Summer Flora

Between a lovely trip to Pickity Place's Gardens and Maple Farm Gardens at Beaver Brook, I've no shortage of vegetation images this year. The above was a flower tucked away in the back of Pickity Place's garden. Pickity Place is a historic old farmhouse which served as the reference for illustrations in a very old printing of Little Red Riding Hood.

The blue flowers are also from Pickity Place. They reminded me of the 'Blue Girls' in my current writing project so I took the snapshot to remind me to work harder on my writings. lol















The mushroom was on a trail near Maple Hill Farm's gardens. If you click and expand it, it makes a whimsical wallpaper. So do fields of daisies...









And lastly I have 2 unknown flowers. The yellow one is from Pickity Place. It was unusual as it bloomed downward and compact. The other is from Beaver Brook and my sister and were intrigued by it, so I took a shot for her.

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.