Wildflower Drive, Photos by Ed

This morning started with the delightful sight of the tree swallows chasing the red squirrel from the garden.  They will swoop on anything and with their flying skill they get your attention.  It was fun to watch them chase him to the woods.  Both Ed and I spent the morning in the garden.  There is too much to do, but with the scent of clove currant in the air just being in the garden  was a pleasure.  For a relaxing break after lunch, we decided to drive by our favorite wildflower spot.  It's a great place to see a lot of wildflowers in a short time  without getting out of the car.  The unpaved road runs along the bottom of the posted and wildflower covered hill.  I had the fabulous view and Ed hopped out of the truck to take pictures from the ditch.  This lovely yellow plant is marsh marigold.  We have long thought about getting this plant to put back by the pond.  We did that with yellow flag and it really took hold.  I wonder if this one is a good choice?

Usually the wildflower hill is covered with white trilliums. There seem to be fewer flowers and their stems are shorter than in past years.  Even though the area is still much wetter than home, I think the lack of rain is having an impact.

We do have red trilliums in the woods at home.  Here the advantage of being at the base of the hill makes taking photographs easier.

I wonder if we have missed the trout lilies at home.  Here they seem to have finished blooming.  This plant has lost most of its petals leaving a swelling seed capsule.  This hill does get more direct sun so we might still have a chance.

Partridge berry grows at home too.  Here Ed got a great picture of the two navels on the red berry.  They are formed by two paired white  flowers.  These berries are from last year. Partridge berry  flowers bloom later in June or July.

This seed head belongs to a colts foot plant.  The yellow flowers are beginning to go and the leaves are starting to appear.  There was just one seed head still intact. The wind scatters the seed like dandelions.

Ed got a great picture of this flower.  A search of four of our wild flower books has yet to reveal the name of this plant.

We saw several clumps of these beautiful violets.

The foam flower is just starting to bloom.

These yellow violets are another plant that we would love to own.  I bought some yellow violets at a native plant place and they are nice, but they are not the same as these.

Red elderberry grows at home too.  This is a small plant.  It can grow into a fairly large shrub.

Break over, we headed home and back to work.  Ed had things he wanted to finish before the rain.  Our garden has become dusty and dry.  It is raining now and we are grateful .