Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Wet Wednesday Walk

It's been a wet day making it difficult to take a mid-March walk.

The first leaves of Oregon Blue Iris (Iris tenax) are appearing.

Some of the earliest shrubs are green up too.

The creeks continue to run high and strong.

We have a nice patch of Common Camas (Cammassia quamash) near our gate. They will bloom in May.

Not sure what kind of Trillium this is. I'll be able to tell when it blooms.

Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum) pops up bright green in February. These plants can grow to over 6' before they bloom.  

Wow!  I'm surprised to find Western Trilliums (Trillium Ovatum -) already in bloom.

The bloom of Western Trilliums is held on a stalk above the leaves. The flowers of Small Flowered Trilliums rest right atop the leaves. 

Soon the white chandelier flowers of the Osoberry (Oemleria cerasiformis) will be in bloom and the hummingbirds will be thrilled! 

The extremely poisonous Corn Lilies (Veratrum californicum) are popping up too.

This photo shows the swampy conditions they need to thrive.

Here are the distinctive leaves of a Lupin.

The green flowers of Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium) will turn bright yellow when they mature. The fruit is purple, thus the plant's common name. 

Grand Hound Tongue (Mahonia aquifolium) is named for the shape of the leaves.  Despite its less than pretty name, it has lovely large forget-me-not blue flowers.

I hope you enjoyed today's walk - especially those of you who still have snow on the ground.

5 comments:

  1. I did enjoy the walk. Things are beginning to look a bit like spring up here too. We still have lots of rain but the temps are warmer.

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  2. Yes, I enjoyed it very much! The trillium are lovely there. We still have snow on the ground & below zero temperatures.

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  3. Springtime! What a lovely walk, Beth - thank you! (from one of those with snow on the ground)

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  4. Always love seeing the trillium, Beth! Still have a teeny bit of snow here, but it should be gone by Monday--the first day of SPRING!!

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  5. How beautiful!
    Years ago, we attended a convention in Seattle and my spouse gift was a little metal trillium sculpture. It looks exactly like your photos! I've always liked it.

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Thank you all. I appreciate that you've read my blog and are taking the time to comment.