Update on #Wildflowers at The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain 03/29/2013

It’s only been 5 days since my last report, but it’s been a rough week and it looks like I won’t be able to get away over the weekend.  While wildflower photography can be more physically demanding than most people would think, I find it a great way to get away from stress for a while, so I took a few hours for a visit – it was great.  Among the new flowers beginning to bloom in the past 5 days are the prettiest of the Fleabanes we have in this area – Robin’s Plantain.

Robin’s Plantain – Erigeron pulchellus

Read on for the rest of the list, and a few more photos.  Click on the photos for larger images, and then “back” to return to this page.

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#NPOD: Eastern Columbine #Nativeplants

Native Plant of the Day 03/17/2013

Photo from April 4, 2009. Location: The Pocket, Walker County, Ga.

Eastern Columbine – for more photos / info go to the  Aquilegia canadensis detail page.

Eastern Red Columbine, Wild Columbine – Aquilegia canadensis

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Wildflowers at The Pocket 03/11/2012

Purple Phacelia, Fernleaf Phacelia – Phacelia bipinnatifida

I wasn’t planning on going down to The Pocket this weekend, but my wife had other plans for Sunday, so she suggested that I do something to take advantage of the beautiful day, so I headed down there shortly after getting home from church.  In addition to walking the boardwalk and the trail up to the falls, I did a little back country walking above the bluff north of the horse trail.  Wildflowers are abundant; here is my report, and a couple of photos taken off the beaten path in The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain.

The Phacelia are blooming.  There is a Phacelia in the field to the right as you walk down to the boardwalk; they are blooming along the boardwalk and all the way up to the falls.  The photo above was taken up on the top of the north bluff.

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Cultivated Columbine #Nativeplants from last year’s @NatureCenter Plant Sale

On our trip down to The Pocket last weekend, the Columbine plants I saw were only a few inches high with some of their early leaves – no flower buds yet forming.  The plant we got at last year’s Native Plant Sale at the Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center ( @NatureCenter on Twitter), however, is starting to bloom.  This picture is from today.

Cultivated Eastern Red Columbine - Aquilegia canadensis

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The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain – Mid-March Report

I was excited to see my first Columbine of the season in bloom.  Several plants were forming their blossoms, like in the photo here, but one plant along the horse trail had several blossoms open.  Read on for the full list of what I remember blooming today.

Eastern Red Columbine, Wild Columbine – Aquilegia canadensis

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04/14/2010 Wildflower Status Update on The Pocket

Work and grandkid schedule have left time only for a quick trip down to The Pocket on Wednesday evening.  My primary purpose was to determine if the Bellwort down there is Large-flowered or Perfoliate (mission accomplished.)  We also took a spin around the boardwalk and made a trip north of the parking area, but did not get up the horse trail toward the falls, so I’m unable to update the status of flowers found along that trail.

Wild Geranium - Geranium maculatum

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04/06/2010 Wildflower Status Update at The Pocket on Pigeon Mountain

We made a quick trip down to The Pocket on Tuesday evening.  We made a short 100-yard walk up the horse trail and took a spin around the boardwalk, so I’m unable to update the status of flowers found along the trail to the falls, but here’s what I’ve got.

Wild Blue Phlox from 04/06/2010

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04/01/2010 The Pocket Status Update

In summary: This will be a good weekend at The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain, especially since tomorrow is forecast to be sunny and warm, as was today. 

Aquilegia canadensis - Columbine from 04/01/2010

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04/25/2009 The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain

For those who were hoping for, as Ed Sullivan would have put it, “A Really Big Shew,” the time has passed in 2009.  However, that is relative to The Pocket, and the abundance of wildflowers still exceed what you’ll find in many areas.  While the dominant flower along the Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail seems to be Sweet Cicely right now, a species that isn’t exactly ‘showy,’ several of the “signature species” could still be found on Saturday, 4/25.

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04/17/2009: The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain

Cindy and I headed down to The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain around 4:30 Friday afternoon.  I knew the light would be failing on the Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail soon after we arrived, but I was committed for Saturday, and wanted to make sure I was able to make a weekly report on the wildflower status during the spring season.  If you’re into watching the seed-formation process, this is a good time for you.  There is still an abundance of wildflowers in The Pocket, making a trip absolutely worthwhile, but of the “signature flowers,” Virginia bluebell and wood poppy are past blooming or almost so, and the bent trillium is abundant but in decline.  The dominant species in the boardwalk area is probably the wild hyacinth, with the wild geranium still providing a pink splash around much of the trail. 

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04/11/2009 The Pocket – Status Update

To avoid crowds like those that were on the Shirley Miller Trail at The Pocket on Pigeon Mountain last week, I headed down there early Saturday morning, arriving at the parking area shortly after 8 AM. The sky was overcast, but the wind was low – a good situation for wildflower photography. My first stop was the dogwood tree beside the parking area.

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04/04/2009 The Pocket – CVPC Keenagers

Due to rain and obligations, it had been 9 days since I’d been down to The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain. Today was the Chattanooga Valley Presbyterian Church’s Keen-agers’ annual (I think) wildflower hike at The Pocket, so at 10 AM I joined the other folks in my age group at the church, and soon we headed on down to Pigeon Mountain. I returned from the hike with 381 photographs; two of them with people in them. After an initial run through the photographs, I’ve deleted about 150 of them; both photos of people remain.

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