A meander up the mountain two days ago. The Trilliums would be blooming. I found them, white turning to soft, delicate pink. Always special. But I noticed a small tree full of airy blooms way up there near where I usually turn around. Flowers I didn’t recognize. As is my custom I took photos and brought them back home and began the research. Just my thing. I always love a mystery. It didn’t take too much time and I had figured it out. The airy blooms are American Plum (Prunus americana).
The airy look of the blooms created by a pistil with a lengthy style, and many long stamens. Looking feathery and soft. Leaves are just beginning to peek out.
The American Plum is a small tree or shrub. It’s widespread and native to North America from Saskatchewan and Idaho south to New Mexico and east to Québec, Maine and Florida. If you look carefully in this photo, you’ll see it has many thorns, though not terribly sharp, thank goodness. I’m going to be watching as spring turns to summer hoping to see the plums that develop.
A wonderful sight in late June early July. Blooms of Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) when there are few other flowers blooming in the woods.
Black Cohosh is a herbaceous perennial native to eastern North America. Quite plentiful here in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Rising above their leaves on tall stems to six or eight feet. Those clusters of flowers on their tall stems make me think of spirits of long ago residents of these mountains. Spirits from the past, back again to look over their land, their roots. Watching to see that we care for their mountains with love and wisdom.
Right now, in late April, leaves of Black Cohosh have reached up from their underground rhizomes. Extending to a height of two or two and a half feet. Leaves waiting. Waiting for tall stems to form.
Tall stems that in turn form racemes. (A raceme is a flower cluster with the separate flowers attached by short equal stalks at equal distances along a central stem.) The stems can grow to be six or seven feet tall, and the portion of it that is the raceme, can be about twenty inches.
Flowers without petals, without sepals. Many long stamens surrounding a stigma, all snow white. The flowers have a unique unpleasant aroma that attracts flies, gnats, beetles, bees and some butterflies. Both the Spring Azure Butterfly and the Appalachian Azure Butterfly rely on Black Cohosh as its larval host.
I’m looking forward summer and greeting these visions of the past.
It’s not native, which often means, “Do I really want this plant?” But this one brings with it such a charming color. A color that just twinkles with delight.
This is a Deptford Pink (Dianthus armeria). And that is an itty bitty Crab Spider perched on one of its five white speckled petals. This flower is just one half inch across. Really an minuscule spider!
Deptford Pink is not an invasive. The word invasive would be inappropriate for this dainty flower. It just shows up from time to time, not in an offensive sort of way, but in a timid, cautious way.
Right now on April 23, small plants of Deptford Pink are just beginning to come up. Opposite leaves that are long and quite narrow. When I see one coming up I cheer it on. Welcome it wherever it is found. It’s a tall slender plant growing up to two feet tall though I rarely see any that tall. Often I’ll only see one bloom at a time. An annual, biennial or short-lived perennial.
Both the Cabbage White Butterfly and the Deptford Pink are native to Europe. The flowers bloom from June to September. Opening in the morning and closing in the late afternoon. Dots rich in pink sprinkled across the landscape. Something to look forward to.
It is said, by those that seem to know, that after the first male Ruby-throated Hummingbird arrives in the spring, the first female with arrive in seven to ten days. Well it did indeed happen. My first male arrived on April 14 and today, April 22, the first female has arrived.
It got down to 31° last night and flurries were flying. And now, this afternoon more flurries are coming down. What a welcome for the hummingbirds.
But in the blink of an eye the Obedient Plants will be blooming and soon after, the Scarlet Bee Balm with be summoning the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Calling to them with one word they won’t be able to resist. Nectar.
Apple blossoms. What a fragrant delight. And they bring in a host of visitors that provide great entertainment just to sit and watch. It’s been really breezy today. Petals have been flying like snow. Apple blossom season won’t last much longer.
Tiger Swallowtails (Papilio glaucus) are one of the many species of butterflies that make the apple tree seem alive with action. Both nectar and pollen lure the insects in.
Another of the insects that answer the apple blossoms call are moths. This one, a Nessus Sphinx Moth (Amphion floridensis).
Birds get the call too. This is a female or juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) that uses the branches of the apple tree as a resting spot. In this image it’s sitting on a grapevine with the apple blossoms in the background. I’m wondering, if I’ll find a hummingbird nest in the apple tree if I search carefully.
This a Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum). What a surprise I had to see these birds eating the blossom petals. Amazing to find that they enjoy eating the petals.
A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) is making sap wells in the apple tree’s bark. This enables them to consume both the sap that collects and insects that are also attracted. The sap wells are the very small round holes in the bark. If you look closely you can see claw marks from bears climbing the tree.
After the blooms come the apples and the bears. I guess this critter thinks that the apples are his to be taken. This is a yearly tradition. I sure appreciate the bear coming by for a photo op.
Popping up with their bright pink petals on trail edges. Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum), an herbaceous perennial native to eastern North America.
Before they send up their buds Wild Geranium looks like this. The leaves are palmate with five sizable lobes. The leaves also have smaller lobes and jagged edges. This is what you need to watch for if you want to find Wild Geranium before the blossoms.
Pollinators of Wild Geraniums are many types of bees, including honey bees, bumblebees, and mason bees, flies such as syrphid flies, and butterflies and skippers.
Normally I see small groups of these flowers blooming their hearts out sending good vibes. This must be a particularly content bunch of Wild Geranium bundled together at the edge of a trail.
So many blooms. So many different species of flowers and trees celebrating spring. All calling to me to join in the revelry.
A large bush that I’ve been delighted to find is Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium). It’s growing by my backdoor, and there’s lots of it growing in the woods all around my cabin.
The leaves of Blackhaw emerge from the buds involute, or curled as a spiral. The mature, glossy, opposite leaves are three to four inches long and one inch wide with fine serrations and pointed at the end. The petioles, or stems, of the leaves are a reddish color. In the autumn the leaves turn a purply-red.
Soon my bush will have buds. Buds that will become clusters of fragrant flowers four to five inches across. Flowers that will attract bees and flies to do their pollination magic.
Blackhaw Viburnum is the host plant of Spring and Summer Azure butterflies. The later caterpillar instars of the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly occasionally feed on its leaves. Oh I wish I’d see a Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly! I’ve seen their caterpillars while pulling invasives in Shenandoah National Park. Never the adult though.
Its fruits, called drupes, are about one half inch long. They’re eaten by songbirds, gamebirds, squirrels and chipmunks.
As a tree Blackhaw Viburnum can grow to be thirty feet tall. Its bark blocky in a Persimmon tree sort of way. Large bush, small tree, all in all a mighty cool plant.
A super ground cover that is holding up my back hill, keeping it from washing away. And such a splendid glowing yellow. Bright colors tend to win my heart. Green and Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) is a perennial herb with opposite, oval, hairy leaves, blooming from early spring into late autumn though its peak bloom is in May. I can count on finding blooms most any time with the exception of winter.
Native to woodland areas from Pennsylvania to the Florida Panhandle and Louisiana.
Bees and butterflies, such as this Clouded/Orange Sulphur, get the pollinating done. Songbirds are attracted to the seeds that develop.
Wild Geraniums with their blushing pink decided to plunk themselves down in front of the Green and Gold plants on the back hill. I’m so glad it volunteered. A charming color combination.
Special occasions call for special things to happen in the kitchen. That’s why there’s blueberry pie just out of the oven. For dessert after dinner tonight.
I make my crust from scratch. I think I could make the crust in my sleep. It’s very simple, very easy. For me anyway. Here’s the recipe.
Pie Crust for a 9” two crust pie or two 9” crusts
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup shortening
1 teaspoon salt
4 or 5 tablespoon COLD water
Blend together flour, salt and shortening with a pastry blender or two knives.
Add 4 tablespoons COLD water and continue blending with knives or pastry blender. Add additional tablespoon water only if needed.
Divide dough into two balls and let sit for an hour. Then line your pie pan. Freeze the other ball of dough for another pie in the future.
Like the crust, I have the recipe for Blueberry Pie memorized. As a matter of fact you may have seen my blog post about Apple Pie. It’s nearly the same. Only difference is the fruit. And I occasionally put in a bit of lemon juice on top of the apples before the crumb topping goes on. Here’s the blueberry pie recipe.
Blueberry Pie
Oven temp. 425° for first 20 minutes. Lower temp. to 375° and continue baking for an additional 40 to 45 minutes.
1 – 9″ crust, unbaked
Blueberries, about 5 cups, or enough to fill your 9″ crust
1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Fill pie crust with blueberries.
Cream softened together butter, salt, cinnamon and sugar. Add flour and continue blending until crumbs are a uniform size and are well blended.
Top blueberries with your crumb topping.
Bake at 425° for 20 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 375° and continue baking for 40 to 45 minutes until blueberries are bubbling. Cool and serve. Vanilla ice cream makes a perfect topping for the pie.
All my blueberry bushes are in bloom as I’m typing this, bringing many bees that will pollinate the flowers.
Soon the bushes will be loaded with green orbs that look like they’ve got little crowns.
Perhaps by the end of May I’ll be able to harvest a few of the berries. By the middle of June there will be plenty of berries to make me, and birds like this female Scarlet Tanager, very happy.
Knock your socks off COLOR. That’s what I think of when an image of a male Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) comes to mind. With the female, if you look carefully you might be able to catch a hint of the vivid azure that the male wears so magnificently. But I wouldn’t know a male Indigo Bunting during the winter. He wears feathers of brown.
Soon to arrive to spend the summer. You’ll get a hint as to how soon in looking at this photograph. She’s using a spear of asparagus as a landing spot. Asparagus is coming up right now. In looking through my photos and seeing when the Indigo Buntings have arrived in the past, I think they’ll be arriving just any day now. And through their journey they often migrate at night using the stars to navigate. Birds after my own heart.
Amazing to think, the feathers of the Indigo Bunting contain no blue pigment. The blue we see is a result of the way the feathers are bouncing and reflecting light.
