Published on: May 3, 2022
As I walk around, I marvel at how bare ground and leaf piles turn into beautiful bouquets in the space of a few days. The Bloodroot, Trillium, Dutchmen's Breeches and Hepatica have made a splash in my garden and the Virginia Bluebells and Wood Poppy are budded out. The rabbits have enjoyed many of my flowers, but some are still blooming. the Mayapple and Jack in the Pulpit are up pretty far and opening and the Solomon's seal is rising slowly from the beds. Spring Beauties and Early Meadow Rue as well as Wild Geranium and Strawberry are unfurling leaves. The Serviceberries just started to bloom as the tiny red flowers of the Maple lie in gay abandon around the porch and deck. Birds create a symphony every morning around 5 am and sing almost continuously through the morning. The Pileated Woodpecker and Mallards along the creek add strident sounds to the concert. At night the frogs make lots of noise and the barred owl prowls. Enjoy your time in the natural world, even if it is in your own garden. Both CNC and Natures Niche will have spring wild plant sales and the Wild Ones Mid Mitten chapter has been making information available at many of the spring events. Larger rescued wild plants are available from the Cranbrook Gardens plant sale, online May 6--you can register to be notified when the sale opens at their website.
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Published on: Apr 4, 2022
After a very long winter with very odd weather, the thaw and spring rain, even mixed with snow, is a welcome site. Vernal pools have formed in the woods and the ground is spongy as it thaws. The buds of arbutus and hepatica are ready for some heat to display. Dutchmen's Breeches, Bloodroot and Spring Beauties won't be far behind. Trout Lilies and Early Meadow Rue will display along the trails and Blue Bead Lily, Bellwort, Solomon's Seal and False Solomon's Seal will unfurl their foliage to produce flowers. Gaywings will bloom among the Wintergreen. The tiny Gold Seal, Twin Leaf and Shooting Star will display their dainty and exquisite flowers. Wild Ginger, Wood Strawberry, and the many colors of Violets will carpet the low areas. Wood Poppy and Virginia Bluebells will bloom happily and Wild Geranium and Canada Anemone will wave in the soft breezes. Trillium and Jack in the Pulpit will astonish with their beauty. Here are some of the flowers to enjoy and anticipate. Walk the trails and enjoy the bounty of Nature this spring. Published on: May 27, 2021
We drove to 10 1/2-mile road and parked to walk back toward 9-mile road. The cooler weather and overcast skies helped to showcase the many ferns on the trail. There were large stands of Royal Fern in the ditches, along with Sensitive Fern and Cinnamon Fern on the edges of the woods. In the woods were great swathes of Bracken Fern. As we got closer to the wetland near 9-mile road, the small wood fern appeared among the sensitive fern. Along the trail closer to 8-mile and 7-mile roads, the Ostrich Fern and Sensitive Fern are dominant with the occasional Royal or Maidenhair fern. All along the way were great clumps of blooming Columbine--the red and yellow "grannies bonnets". They are spectacular in bunches and this is a great year for their bloom. The Wild Geranium is blooming in places and promises to put on more show soon. The edges of the trail still have some wild strawberry and dwarf cinquefoil as well as the ocassional clump of dwarf yellow hawkweed. Along the taller grasses is the solitary salsify or yellow goats beard. Small colonies of Bastard Toadflax are beginning to bloom. I saw one ox-eye daisy and a few small clumps of Fleabane. Early Meadow Rue is showing its chandelier flowers. Blue Flag Iris is up and should be sending up flowers soon. Brambles were blooming and ready to bloom, so blackberries and raspberries will be feeding small birds and mammals soon. Most of the Dogwood has finished blooming, but the Alternate Leaf and Red Twig are still blooming beautifully. the serviceberries are formed and starting to turn color and the black and pin and choke cherries are forming on the spent blossom stalks. The maple and elm seeds have fallen along with the Oak flowers. Pollen has been very abundant this year. The trees are pretty much fully leafed and beginning to shade out the ephemerals. The promise of Black-eyed Susans and Large-leaf Aster shows in the large number of growing leaves. What a wonderful time to walk the trails. Swamp Milkweed is already rising above the ditches. Here at home the Wood Poppy and Virginia Bluebells are done and the Wild Geranium and Canada Anemone are taking over. The Wild Wood Phlox continues to bloom and has been joined by Golden Alexanders--which are also on the trails. My May Apple are is full bloom and the stray Jack in the Pulpit is growing taller every day. The tall red trillium still look great but the grandiflora and nodding are done. Solomon's seal flowers are turning to the small beadlike seeds and False Solomon Seal is finishing blooming. Golden Seal has bloomed along with Shooting Star and Twin-leaf. Maidenhair and Lady Fern are waving over the pond. It is a new adventure every day. Enjoy! Published on: May 9, 2021
The Hepatica, Bloodroot and Dutchmen's Breeches have finished blooming and the Nodding White Trillium are turning pink. I have tall Red Trillium that have grouped themselves as a bouquet below a large group of Large Flowered Trillium. It is beautiful. I have Shooting Stars, Twin Leaf, Gold Seal and lots of May-apple and Smooth Solomon's Seal blooming now. The tiny Rue Anemone is still blooming but the bigger and more bloom-laden False Rue Anemone is just starting. The first blooms of the Woodland Phlox are opening as well. All of my Wood Poppy and Virginia Bluebells are blooming and they are spectacular together. The Wild Geranium is also budding up and ready to bloom. I love this time of year. Along the rail trail there are still a few Dutchmen's Breeches and lots of Violets, White, Yellow, Northern Blue, Common. The Geranium is ready to bloom and the first buds of the Granny's Bonnets are raising their heads. Wood Anemone is blooming along the edge of the trail along with the Wild and Woodland Strawberries. Of course there are a lot of Dandelions as well and I hate to admit it, but they look great with the common violets--like stacked bouquets. Michigan Lilies are starting to show their whorled leaf stems and Canada Anemones are crawling along the ground. Serviceberry trees are finished blooming (along with the Maple and Birch) but the Pin, Choke and Black Cherries are just starting to bloom. Oaks and Ash are ready to bloom and Elms are dropping their paper cases of seeds to mix with the airplanes from the Maples. All of the Viburnum and Dogwood are budded up and ready to bloom when the heat hits again. The Hawthorne, Apple and Crabapple are gorgeous as well as the outstanding Redbuds. This is the time to walk the trails! Enjoy the cool air and lovely flowers! Published on: Apr 15, 2021
The more typical spring weather came in quickly. The cold nights and cool days, especially with the rain are really good for the wildflowers. It slows the opening and gives us a longer season with these beautiful ephemerals. The snow trillium are opening in my garden and they are so lovely and petite, a pleasure to see. The Red and Yellow Trillium and the Grandiflora are budded and ready to bloom. The Wood Poppy and Virginia Bluebells are showing their colors and will be in full bloom soon. I have a tiny Rue Anemone blooming by my pond and am so pleased. Most of the Bloodroot is done because of the warm weather a week ago. Spring Beauties wait for the sunshine and bloom beautifully among the pantaloons of the Dutchmen's Breeches. The Wild Geranium and Meadow Rue and Violets are ready to make a big splash in the next weeks. The cold grey days are very special because of my favorite woodland tree--the Serviceberry (Amelanchier). Its white blooms float above the bare stalks of the other woodland trees, like puffs of smoke. With heat they will finish blooming and disappear into all the emerging leaves, but they are so enthralling when they bloom. This is my harbinger of spring. Enjoy this time of beauty and get ready for the late spring burst of bloom that introduces summer to Michigan. Published on: Apr 9, 2021
It seems like only a few weeks ago we were watching the ice slowly melt, leaving Jenga style crystal structures along the walkways. Then came the record high temps followed by freezes and at last some 5 days of near record warmth. The Spring Ephemerals have responded with alacrity. In my garden, the Hepatica are beginning to bloom and several Dutchmen's Breeches and Bloodroot have bloomed already. The Spring Beauties are showing buds and the Snow Trillium are budded and ready to bloom. Solomon's Seal is up and growing daily and my Blue Cohosh are already 6 inches tall. Twin Leaf and Shooting Stars are up and forming buds and the Mayapples have popped out of the ground en masse. Wood Poppy and Virginia Bluebells have erupted and are growing by leaps each day. Their combination of Blue and Yellow flowers will make everyone take notice. Amelanchier (Serviceberry) are budded and Black Cherry is leafing out right on the heels of the Maple Bloom. Blooms on the White Birch are ready to pop and Elm and Ash and Cottonwood can't be far behind. Buds are on all the Viburnum and Dogwood as well. Heat does provide a dose of Spring all at once instead of over several weeks. It is a great time to get out on the rail trail and in the city and county parks and preserves to see Nature burst forth. The birds that were quiet for most of the winter have burst into song. I have an Eastern Phoebe that thinks my bedroom deck should be his nesting place and is he ever noisy at dawn. Yesterday, I gave a presentation of my favorite Wildflowers for gardens by season to the Chemical City Garden Club. I will put the presentation on the links section of this website for you to view. Enjoy this wonderful season and look closely for the small gem-like flowers that represent it so well. Published on: May 5, 2020
I've wandered around my property and neighborhood and made several trips to the Rail Trail since my last blog. The Spring Ephemerals are really exploding now. I saw the largest display of blooming Bloodroot I have ever seen on the steep western slopes of the Salt River at the high bridge (just past 11 mile road). There were many white and yellow Trout Lilies blooming among the Dutchmen's Breeches on the western side of the low bridge over the Salt River (just past 7 mile road). While this area has a lot of debris from the ice storms and floods last year and this winter, the blooms are still there (just harder to find). Spring Beauties are everywhere and the blue and white violets have sprung up along the trail. The Serviceberry (Shad) are blooming beautifully, but will soon be eclipsed by the emerging leaves and blooms of the cherries, maples, birch, poplar, elm, ash and even oak trees. Viburnum and Dogwood are also leafing out and many will have blooms soon. In my yard I am very impressed by the pink buds of the Judd Viburnum and the white buds already on the Doublefile Viburnum. My Kousa and Pink Dogwoods don't have many buds because they never set them before the early freeze last fall. The Red and Yellow Twig Dogwoods will have nice blooms, along with the Grey and Silky and Alternate Leaf Dogwoods. I have Marsh Marigolds blooming at the edge of the vernal pools from last weeks rain and my Trillium, Trout Lily (only one of hundreds) are blooming along with the Rue Anemone. The Bloodroot is blown already, but the Mayapple and Solomon Seal are up and ready to bloom as well as the False Solomon Seal and Jack in the Pulpit. I have Shooting Stars and Twinleaf and Golden Seal ready to bloom as well. The Wood Poppies and Virginia Bluebells are just starting to bloom and really look good with my not natives: Forget-me-nots and Primroses, Epimedium and Hellebores. It is very nice to have a blend of native and non-natives for color in the spring. I see that my Blue Flag Iris, Cardinal Flower and Golden Alexanders are up and growing as is the Woodland Phlox. Lots of Bellflowers, Arum and Coral Bells are showing their heads among the many woodland ferns. My Blue Cohosh has turned from deep purple to a lilac green and has tiny flowers on it and my bugbane is pushing through the leaves. My Wild Ginger is doing a nice job of spreading as well. If you don't have native plants in your garden, consider getting some from the Native Plant Sale at Chippewa Nature Center (if the sale can be held this year). Please don't dig from the wild as this can often kill the plant and destroy a native habitat. Solomon Seal and Mayapple are very vigorous and you can usually find a gardening friend to give you a start. Some folks are great at growing Jack in the Pulpit and can give starts of these as well. Seed exchanges can provide seeds for many natives. Published on: Apr 29, 2020
It had gotten really dry, and had warmed up significantly. I went looking for flowers and saw that the drier areas were not flowering as anticipated. Near 10 1/2 mile road, there are lots of Trailing Arbutus blooming on the little rises opposite the drainage ditches. Lots of leaves up and near 8 mile road, there are a lot of wild strawberries starting to bloom. There were too many cars at 7 mile when I tried to go there to walk, so I don't know if the Bloodroot and Dutchmen's Breeches are blooming by the bridge. There are violets out everywhere and in all the waste places (and my yard) are the common blue violet and it's relative the white violet. In my yard (which I watered), the Hepatica finished blooming and many of the Bloodroot bloomed and dropped petals. ]The small Trillium (I thing they are snow trillium or nodding trillium) are up and some are blooming, the large flowered trillium have buds, as do the yellow sessile (closed flower directly on leaves) and Red-flowered tall trillium. My Rue Anemone is up and has one flower--tiny plant and tiny flower. The Spring Beauties started to bloom along the path. My Blue Cohosh came up as purple stems and leaves and is opening to it's green color. The May Apples are growing by inches every day and My Twin Leaf is up and ready to bloom. The spike of the emerging Jack in the Pulpit is showing and the foliage for both Virginia Bluebells and Wood Poppies is up and growing large rapidly. My Trout Lilies are up and some do have more than a single leaf so I look daily to see if any are blooming. None so far, but hope springs eternal. With the rain and resulting vernal pools in the back, I now have blooming Marsh Marigolds. The Early Buttercups should be appearing soon. Fern fiddleheads are appearing as well. This is a wonderful time in the neighborhood, with both wild flowers and the cultivated. Serviceberry (Amelanchier) started blooming with the rain today. Cherries are ready to bloom soon. Viburnum and Dogwood have buds showing and are ready to really give a show. I love this time of year in the wild and in the garden. Here are some of the wildflowers that are blooming now. Published on: Apr 24, 2020 Dutchmen's Breeches Chippewa Nature Center published a sighting of Dutchmen's Breeches this week. They should also be opening up along the trail, especially from 7 to 8 mile road crossings near the bridge over the Salt River. They will be in among the Trout Lilies and Bloodroot. In my yard they are up but not blooming. I really like these miniature bleeding hearts, not just because they look like pantaloons hanging on a line. Their fern like foliage is very close to the fern-leaf bleeding heart we get in nurseries (which is a hybrid of the east coast native Wild Bleeding Heart). Another cousin, that I have not seen in the wild, is the Squirrel Corn--it has shorter side petals and they are joined at the bottom, resembling a kernel of corn. Spring Beauties
Alongside the Dutchmen's Breeches are often the grass like leaves of Spring Beauties. These tiny flowers are white or pale pink with a darker pink stripe in the 5 petals. There can be several flowers per set of 2 leaves, in a loose raceme (flower head). There are 2 varieties, Virginia and Carolina. The primary difference is width of leaves. They spread readily and make a great early spring border plant around your other spring ephemerals. They bloom for a longer period and are readily available in many seed or plant catalogs. A carpet of these is truly resplendent on a sunny morning. There a many lovely patches at Chippewa Nature Center and along the rail trail. Published on: Apr 22, 2020 Daisy like flowers always cheer me up. I think that is why I love these Spring Ephemerals. Bloodroot Bloodroot comes up in a cloak, wrapped like Phantom of the Opera and has a large daisy-like flower. Only one flower to a leaf and with 8 to 12 petals, quite spectacular. It can be a light pink but is generally pure white. There are double bloodroot, but I have not seen these in the wild. They grow on the steep slopes with the Dutchmen's Breeches and Meadow Rue. I think this is to protect themselves from rabbits. I have seen my plants disappear after a raid by bunnies or deer. They get their name from the orange-red juice in the stems. Only 3-6 inches high, they are spectacular but are pollinated quickly and drop the blooms once pollinated. (After 3 days they will self pollinate in the absence of pollinators). Small mining bees are the primary pollinators. The beautiful leaf remains into June if there is enough soil moisture. A carpet of these is truly magnificent. It is an indication of a healthy population of native ants which gather and eat the seeds, distributing them across their range. Hepatica
Hepatica are another favorite early flower. The three-lobed leaves (where the name meaning liver leaf comes from) persist in the winter and are quite desiccated and ugly when the snow melts. From the base of the plant, dainty buds rise above the dead leaves and open to white, pink or blue gems. Like most other early flowers, they do not open if it is too cold or overcast, so when the sun shines they are spectacular. They are pollinated by butterflies, moths, bees, flies and beetles so it needs to be warm enough for them to be moving. They will also self pollinate if no pollinators are available. I have found the best viewing to be at the Pine Haven Recreation area, because there are so many along the high area above Mud Creek and Salt River. According to neighbors, they used to be along all the waterways in the county. Now they are a wonderful rare gift. Here is some more information about the 2 types of Hepatica in Michigan. |