Orange Coneflower – Native Plant of the Day 01/25/2017
Photo from Oct 15, 2009. Location: The Pocket, Walker County, GA.
More photos / info at the Rudbeckia fulgida detail page.
Orange Coneflower – Rudbeckia fulgida
Field Pansy – Native Plant of the Day 12/22/2016
Photo from 3/16/2013. Location: The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain, Walker County, GA.
More photos / info at the Hybanthus concolor detail page.
Field Pansy – Viola bicolor
Tulip Poplar – Native Plant of the Day 11/10/2016
Photo from 5/13/2008. Location: The Pocket, Walker County, GA.
More photos / info at the Liriodendron tulipifera detail page.
Tulip Poplar, Yellow Poplar, Tuliptree, Tulip Magnolia – Liriodendron tulipifera
Fourleaf Milkweed – Native Plant of the Day 07/06/2017
Photo from 05/13/2008. Location: The Pocket, Walker County, Ga.
More photos / info at the Asclepias quadrifolia detail page.
Fourleaf Milkweed – Asclepias quadrifolia
Whiteflower Leafcup – Native Plant of the Day 05/20/2016
Photo from 06/06/2009. Location: The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain, Walker County, Ga. More photos / info at the Polymnia canadensis detail page.
Whiteflower Leafcup – Polymnia canadensis
Another hiatus from The Pocket of almost 2 weeks. Repeating from the last report – “Even more species are blooming now than two weeks ago.” This time I counted 40 species blooming, including one I don’t recall ever seeing down there before – Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata.) But the show is the massive display of Bent White Trillium (Trillium flexipes) – nearly every plant I saw had an open blossom, and the hillside was covered with them in many places.
Bent White Trillium – Trillium flexipes
Cutleaf Toothwort – Native Plant of the Day 03/16/2016
Photo from March 7, 2009. Location: The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain, Walker County, GA. More photos / info at the Cardamine concatenata detail page.
Cutleaf Toothwort – Cardamine concatenata
The warm weather has continued, along with a fair bit of rain. It’s been 10 days since my last trip to The Pocket (3/2), and I was expecting some significant changes in what was blooming. Some news – the Harbinger-of-Spring is almost gone. However, that’s not the only news… Wait for it…
Wood Poppy – Stylophorum diphyllum
Not just the Wood Poppy…
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.
As reported a couple of weeks ago, we’ve had a VERY warm winter, with Hepatica and Harbinger of Spring blooming when I visited The Pocket on January 30 – the earliest I’ve ever seen native wildflowers blooming at The Pocket. We finally had some “real winter” in the weeks since then, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I visited The Pocket today. That cold snap slowed things down, but there is some progress. If your “thing” is to see Harbinger of Spring at peak, or to see the waterfalls with a really good flow, this is a good time to visit The Pocket.
Harbinger-of-Spring – Erigenia bulbosa