16 April 2024

Last week was so full of news, from peregrines to floods, that I had to skip my usual “Seen This Week” report. Meanwhile Spring isn’t holding still. Wildflowers are blooming and the early ones have already gone to seed. Here’s a selection of my best photos from last week, April 8-11.

Above and below, three photos from Frick Park. All of these are alien and some are invasive but they are pretty.

• Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), at top, is found in disturbed soil.
• Speedwell’s (Veronica persica) tiny flowers bloom in fields and lawns. A dewdrop dangled above this one from a blade of grass.
• Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna) is abundant along creeks and river banks including Duck Hollow and Nine Mile Run. Very invasive, but pretty, which is why it was imported as a garden plant.

Last Thursday I visited Barking Slopes for just an hour before the rain chased me away. Even though I didn’t have much time I saw more than 15 species in bloom including:

• Large-flowered trillium (Trillium grandiflorum)
• Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)
• Trout lily (Erythronium americanum)
• Northern Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum giganteum) has chocolate colored flowers. The fruits are blue.
• Large-flowered bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora)
• Star chickweed (Stellaria pubera)

Spring is here! Get outdoors so you don’t miss it.

(all photos by Kate St. John)