April Flowers

I need to identify this wild tree. It's usually the first to unfurl large green leaves. In late April and early May, it opens fairy rings of white flowers with crosses of tiny flower clusters in the middle. Every year, I tell myself I'll take time to ID it... still haven't yet.
Of course, I have to take a billion shots of my personal favorite. This is the painted trillium - a classic wildflower of the Heald Tract in Wilton. It takes 7 years for them to bloom... and the blooms only last 1 week a year.
This is the most unusual trillium I've ever seen. Never before have I seen one with 4 petals and 4 leaves. It's a genetic rarity. Almost all trilliums grow with only 3.



I discovered a nearby forest this year in which grows red trilliums - aka "Wakerobins". They're called wakerobins because they are fabled to bloom at the time when robins return from their wintering grounds in the south. I say "fabled" because the robins arrive about a month before these beautiful wildflowers bloom.

The same week, I traveled to the Maple Hill Shade Garden at Beaver Brook in Hollis, NH. It was perfect timing to photograph a Tulip Tree at the climax of its bloom. Of course, I couldn't resist taking an "inside" shot of one of the blooms.