One of the greatest delights of my daily excursions into God’s glorious nature is watching the changing vista of wildflowers, from the first early spring blooms to the last remaining survivors of the late fall. I’d like all nature lovers here to share with the rest of us what wildflowers you see on your forays into your special part of nature.

Up here in the north, prime time for wildflowers is past, but I am still seeing a few fresh blossoms of chicory, wild carrot (Queen Anne’s lace to some of you), aster, and red clover here and there, and wintercress on the banks of the creek. And there are at least a couple of members on this forum who live in the southern hemisphere, where spring is now nicely under way.

So, all you northerners, pay attention next time you go out, and please tell us which wildflowers you are still enjoying. And you in the southern hemisphere, please tell us what flowers are blooming now, and continue to keep us up to date on the new ones as they appear, which we will do in our turn, when spring returns to the cold north country.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

Having the misfortune of now living in town rather than in the country (where I'd rather be), there are few wild flowers with the exception of the dandelions which are still blooming. What has amazed me is that after several good frosts the roses we set out this year are still blooming! And they aren't in a protected area. They're right where I can see them on top of the retaining wall outside the back door. They may not be wild, but I'm glad they're still blooming.

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Even so come, Lord Jesus
Linda

I have seen some Queen Anns lace, and a few daisies that have made it past the early frost, we have a flower that was given to us that is still blooming [no idea what it is, have to ask the better half] have been thinking spring since the first frost.
Happy Sabbath.

The violets where I live have 2 blooming seasons. In late fall my lawnmower still misses them.

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Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

Don't let yesterday's mistakes trouble you, nor tomorrow's fears spoil your day.

Pastor Andrew

I haven't seen any wildflowers in bloom yet, but some of you may have by now. Everyone be sure to share your sightings with us here!

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

I saw my very first spring wildflowers today. I almost missed them, they were so tiny and blended so well with their surroundings. They were toothwort, dutchman's breeches, and another I do not know. I will take my field guide with me tomorrow and see if I can find out what it is. I hope they will still be blooming - some of those very early spring flowers don't last long at all.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

[This message has been edited by Cathy Sears (edited April 14, 2001).]

I finally found out what those unknown flowers are - they are called spring beauties. They only open up in bright light, and there isn't much of that in the woods where they are. But today I saw them open, and was finally able to identify them.

The catmint is now beginning to bud, and it looks so beautiful with its tiny pink buds and dark reddish foliage. At the edge of the woods, I saw the very first adderstongue to bloom. There is plenty of it coming up in the woods, but no other blooming specimens yet. They may have been blooming for several days now, for all I know, but since I got my camera, I have been so busy taking pictures on my walks that I have not made it past the corner only one mile from home for over a week. I finally finished photographing all of the moss and flowers that are blooming now, so was able to go on farther today.

I also saw the first dandelion in my yard today, and I guess that counts too.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

[This message has been edited by Cathy Sears (edited April 19, 2001).]

Thursday I saw the first trilliums blooming in the woods. And today I found some very tiny purple flowers, no more than 2 inches high, in the meadow. The flowers look just like jewelweed, except for the color and the size of the plants. I don't know what they are, but am going to try to find out.

On our way home from church today, we saw some yellow flowers growing in the edge of the swamp the road passes through. I have never seen them before, and will have to identify them too. I am enjoying learning new flowers lately, and being able to photograph them.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

I found out that the yellow flowers growing in the edge of the swamp are buttercups. I still don't know what the tiny purple flowers are, though. Maybe once I get the photo back, I can post it and someone else here will know what it is?

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

Those first wildflowers of the year are gone now, but the new varieties taking their place are increasing by leaps and bounds. I borrowed a field guide from the library, which I have found to be much more helpful than the one I own, so I have been able to identify every one of them.

The tiny purple flowers I mentioned previously are called ground-ivy, or gill on the ground. And I was finally able to positively identify the one I referred to as catmint. We grew up calling it catnip, but when I learned as an adult that it wasn’t, I thought it might be catmint, which I had heard of but hadn’t seen. It is definitely a member of the mint family, and it makes the cats act strange when you rub it on their noses, just like catnip (which we used to do when we were kids – the reason we called it catnip). But its name is actually dead-nettle. It comes in white and pink/purple, and we have the pink variety here. It grows all over the place, in the open.

In the yard and meadow we have lots of violets, in both purple and yellow, along with wintercress, while the creek bank is full of garlic mustard, with some wintercress there too. Wild geraniums are growing both in the meadows and in the woods, and there is a good-sized patch of wild pinks at the edge of the woods. The woods themselves are seeing the first jack in the pulpit and white baneberry. More flowers are coming. I only hope I can keep up with all of them!

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.