Foamflowers (Tiarella cordifolia) have just started blossoming near shaded streams and on damp hillsides. These cheery plants usually form large colonies and are quite common in this area. There are also many hybrids available and they are an excellent, maintenance free choice for shady gardens that get only morning sun.
The poet’s daffodil (Narcissus poeticus) is such an ancient plant that many believe that it is the flower that the legend of Narcissus is based on. It can be found in botanical texts from as early as 371 BC. It is one of the first cultivated daffodils and is hard to mistake for any other, with its red edged, yellow corona and pure white petals. It has naturalized throughout this area and can be found in unmown fields. It is very fragrant and it is quite remarkable to realize, as you sit admiring its spicy fragrance, that the Roman poet Virgil once did the same thing.
It’s hard to mistake a Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica) for any other shrub. Its pinkish orange blooms appear on thorny branches long before its leaves. If you don’t like the color of the flowers in the photo there are also red, pink and white flowered cultivars. The plant is in the apple family and has edible fruit that is said to make excellent jelly. It is also the toughest shrub I know of. If you have a sunny spot where nothing will grow just plant a quince there and your problem will be solved. It is indestructible and 100% maintenance free, unless you feel the need to trim it. In the 1800s this plant was often called simply Japonica.
Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) have also just started blooming. It’s hard to beat the sweet fragrance from these tiny white bells and it’s hard to imagine a New Hampshire garden that doesn’t have at least a few of these plants in it. The majalis part of its scientific name means “belonging to May,” and that is when it blooms.
All parts of lily of the valley are very toxic even in small amounts, so small children should be watched closely when near their bright red berries. Every child should have a chance to express their love by thrusting a fistful of wilting lily of the valley blossoms out to mom or grandma, though. I can remember doing so as a boy and I was never harmed by them.
Flowers that I rarely see are those of striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum), which is a smallish understory tree that might reach 30 feet every once in a blue moon. Most are 10-15 feet or less, probably because they grow in shade, but I’ve read that they are opportunists that will suddenly shoot upward when a gap opens in the canopy. The tree gets its name from the way the green bark is striped with white when it is young. I like the long and pendulous flower heads. They sway gently in the slightest breeze, especially when a camera is pointed at them.
The yellowish striped maple flowers are quite small, only about 1/4 inch across. Trees can have male, female or both kinds of flowers. I wonder which insects the tree hopes to attract with flowers this color.
Wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) sets flower buds just as its leaves have unfurled, and often before they’ve changed from deep bronze to green. At this stage people sometimes confuse the plant for poison ivy because the young leaves can appear to be very similar. One easy to remember difference is the woody stem seen on poison ivy is not seen on this plant.
A closeup of a wild sarsaparilla’s flower head. Each flower is very small but as a group they’re easy to see. Dark purple berries will replace the flowers if pollination is successful. This is one of the most common wildflowers I know of and I see them virtually everywhere I go, including in my own yard.
Painted trillium (Trillium undulatum) comes along just as purple trillium (Trillium erectum) finishes blooming. Its flowers are much smaller but also showier than those of purple trillium. Each white petal has a pink V at its base. These plants like cool shaded slopes and often grow under conifers like eastern hemlock. The undulatum part of the scientific name comes from the wavy margins of the petals.
Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) are up and blooming but are difficult to get a good photo of. This one happens to grow in a local park and the color in the background is from fallen PJM rhododendron petals. The ones that I see in the woods don’t seem to bloom very often. I’ve read that once a mayapple produces flowers and fruit it reduces its chances of doing so in following years. Native Americans boiled the root and used the water to cure stomach aches but this plant is toxic and should not be eaten.
I like to keep an eye out for starflower plants (Trientalis borealis) with multiple blooms when I walk through the woods at this time of year. Even though books will tell you that two is their limit I think my record is four flowers on one plant. These plants are very common and can be seen in any forest in this part of the state. They get their common name from how their 5-9 pointed petals form the shape of a star. The Trientalis part of the scientific name means “one third of a foot” in Latin and describes the plant’s four inch height perfectly.
Some of our most beautiful native shrubs are in the viburnum family and hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides) is queen among them in my opinion. This is the first of the native viburnums to bloom here. High bush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum), and maple leaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) will soon follow. Hobblebush flower heads are flat and bright white and can be seen from quite a distance. They like to grow along roadsides so the blooms can be easily seen at this time of year.
Hobblebush flower heads are large-often 6 or more inches across. They are made up of small, fertile flowers in the center and larger, sterile flowers around the outer edge. All have 5 petals. The large sterile flowers do the work of attracting insects and that’s why many viburnums have this kind of arrangement. If the great variety of fruit I see each summer is any indication, it works well.
I start looking for the ground hugging, orchid like fringed polygala (Polygala paucifolia) as soon as I see violets bloom. No other flower in the northeast looks like this one, so identification is easy. They are also called gaywings and are among the most beautiful and interesting flowers in our forests. Each spring when I first see them I feel like I could sit and look at them for hours, absorbed by their beauty.
Fringed polygala flowers are made up of five sepals and two petals. Two of the petals form a tube and two of the sepals form the “wings.” The little fringe like structure at the end of the tube is part of the third petal, which is mostly hidden. A lot has to happen for this little flower to become pollinated. When a heavy enough insect (like a bumblebee) lands on the fringed part, the third sepal drops down to create an opening so the insect can enter the tube, where it finds the flower’s reproductive parts and gets dusted with pollen. That pollination happens at all seems a bit miraculous but in case it doesn’t, this flower has insurance. There are unseen flowers underground that can self-pollinate without the help of insects.
To be surprised, to wonder, is to begin to understand. ~Jose Ortega Y Gasset
Thanks for stopping in.
It’s a real treat to see all of these flowers that we don’t have here. We have a slightly different foamflower. I especially love the Lily of the Valley!
I Googled your lace foamflower Tiarella trifoliate. Interesting that the leaves are like ours but the flowers look quite different. It wouldn’t be a garden here without lily of the valley!
I’ve tried all day to think of something fresh and exciting to say here, but I can’t. It’s not that your blog is becoming boring, on the contrary, I look forward to each post now more than ever. But, one good thing did come from waiting to comment, as I was walking today, I looked down and saw starflowers and because this post was fresh in my mind, I actually knew what they were when I saw them. So, thank you for another great post!
I can understand, Jerry. I think one of the greatest difficulties I have with blogging is thinking of something worthwhile to say about other’s blogs. It isn’t that I don’t enjoy them, it’s more that I’m not a “chatty” person and a lot of times I can’t come up with anything witty or wise to say. In any event, if you don’t leave a comment it won’t be the end of the world.
I’m glad the starflowers stayed with you!
My garden is bursting with quince flowers and lily of the valley right now. The quince seems to flower again and again from spring through to late summer so I always feel it earns it’s keep but we do have to trim it because it grows right next to the drive and those branches are thorny.
That’s interesting. I’ve never heard of an ever-blooming quince but it must be nice. I don’t blame you for trimming it. Those thorns are sharp!
Maybe it’s just our climate 🙂
That could be. After all, you grow palm trees there so why not!
Thank you for your beautiful photos. Starflowers are in bloom along my favorite rail trail nearby. Such a simple flower, but lovely nonetheless.
You’re welcome Ellen. I was just admiring a large drift of them this afternoon and found a couple of plants with four flowers.
I was just thinking I needed to plant more lily of the valley in a border along a hedge. It’s coming over from the neighbor’s yard in that spot, anyway. The painted trillium is a beautiful wildflower, ditto for that fringed polygala – both new to me.
One thing about lily of the valley is, they grow where they want and there’s no stopping them. According to the USDA painted trilliums grow as far west as Ohio and, though fringed polygala makes it all the way to Illinois, it only grows in one county. (So far)
Quince jam is what kept Magellan’s offices from dying of scurvy on their trip around the world. The enlisted men suffered greatly (and many died) when they were crossing the Pacific. Magellan and his officers thought they weren’t suffering because officers were just “better” than enlisted men. In reality, it was because Magellan served them quince jam for breakfast in his cabin, and none of the enlisted men got any of that.
I wonder if, after Magellan and his officers had to do the work of the enlisted men because they were all sick, the enlisted men got quince jelly after that trip. Interesting story!
They didn’t figure out the vitamin C – scurvy link until centuries after that.
Boy, you have a lot of plants that we don’t … and such interesting ones.
I’ll bet that you have many that we don’t, too. It’s interesting how they can be so particular about where they grow.
Are ticks a problem where you live? They’re becoming quite a problem here. Ugh
Yes they are, very much so. I’ve already gone through one can of bug spray this year. Last year I used 6.
My oldest daughter lives in Boston suburb and had lots problems with ticks. We didn’t used to have lots of ticks. Now we have deer and lone star besides the dog tick.
I was pleased to see your photo of the sarsaparilla. I have often come across the name but never seen an example. Is this variety the source of the drink?
No, the drink was made from Smilax regelii, which grows in South America and Jamaica. It’s a vine with prickly stems, so it’s quite different than this plant.
Plants from around the world that grow naturally always fascinate me, some I can grow and lots I can’t. I love the Trillium and especially the Polygala, I do grow Podophyllum. Grown from seed 7 years ago I am still waiting for it to flower, but it is good to see just how and where the flower forms. Thanks.
You’re welcome Sue. The mayapple flowers are under the leaves and I often have to move the leaves aside to see them. 7 years is a long wait for any plant but if there is one thing that nature teaches us, it is patience.
It does and I have just been outside to look, sadly no flowers.
Maybe next year. The gardener’s lament.
Beautiful, love the polygala flowers 🙂
Thank you Michael. According to the USDA they grow as far south as Georgia, so you should have them there.
I know I have never seen them here on the mountain but there is very few places that is not covered in trees and or rocks. We are getting rain again this evening, more thunder storms! Have a great Memorial Day tomorrow! 🙂
Thanks Michael, same to you.
What wonderful photos! They took me on a trip down memory lane identifying flowers as a kid. I love painted trilliums, always one of my favorite finds. The fringed polygala is stunning. What a great find. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome Stephi. I’m glad these flowers brought back some pleasant memories.
Wonderful shots and great information as usual. My wild lady’s slippers are appearing everywhere this year. Have you seen any yet? Is there a reason some are very pale and others are bright pink?
Thanks Martha. I’ve seen many pink lady’s slippers but they haven’t turned pink here yet. They start out kind of pale yellow and then go to an off white just before they turn pink. There can be white pink lady’s slippers but they are very rare. If you see one take plenty of photos and take note of its location!
I get a great smile viewing your posts..Last Sunday I saw ( and photo’ed, in my new style based on your shots) my first foam flowers and starflowers and Jack-in -the pulpits. There is a beautiful, small, park just down the road. I am lucky to live with woods all around, and streams, etc abound. and This little park has it all! Is the fringed polygala known by a common name? Fringed gentian? By the way, I live in upstate New York.
Thank you Mary. I’m glad you’re getting all you can out of photography now. It can be very satisfying, but also frustrating at times.
Your area sounds much like we have here and you’re very lucky to have the park. Fringed polygala is not the same as fringed gentians, which are much taller and larger blue flowers. Fringed gentians are very beautiful but also very rarely seen here. I’ve heard fringed polygala called flowering wintergreen, bird on the wing, and fringed milkwort. It’s in the milkwort family.
Happy photographing!
Thank you for your info. I know I have seen the fringed gentian in the past in the Adirondacks. My be I will spot one again!
If you do you will be very lucky indeed. Speaking of the Adirondacks, have you ever read the Saratoga Woods and Waterways blog? It’s very good and seems to be right in your neck of the woods. You can find it here: http://saratogawoodswaters.blogspot.com/
I haven’t..but am going there now. Thank you for the link!
You’re welcome. It’s an excellent blog and I think you’ll enjoy it.
Another fine reminder of Nature’s infinite bounty.
Thank you Ben. Nature provides!
I have a large area of lily of the valley, it is about the only plant in our yard that is an original from when we bought the house almost 12 years ago. The scent that overwhelms the area when they are in bloom in almost intoxicating. I didn’t know there were any native daffodils. The Pheasant Eye is beautiful. I’ll have to keep my eyes open for the painted trillium. I have scads of purple in my yard, but no painted. I have a lovely quince and it is one of my favorites. Great post, beautiful images!
Thanks Laura. I love the scent of lily of the valley but they can be invasive in the garden and almost impossible to get rid of in places you don’t want them.
The poet’s daffodil isn’t native here but it has escaped gardens and has naturalized itself everywhere.
The easiest place to see painted trillium is at the Bald Mountain preserve up in Marlow. There are also quite a few in Rhododendron state park in Fitzwilliam.
I like quince too. They lend an old fashioned feel to a garden.
Your blog surely lives up to its name during spring months. I can’t wait for summer.
Thanks Bob. In summer we’ll see summer flowers, and there will be plenty of them.
So many interesting things! I did not know about the sterile flowers of the Vibernum, that explains the different sizes. We have a similar Polygala – Polygala calcarea which I should be seeing soon, I’ll check up and see if the pollen is hidden in ours. I can confirm that you can make jelly from the ornamental quince as I’ve been given large fruit from a very old plant and made it in the past. Amelia
Thank you. If I remember correctly you have a viburnum in your garden that looks much like our hobblebush.
I’ve never seen the Polygala calcarea. I’ll have to look it up.
I’d love to try some quince jelly. I imagine that it must taste a lot like apple jelly.
What a beautiful, informative post. I loved the picture and the information of the the poet’s daffodil.
Thank you Susan. The fact that the poet’s daffodil has been admired by man for so many centuries says a lot for its beauty.
Beautiful shots, the Hobblebush flower is amazing!
Thanks! I love hobblebushes. They really brighten up the forest.