Early Bloomers At Millerstown Park

Took the puppy on her first trip to a local park. It was precious seeing her sniffing and tasting her first dandelions and violets!

Alas, no extra hand to carry a camera for snapping some flower photos. She’s too little yet and needs my full attention. The pictures would have been a complete blur.

I tried to remember the dozen flowering plants we saw. Here they are in the approximate order we found them as we walked from the parking lot and followed the Juniata River flowing south.

  • dandelion
  • violets, dark purple
  • purple dead nettle
  • Pennsylvania bittercress
  • spring beauty
  • lesser celandine
  • garlic mustard
  • bluebells, mertensia
  • chickweed
  • ground ivy
  • trout lily, a single plant
  • speedwell

The folks who manage the natural areas here could use a lesson or two in the value of preserving native plants. Much too much garlic mustard and lesser celandine was present in the places adjacent to the river where bluebells should be swaying in the breeze.

Over the past few years too many trees have been cut down disrupting the habitats of the native plants, not to mention the little critters who may have called this small stretch of nature home. Disappointing.

After our walk we took a little drive down River Road to see the Spring blooming trees. Beautiful flowering almond and cherry trees scattered among a large number of forsythia shrubs brought color to many spaces and accented the daffodils and narcissus that were blooming profusely.

Another of my favorite bloomers at this time was in all its glory, the redbud tree. It’s so beautiful to see its purple at the edge of the woodlands. Trees are still bare of leaves at this point.

This weekend would be a great time to investigate what’s blooming around your neighborhood. The colors of Spring are everywhere!

Millerstown Park is less than a mile south of the town square and the Route 322 exit for Millerstown, Pennsylvania.

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