An awesome bloom so big it was seen via satellite!
https://weather.com/science/nature/video/nasa-satellite-spots-super-bloom-in-california
Don’t know if I’ll ever get to California to see them in person but I’m imagining the view is spectacular.
Plant Sightings
Plant sightings is the main focus of wildeherb. Plants native to North America, and especially the Northeastern United States and Pennsylvania, are found, identified, observed and photographed to become part of a living diary about our plant friends, new and old.
Blooming Golden Poppies of Southern California Bring Spring Fever
When flowers make the headline news, we smile! Especially at this time of year when winter is dragging on.
Last night we were blessed with 3 inches of snow up here on the mountain ridge in Central PA. More snow is promised for this weekend, so maybe that’s why I’m feeling a little extra Spring Fever after watching this video of Golden Poppies blooming in Southern California!
How lovely! We don’t have many mass bloomings here in the East…or do we?
Can’t wait to see some Spring flowers blooming in this part of the country!
Hellebores Under Snow For Now
The Spring Nor’easter has dumped quite a lot of snow in the Northeast USA. Records will be broken for the amount of snowfall in many places for this second day of Spring.
In Central Pennsylvania, at least up here on our mountain ridge, we’ve measured 12 inches and the snow is still falling but tapering off.
Way different than the 2 – 5 inches forecast yesterday.
Guess some Atlantic winds blew harder than expected.
Many places to our south bore the brunt of the storm and racked up more than a foot of snow. That’s a lot for locales not used to this upstate New York weather!
The temps are predicted to be in the low 40s for highs in the day and lows in the 20s at night for the next few days. The snow on the ground will become compacted before it lifts out of here.
And…for the hellebores? They’ll be ok. Hellebores like the cold and the snow has an insulating effect. We’ll keep a watch on how they’re doing.
Triangle Vine Weed with Cool Blue Berries
The coolest looking blue berries drew my attention to this weedy plant the first time I saw it when taking a walk near the Conestoga Creek. I was reminded of that Autumn day trip to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania a number of years ago when I recently spotted the same kind of plant scrambling along a cement bridge in Snyder County, PA.
Right away I could see its vine-like nature and that its leaves were triangular. The vine had climbed from a stream bank up and over the top of the bridge and down onto the guard rail.
The vine appeared to be growing well and it seemed to be liking its sunny spot very much as many small white flowers were present.
Triangular leaves and pink stems with thumb-tearing spikes. Don’t try to weed out this plant without a sturdy pair of gloves on your hands!
Turk’s Cap Lily Blooms by the Red Covered Bridge
Driving around the countryside you have to keep your eyes open because you never know what you’ll see. Recently, we saw a momma deer crossing the road with her two fawns, a few other deer here and there, a bald eagle sitting up high in a tree, and for me a new plant. One that I hadn’t seen before in real life.
We slowed down to look at a covered bridge and then stopped to take a few pictures. Right there next to the berm that used to be the old road leading to the bridge were a few blooming lilies. They were about 30 feet away from the bank of the stream that the bridge spanned.
I recognized the Turk’s Cap Lily, Lilium superbum, from a distance, or at least I thought that’s what it was by the way the orange petals were swept back. I needed a closer look to be sure of the identification. What was the greenery like and how did the flowers look close up?
Gardening Help from Audubon Native Plants Database
In my reading I came across this link to Audubon’s Native Plant Database. Where, for the mere mention of your zip-code and an email address, you can find the native plants for your area that will help to bring birds to your yard.
Cool thing is, the image on that page was of a male goldfinch standing atop a purple coneflower, Echinacea.
We’re treated to this site every summer and fall season. As the purple flowers mature and the cones grow taller the finches visit more often. They dine on the seeds whenever they’re deemed ready. I really do get enjoyment seeing the brilliantly colored birds carefully standing on the spiky seed heads to get at their lunch.
We have a perfect view from the kitchen window to spy on them being so busy. If the window is open, you can hearing them chattering to one another!
Coltsfoot Flowers Next to the Creek
When it’s raining or even on a cloudy day you’ll miss out seeing the sunny yellow blossoms of Coltsfoot. It blooms in Eastern North America in early Spring each April.
Coltsfoot is one of my favorite Spring Ephemeral flowers because it’s such a bright happy color when it’s in bloom and everything else is still old winter drab.
It’s also fun to show people that it’s not a dandelion! Driving past the coltsfoot that bloom next to a country road most people probably do think it to be dandelions in flower. Neither would be noticed on the cloudy days because their flowers will be closed up tight.
During the first week of April coltsfoot was blooming in all its glory along the creek near the spillway on the Mill Race Trail at Little Buffalo State Park in Newport, PA. I had never seen such a display as I was treated to that day.
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.