Periwinkle
Spring Beauty Gallery
This collection of Eastern Spring Beauty blossoms (Claytonia virginica) comes from last spring, over a period of several weeks around the Lee Hill and Rowlands Preserve area of Lackawanna State Park. This year’s blossoms are delayed by weather; I enjoyed the first few blooms, but a week of cold weather put them into retreat, so […]
Dicentra cucullaria
Dicentra cucullaria, although I prefer the common name, “Dutchman’s breeches.” Visually, it reminds me of the “bleeding heart” in my backyard garden, although there is no direct relation; my “bleeding heart” is the Asian variety, not native to North America. I found this Dicenta last spring, growing along the trail at the Rowlands Preserve. I’m […]
Spring is Here
After three consecutive weeks of checking the trailsides at Lackawanna State Park, the first spring wildflowers have finally appeared! The Spring Beauties, which are aptly named, are only a couple of inches tall, a mix of purple-streaked white and pink blossoms atop delicate stems, and they carpet the forest floor, below trees that are still […]
Lilac
When we redid the landscaping in front of our house, one of the best decisions we made was to plant a lilac bush. In the years since it has filled out, spilling out into the lawn, and on spring evenings its scent fills the air and comes in through our open windows. I look forward […]
Forget-me-not
Forget-me-nots are one of those small, friendly flowers that I remember from my childhood. They grew in my mother’s garden, and they grew wild along ditches and fringe areas, where they had long-since escaped from planned landscaping. I took this photo at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens, using the Panasonic Leica 9mm. It’s the widest lens […]
Summer Wildflowers
BRENT PENNINGTON – Birdsfoot Trefoil blossoms at the Eales Preserve on Moosic Mountain, near Scranton, PA, on the evening of 21 July 2023. BRENT PENNINGTON – A Queen Anne’s Lace blossom begins to open, still showing pink petals around the edges, at the edge of the model airfield at Lackawanna State Park, PA, on the […]
Blackberry Blossom
Blackberry blossom in the warm evening light. When they are first getting ready to open, there’s a faint pink tinge to the blossoms, which quickly fades to white. Weeks later, the flower is replaced with the fruit, which is the quintessential summer berry. I have two blackberry bushes in my garden, rescued from the home […]