These observations were taken in the Shuswap River valey at my place in Grindrod, just off the valley floor.
WHITE, YELLOW AND BLUE are the spring colours of blossoms in the Shuswap today.
The Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium) is in full bloom with clusters of yellow blossoms at the end of the branches of green spikey leaves. There is a nice, mild scent. Some of the blossoms are already dropping their petals and have the beginnings of the blue berries that will follow.
The Saskatoons (amelanchier alnifolia) are a mass of white blossoms. Their falling petals look like late snow on the ground.
Each wild strawberry has one or more small bright white blossoms, the blue leaf variety (fragaria virginiana) hugging close to the ground. The wood strawberry (fragaria vesca) likes a little more shade and moisture and its blossoms are one longer stalks that grow longer than the leaves are and thus easier to pick when the time comes (if you can survive the mosquitoes then).
The false solomon’s seal (smilacina racemosa) blossoms are a combination of white and yellow right now, with the white parts fully open and the yellow the unopened promise to come. These gorgeous scented plants with their main stalk and long pointed green leaves are the ones I wait for all year. The air is filled with their scent as I walk along the creek trail. They like some shade (usually) and moisture. When mature the berries are sweet red treats.
Bright yellow daisy like heads are the heart leaved arnica (arnica cordifolia) blossoms with their “green” scented leaves covering the ground. They grow in nice patches as they generally spread by rhizomes. I gently squeeze the leaf between my fingers and then inhale the refreshing scent, leaving the plant intact and never harming it by picking. There is no need. It is there again for me to smell on my next walk.
The last of the red twinberry (lonicera utahensis) blossoms are on a plant in a cool shaded location. The wonderful scent of these is the first, best smell of spring. I inhale deeply with a chest breath to get the full aroma of this lovely little pale yellow/white bell.
The lovely white fairy bells (disporum hookeri) are at knee height and easy to miss as you are walking. Their delicate double bells hang down hidden by their long green leaves. I think the resulting red/yellowish berries look like jelly beans, seemingly almost translucent and smooth. The other fairy bell, rough fruited (disporum trachycarpum), has a squarish red almost furry texture berry to my way of seeing. Their leaves are more blunted and deeper green and there are fewer plants in my area so always a treat to see.
And then there is the blue surprise. This wild clematis (clematis columbiana) is a delicate, short lasting vine. I had lived here for years but never seen it – going too fast, looking the wrong way. What a surprise to see blue in the forest when all was usually white and green.
April 9 - Hazelnut (corylus cornuta) and soapberry (shepherdia canadensis) are blooming now!
This photo, taken 3 weeks after first sighting, shows the feathery petals against the sky.
The magenta coloured feathery petals of the hazelnut look like a wispy paint brush. You need to look carefully and closely to see this delightful bright colour in the greyish woods. Hazelnut grows in moist areas and is close to the creek on my place. Soon the catkins will produce their yellow powder to pollinate the buds and make small wild berries that the squirrels take.
Also in miniature size, are the bright yellow blossoms of the soapberry plant. I noticed a hoard of bugs around this plant. I wonder if there is something attracting them - maybe a scent that I cannot smell on the little square blossoms. You have to look closely to see them. Only the blossoms are out, not the leaves that are still clasped together in pairs.
I will post photos soon when I review instructions for use of camera and how to put on internet. What is blooming in your area and where do you live?
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