The wildflowers at The Pocket are very similar to last time – check out the update from 2/24. However, there were a few additions, including Trout Lily, which is just beginning to bloom.
Trout Lily – Erythronium americanum
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.
It was a beautiful Sunday so my wife and I made a quick trip down to The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain after church to check on the status of the wildflowers. Pretty close to the same plants blooming this time as it was on 02/16, with the primary difference being much more abundant Hepatica, and – the exciting part – a number of Bloodroot just starting to bloom!
Bloodroot Blooming at The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain 02/24/2013
Just under two weeks ago (2/4) I reported that Harbinger of Spring and Hepatica were blooming at The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain, the beginning of an early spring. We made another trip down there today, and things are continuing to develop. This post has the list of what we saw blooming or getting ready to bloom.
Cutleaf Toothwort – Cardamine concatenata – on Feb 16, 2013
On Monday, Feb 4, I took a ride down to The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain with a couple of my grandsons – Chase and Jeff. To a great extent this was to get them out from in front of their computers/video games, but also, since we’ve had such a warm winter, to check to see if there were any early signs of spring. We walked the boardwalk and all the way up to and above the falls. We had a good time, and even though I was expecting some indication that spring is around the corner, I was surprised…
Waterfalls in The Pocket
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.
This is Leap Day. For this once-every-four-years day, I thought that rather than the normal Native Plant of the Day (#NPOD on Twitter) I’d post a few native plants from and a report on the early spring status of the wildflowers at one of Georgia’s premier wildflower locations, The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain. As things worked out, Feb 27 was the day available to make the short trek down to that part of Walker County.
It was a beautiful day. When my wife and I headed down to The Pocket on Monday, Feb 27, 2012, we considered both the beautiful day and the time we were able to spend together a blessing from God. We also expected to find wildflowers, since we’ve had very little real winter and quite a warm February. However, we had no idea!
Bloodroot – Sanguinaria canadensis at The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain
UPDATE 07/12/2017: Effective the first of July, there have been changes to the fee structure:
Original post from 1/30/2012:
I’d been looking for an opportunity to head down to The Pocket to photograph the the leaves of Aplectrum hyemale, which are withered or entirely gone by bloom time in early May. Sunday was a beautiful day, so I headed out after our family lunch for the 20-mile drive. While I was a couple of months late for fresh leaves, it was still a trip of discovery – I discovered that the Crockford-Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area is now a fee area.
Crockford-Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area is now a fee area.
My wife, a grandson, and I took a trip down to Pigeon Mountain to check out an old minesite, but that was just an excuse. We couldn’t avoid a walk around the boardwalk part of Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail. Other than the time with my wife and grandson Joseph, who is learning his wildflowers well, the highlight along the boardwalk for me was the beginning of the wild hyacinth bloom. Photo by Joseph Ibach.
Wild Hyacinth; Atlantic Camas – Camassia scilloides
It was a beautiful day today, and I got to make a brief trip to The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain (with author Jay Clark, but more on that later!) This is just a quick update on what’s blooming now. The dominant species is probably the Bent White Trillium – Trillium flexipes. But read on for more.
White Trillium, Nodding Wakerobin, Nodding Trillium – Trillium flexipes
This is a quick update to Friday’s status on The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain; things change daily during this time of year. Read on for some changes I noticed in a trip we took down there today so my wife could see the Dutchman’s Breeches.
Jack-in-the-Pulpit – Arisaema triphyllum