The Root Of It All

 

There is always something to be thankful for... 

Wild Orange Azalea Bush

The woods are bursting with color!

This is a gorgeous wild Orange Azalea Bush. Also know as Mountain Azalea, Wild Azalea and Honeysuckle Azalea. It has showy fragrant flowers.

 

They are woody shrubs that thrive in semi-shade and their twigs are reddish-brown in the winter. They usually grow 8-10 feet high and bloom during March,  April and May. Wooded bluffs and woodland streams are their native habitat

 

 

 

 

 

  

Hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies are attracted to the sweet smelling clusters of flowers.

Make A Wish

Make a wish! For the magic to be at its best you must blow all the seeds off with one breath!

Each time you wish upon a dandelion you are sending anywhere from 54 to 172 seeds into the air.

It is said that the 3 phases of a dandelion represent the sun, moon and stars. The yellow flower represents the sun, the white puff ball represents the moon and the dispersing seeds represent the stars.

  May all your wishes come true!

Off My Bookshelf

Tiny Woodland Flowers

Needle Pointed Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium Mucronatum) - 
Contrary to its common name, it is not a grass, The low growing, narrow leaves do have a grass-like appearance, thus the common name. The dainty, deep blue to violet flowers open one at a time.  The star shaped blooms are under 3/4" across. At the tip of each rounded petal or sepal is a needle like tip, thus its common name of Needle-tip Blue-eyed grass. Flowers close in the late afternoon to evening and open again in the morning.  Its native habitat includes forests, woodlands, fields, meadows, and along ponds and streams.

Spreading Fleabane (Erigeron Diverens) - Is a flowering plant in the daisy and sunflower  family. It has small, attractive daisy like flowers with up to 150 ray flowers, giving the round flower head a frilly look. The plump yellow or greenish-yellow centers are made up of tiny disk flowers.
It is a plant of many habitats from desert to low-elevation mountains.

Creeping Buttercup - The common buttercup found in damp places on grassland, along woodland and field edges. Its long, rooting runners helping it to spread across lawns. This golden-cupped flower is a childhood favorite: if a yellow reflection appears when it is held up to the chin, it is considered as a sign
that the person likes butter.

Rose Trillium

Sometimes called the Nodding Trillium. The flowers nod beneath the petals with a hue of pastel pink or rose. Trilliums, as the name implies have everything in 3's-three leaves, three petals. It is one of the wildflowers whose seeds are distributed by ants. The Trilliums are now recognized as precious and special although they are not officially endangered. In many areas Trilliums are still very common. The Trillium is very slow growing, it takes decades to establish a healthy colony. If left undisturbed it will spread by creeping rootstocks to create a carpet of early spring flowers on the forest floor. It can also propagate by seed but this is even slower.

Wild Blackberry Bush

A wonderful time to be exploring outdoors! So much new growth! In our backyard we have a wild blackberry bush blooming. The blackberries have showy flowers that range in color from pink to white and occur singly or in clusters at the end of shoots.

 

 

Each flower is about 1 inch across with 5 petals. The fruits are red to black in color, edible, and tasty when ripe if you can get there before the birds and the deer! Beware the stems are thorny!