is a cattle farm that I pass each day on the way to pick up Molly from school, and the pasture is dotted with the tiny calves. I don't know why, but baby cows are so sweet looking. Give them a month and they become cows, and have lost that cuteness.
Last year I remember passing by moments after one of the babies was born. I called out the window, "welcome to the world!", and spent a few minutes thinking about how it felt when my child was born. The world stopped for a second so that she could get here, and everything changed in that second. I wondered how mothers of other species feel. Laying in that pasture, the two of them looked so startled, seeing each other and wondering what had happened.
It was also the first day to really get into the woods. Very wet, with water running down the path. That made Crocs iffy shoes to wear. I knew my feet would get wet, but no sense inviting the water in. Also, later when I jumped onto a dry spot in the middle of the creek, a piece of barbed wire went into the sole. I kept thinking there was a pebble in the shoe. Thank goodness I figured it out before stepping on something hard and driving it through my foot. So... to recap, Crocs aren't good in the woods.
All of the Trilliums have come back and most of them have multiplied! Very exciting to me! The one here is surrounded by chickweed and dried leaves. Trillium has also been known as "bethroot" , and "birthwort", the root having been used for female complaints from adolescence through menopause. This plant is not common in our area, so I would never harvest it for medicinal use when there are other things more commonly used with good results. Black cohosh is much more common, and easy to grow.

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is popping up from underground and sending out the beautiful snow-white flowers and unusually shaped bluish-green leaves.
I wonder if the roots would yield a good dye. The plant itself is poisonous.

These plants foretell of the Mayapple, Dropwort, Spring Beauty, Cranesbill, Hepatica, Bluebells, Dutchman's Breeches, Wild Ginger, False Solomen's Seal, Violets, Trout Lilies, and Daylilies to come.