Last Sunday, 26 March 2017, I visited Raccoon Creek State Park’s Wildflower Reserve to see the newest flowers.

The woods were brown and the sky was gray so I had to look closely to find small signs of spring.

(Winter floods scraped the creekside vegetation. Click on the creek photo above to see.)

Harbinger of spring (Erigenia bulbosa) was opening its tiny salt-and-pepper flowers, shown at top and below.

It was fun to find blue flowers in the grass:  corn speedwell (Veronica arvensis), a non-native.  Our earliest spring natives aren’t this bright.

Snow trillium (Trillium nivale) was past its prime.

Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) was blooming everywhere.  This one is surrounded by garlic mustard. 🙁

Round-lobed hepatica (Hepatica nobilis) bloomed among old oak leaves.

And cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) was in bud on the south facing Jennings Trail near Shafers Rock.  I’m sure it will bloom this week.

(photos by Kate St. John)