Hi Ramblers!
It's been almost a year since out last Ramble and I wanted to encourage you to come out to the Garden. Today Emily and I walked the Orange Trail and the Dunson Garden just to see what what was flowering.
You can find the flowers that are likely to be blooming by using the blog archives and looking at previous Ramble Reports. All the photos in this post were taken by Don Hunter in early March on a previous Ramble. See if you can find when they were taken. (Hint: use the Blog Archive feature on the right hand side of this page.)
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| A group of Rue Anemone in bloom. |
Orange Trail: If you start from the parking lot and walk toward the river you will cross two small bridges over areas where there has been runoff erosion. After the second of these bridges keep your eyes on the left hand side of the trail. You'll see scattered Rue Anemone and some Bloodroot coming up. Just one or two to start with, then more as you go further along the trail.
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| A solitary Bloodroot blossom. |
Further down the trail is the large bridge that spans the creek. Downstream from that bridge, on the Orange Trail, look to your right. On the far side of the creek the hillside is covered with a hundred or more Bloodroots in bloom. We've never seen so many Bloodroots in that location before. You'll be tempted to cross the creek on some large boulders to get a closer look. DON'T DO THIS. The footing is precarious and a fall could result in serious injury. Bring binoculars to safely view the Bloodroots at this location..
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| Virginia Bluebells are starting to bloom in the Dunson Garden. |
Dunson Garden: Lots of spring wildflowers are coming up and many are starting to bloom. Today we found: Virginia Bluebells, several Trilliums, Trout Lillies, Green-and-Gold, Leatherwood, Spicebush and Toothworts.
Remember: Wildflowers open when it's warm, so you should avoid the cooler hours of morning and come out when it's nice and sunny.
The Future: We are currently discussing when and how we can safely resume our rambles. When we come to a decision we'll let you know.
Until then, Keep on Ramblin'
Dale
