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.

The white bent trillium is in decline; fine specimens can still be found, but you must look for them.  An occasional splash of yellow along the hillside marks a late blossoming wood (Celandine) poppy, but most plants have well-developed seedpods.  The occasional geranium, purple phacelia, and blue phlox are still easy to spot.  The hyacinth is in decline but it’s still easy to find nice clusters.  

Jack-in-the-pulpit also are quite apparent along the trail, and while the blue phlox is in decline, smooth phlox are just beginning their bloom.  Following is my species listing report:

• Baneberry:  Along the Shirley Miller  Wildflower Trail boardwalk, they are  finished blooming, but the development of the “doll’s eyes” – the poisonous berries – might be worth following.
• Bellwort:  Blossoms are gone.
• Blue cohosh:  The berries are forming.
• Blue-eyed grass:  Abundant along the horse trail.  These little splashes of blue are worth a closer look.
• Blue phlox:  Still beautiful in the surrounding forest, but fewer and fewer plants are to be found.
• Chickweed:  Not easy to find. 
• Columbine:  These are gone along the Shirley Miller Trail side of the waterfalls, but a few were still blooming along the cliffs to the sides of the falls.
• Dwarf Cinquefoil:  This is blooming along the trail above the falls.
• Foamflower:  All I saw had gone to seed.  
• Hyacinth:  Past peak, but still plentiful.
• Iris:  A few good specimens of crested dwarf iris remain along the horse trail.
• Jack in the Pulpit:  “Peak continues!”  Many fully-formed plants along the boardwalk and elsewhere in the vicinity.  If you gently lift the “lid” on the pulpit, you can see the tiny flowers at the base of the spathe.
• Mandarin:  Blossoms are gone.
• Miterwort:  There are some still hanging in there. 
• Pink Azalea:   This beautiful shrub is blooming in the forest in the vicinity of The Pocket, well north of the parking are.
• Purple phacelia: A few of these are still blooming, but harder to find. 
• Rue anemone:  Just a few small ones remain.
• Smooth Phlox:  There is a colony of this beautiful plant just beginning its bloom along the driveway down to the boardwalk.

• Solomon’s seal:  For most plants, the buds haven’t opened, but there were a couple of plants with one or two blossoms just opened.
• Stonecrop:  Still abundant.
• Squawroot:  This very interesting plant nearing the end of the bloom period; most flowers are turning brown.
• Sweet Cicely:  The most abundant flowering species along the boardwalk.
• Toadshade / Sweet Betsy:  The blosssoms are showing their age. 
• Toothworts:  I didn’t notice these on this trip. 
• Trailing trillium:  Still abundant, but definitely showing their age.
• Trillium (White):  Bent trillium – Trillium flexipes – well past their peak, but beautiful specimens can be found.
• Wild geranium:  Just a few remain.
• Wood Betony:  The few remaining blossoms are drying up. 
• Wood (celandine) poppy: Just a few blossoms remain. 
• Wood Sorrel:  Violet wood sorrel has been blooming for several weeks; I apparently left them off the list.  This is a lovely plant.
• Violets:  I saw a couple yellow violets, and only one or two common blue violets.  The Canada violet is still a dominant species along the boardwalk.  The long-spurred violet seemed to be gone.
  • Canada violets
  • Common blue violet
  • Downy yellow violet
  • Long-spurred violets