Category: Plants

What is happening on the trails during this first week of February? The late winter bloomers have restarted their flowering as the temperatures have gotten back to normal. A few new flowers have opened this week. You can see blue field-madder, leatherleaf mahonia, and shepherd’s purse out on the trails now. There are some bluet… Continue reading Field Report- February 5, 2025

It has been so hot lately! Some days I look at the plants along the trails and just want to give them some water. Many plants are struggling right now. Some plants love the heat, though. In the last few weeks the new plants I have seen are goldenrod, creeping water primrose, alternate-leaved seedbox, Drummond’s… Continue reading Field Report- July 11, 2024

What’s new on the trails at the end of July? When the weather is so hot, I usually walk in the early morning. With other obligations, I have not been able to canvas the trails as much as I normally do. The weather should break later this week, and hopefully I’ll be able to get… Continue reading Field Report- July 28, 2025

In my last field report I was commenting on how dry and hot it had been. Now, we’re looking at the wettest July ever recorded! So what’s blooming on the trails now? I made sure to walk on each greenway over the last two weeks to get a full report. The large, yellow, daisy-like summer… Continue reading Field Report- July 29, 2024

What’s blooming on the trails in early July? In the wet areas, you can find buttonbush, water-hemlock, swamp rose-mallow, smooth rose-mallow, cattails, arrowheads, creeping water primrose and climbing hempvine. In the open fields, you can see pineywoods goldenrod, alternate-leaved seedbox, rough sunflower, swamp sunflower, winged sumac, poor-joe, roundleaf eupatorium, slender mountain-mint, rattlesnake master, bitterweed, common… Continue reading Field Report- July 7, 2025

What’s blooming on the trails this week? The crape myrtle, sourwood and mimosa trees are flowering. This year, I’ve noticed that the white crape myrtle flowers come out first, followed by the lavender flowers. I haven’t seen any trees with pink or red flowers yet. Does it always happen that way? For small plants, I… Continue reading Field Report- June 13, 2024

Here are some of the new flowers that I’ve seen on the trails in the last couple of weeks:

I have seen a few new flowers this week: bitterweed, spring ladies’-tresses, rough sunflower, poor-joe, smooth rose-mallow, and the pink crape myrtle trees. Both roundleaf and narrowleaf eupatorium are starting to form flowers. This was the first time I’ve seen the poor-joe plant. It’s always exciting to learn a new species! What plants are you… Continue reading Field Report- June 21, 2024

The violets, periwinkle, large yellow vetch, and mayberry are starting to bloom this week. The eastern redbuds are very close to blooming, keep watching for them!

It’s finally starting to feel like spring! It’s easy to see all of the flowering trees. The cherries are just about done with their blooms, but the plums, pears and magnolias are just approaching their peak. Do you have a forsythia bush in your yard? Their yellow blooms are out now. The eastern redbuds finally… Continue reading Field Report- March 13, 2025