Rue Anemone – Native Plant of the Day 03/15/2024
Photo from March 18, 2009. Location: The Pocket, Walker County, GA.
More photos / info at the Thalictrum thalictroides detail page.
Rue Anemone – Thalictrum thalictroides
This has been a VERY wet late winter, and cold the last several days. Today (Thursday, 03/07/2019) had a confluence of sunshine, warm temps (low 50’s), and the threat of more rain starting tomorrow, so I made a run down to The Pocket. Unfortunately a significant part of the Shirley Miller Trail, including the boardwalk extension and the trail from the end of the boardwalk to the falls, is closed. Many of the spring wildflowers (Dutchmen’s Breeches, Doll’s Eyes, Bishop’s Cap come to mind immediately) are found along that section, so I won’t know when they are blooming. That being said, I counted 14 species blooming in the area north of the parking lot, the boardwalk loop, and along the Pocket Loop Trail (the “horse trail” that leads to the camping area above the falls, not to be confused with the boardwalk loop on the Shirley Miller Trail.) I’m not sure if this latter area (Pocket Loop Trail) is officially closed or not. If not, I half expect it to happen, since the trail crosses the part area of the hillside which is slipping, causing trees to fall onto the boardwalk below.
The Shirley Miller Trail boardwalk extension is closed “indefinitely”
As reported a month back, Hepatica, Harbinger-of-Spring, and a Star Chickweed were blooming at The Pocket at the end of January as a result of our unusually warm winter. We had some cold weather in February, and nothing much had changed in mid-February. My wife and I were out of town for a couple of weeks, so when we returned yesterday, I was anxious to see what had developed in our absence. While the boardwalk itself doesn’t show too much action, there is a lot that is cranking up both on the trail to the bottom of the falls past the end of the boardwalk and on the Pocket Loop Trail (aka the horse trail) up to the top of the falls.
Bloodroot – Sanguinaria canadensis
Yes, Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is blooming along the horse trail – I haven’t see it this early in four years, implying (as expected) an early spring this year.
Rainy days… Tired of them. Sunday, 3/15/2015, promised to be beautiful, and it delivered. During the week I got an email from someone mentioning seeing some spring wildflowers at Elsie Holmes Nature Park near Ringgold, Georgia (Thanks, Jane!). I had heard of this park before, and had it on my “someday” list, so my wife and I decided to head over there after lunch with some grandkids at Clyde’s on Main. Great place! (Both Clyde’s and Elsie Holmes Park.)
Hepatica bloom on the descent to South Chickamauga Creek
Yesterday (3/27) was one of the rare days this spring – mostly clear skies and warmer weather – into the 60’s. As a plus a couple of my grandkids wanted to join me, so a great time at The Pocket was guaranteed. Several of the “signature species” at The Pocket – Virginia Bluebell, Wood (Celandine) Poppy, Dutchman’s Breeches (or, as my grandson called them, “Upside Down Pants from Holland), Trout Lily are blooming right now. I’m developing a checklist to use so I won’t have to photograph or remember what all is blooming, and of the 51 species on my current version of the checklist, 25 are blooming right now.
Trailing Trillium – Trillium decumbens
For the rest of the story…
My wife and I were passing through Toccoa Falls, Georgia on Saturday, March 22, heading back home from Devil’s Fork State Park in South Carolina, and decided to stop in to see the namesake waterfalls. My sister had attended Toccoa Falls College in the 1960’s, and a friend of my daughter’s family from Papua New Guinea is attending there now, so we knew the waterfalls was on the campus of the college. We stopped at the guard’s gate for directions – straight down the road until we come to the gift shop in the Gate Cottage. Access to the falls is through the gift shop, paying a small fee – $2 for most adults, $1 each for those of us over the age of 60. A short walk of about 100 yards up a nice trail along Toccoa Creek brings you to a view of the 186′ waterfalls.
Toccoa Falls on the campus of Toccoa Falls College in Georgia
While the weather is keeping things slow, things are picking up at The Pocket. Several species have started blooming, and even more are “almost there.” Checking last year’s reports, we’re tracking pretty close to 3/10/2013. The big excitement for me today was finding that a few Dutchman’s Breeches have started blooming.
Dutchman’s Breeches – Dicentra cucullaria
Read on for a more complete update…
Saturday, March 14, 2014 was a beautiful day with perfect morning temperatures for hiking, and fortunately my grandson Philip had asked me to take him for a hike, so around 9 AM we headed out from Camp Vesper Point for a visit to the nearby North Chickamauga Creek Gorge State Natural Area. This was my grandson’s first visit to the North Chick, and I hadn’t been there in many years, so while I was hoping for wildflowers, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Sweet Betsy – Trillium cuneatum – were plentiful, but just beginning to bloom.
It was a cloudy and dreary day today, following a lot of rain yesterday and last night, but Cindy and I made a quick run down to The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain again today to keep from being cooped up in the house another day. We were glad we did – the yellow and blue are out – Bluebells and Wood Poppies are blooming!
Virginia Bluebells – Mertensia virginica
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.
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