Spring Woodland Wildflower Sampler

The pace of the greening of the landscape has quickened substantially over the past week.  Please be sure that you seize your opportunities to get out and observe the season’s emergence of new plants and its showy blooms whenever you can.

Yesterday, I visited Anchor-Diamond Park at Hawkwood Estate in the Town of Ballston to continue my wildflower inventory.  It was quite an observational bonanza!  I spied twenty-three additional species (most not blooming) for this property as well as finding several species along trails in addition to where I had originally observed them.

Among the wildflowers in bloom at this time –

Jack-in-the-pulpit

Marsh Marigold

Wake Robin

Small-flowered Crowfoot

Downy Yellow Violet

Yellow Trout Lily

Sessile-leaved Bellwort

Northern Jack-in-the-pulpit

Red-berried Elder

Red Baneberry

American Fly Honeysuckle

Northern Prickly Ash

Northern White Violet

Dwarf Ginseng

Miterwort

Wooly Blue Violet

Happy trails!

Early Spring Woodland Wildflowers

Sunny. No wind. Temps expected in the mid-60s.  The outdoors beckoned me.  What to do?

Without hesitation, I headed to Anchor-Diamond Park at Hawkwood Estate.  This new park (which only opened in late October 2016) is located just north of the intersection of Route 50 and Middleline Road in the Town of Ballston.  Later this year, I will prepare a page on this blog with more info and photos along its several trails.

Today, I continued my ongoing wildflower inventory and the property revealed another 10 species, increasing my total so far to more than 100.

Among those in bloom today –

Trout Lily

Wake Robin

American Fly Honeysuckle

Bloodroot

Coltsfoot

With warm nights now a given and with more sunshine interspersed with rainfall, we can expect to see a dramatic increase in the greening of our landscape along with the occasional splashes of color from emerging blooms as the annual spring progression gains momentum.  Please be sure to take time once a week to take a walk at your favorite local preserve, park or trail and keep a watchful eye as to what is next to emerge and begin blooming.

Happy trails!

Introducing Wildflower Information Stations: Shenantaha Creek Park

Before today’s rains started falling, I placed two Wildflower Information Stations along the nature trail at Shenantaha Creek Park.  For those of you who frequent that park, take a stroll toward the end of the nature trail near the park’s southern boundary (where the overhead powerlines cross the creek).  As you approach that boundary, you’ll notice (for the next couple of weeks) these signs off the left side of the trail.

Wildflower Information Station – Canadian Wild Ginger

Wildflower Information Station – Toothwort

If you have a smartphone, use your QuickRead bar code scanner to download info about each wildflower mentioned at each information station.

As the seasons progresses, one or more signs will be placed elsewhere along the trail to replace these signs to continue to educate visitors about other wildflowers that can be observed at this park.

This is a collaborative project with the Town of Malta Department of Parks, Recreation, and Human Services.  If you observe these signs during a visit, please let me know what you think about your experience.

During my visit, I saw these blooms elsewhere along the trail –

Dutchman’s Breeches

Wake Robin

Leatherwood

Happy trails!

First Post-Blizzard Bloom!

Today’s sunshine beckoned me to take a stroll along the Historic Champlain Canalway Trail in the Town of Waterford.  A number of little green leaves have sprouted up over the past week, but my sighting of these blooms gave me the greatest hope that spring is truly on its way.

Coltsfoot

These were the first blooms I’ve seen since the blizzard that deposited nearly a foot-and-a-half of snow on us in mid-March.  Now that virtually all traces of that snow have disappeared and next week’s temperatures may approach 80 degrees a couple of times, you can count on a rapid greening of the landscape to occur with many more plants unfurling their leaves and more blooms to come.  Stay tuned.

Happy trails!

Think Spring (and Sunshine)!

Would some full color photographs of wildflowers get you believing that spring is coming?  And that the sun may indeed shine once again?

How about adding a few wildflower walks on your calendar over the next few months?

If so, then please check out –

• Early Spring Wildflowers
• Wildflower Field Guides, especially my newest guides for:
  1. Ashford Glen Preserve (Town of Colonie),
  2. Bauer Environmental Park (Town of Colonie),
  3. Old Iron Spring Fitness Trail (Town of Ballston),
  4. Peter Desrochers Memorial Country Knolls Trails (Town of Clifton Park), and
  5. Zim Smith Trail (Towns of Ballston, Clifton Park, Halfmoon and Malta)
• Wildflower Walks and other outdoor spring activities

Happy trails!