My Bit of Heaven - by Kristl Walek

[Kristl Walek]

10 days ago 3 feet of snow disappeared, it seemed, overnight. Suddenly it
was summer in the North, with 20C to 27C days and plants leaping out of the
soil all out of rhythm and mixed up. In a few days, temperatures are dropping
back down to near 0C with snow predicted.

I am fortunate to have a small woodland on my 8 acres, where I have good
representation of many natives, some in rather good drifts. The woods are
dry and deciduous, with sugar maple the predominant tree.

Even though Alan Grainger has already posted some of these same plants,
I want to document them as well. I will need the visual memory to
remember my small corner of paradise when I leave this place.

Tiarella_cordifolia_drift.jpg
Mossy_Roots.jpg
Caulophyllum_thalictroides.jpg
Acer_pensylvanicum_bark.jpg
Hepatica_americana.jpg

[Kristl Walek]

For the seed collector plants such as Gaultheria procumbens are a real boon---as they often retain their berries all winter, and can be collected either in spring, or from the new crop late that same year...

Epigaea_repens.jpg
Carex_platyphylla.jpg
Carex_plantaginea.jpg
Gaultheria_procumbens.jpg

[Kristl Walek]

and the Erythroniums...

Erythronium_carpet.jpg
Erythronium_americanum.jpg
Erythronium_americanum1.jpg
Erythronium_americanum2.jpg
Erythronium_americanum3.jpg

[Kristl Walek]

Asarum canadense and the lovely Dicentra cucullaria...

[Kristl Walek]

I do not mind the brief bloom of the beautiful Sanguinaria canadensis as the luscious foliage pays its way in the garden all season.

[Paul T]

Krystl,

Wonderful pictures.  The Erythronium is lovely, and the Dicentra, and the Sanguinaria... etc.  Great pics!!

[Hagen Engelmann]

Hi Kristl,

the first weeks in spring are a fine time. Your native plants have a big magic to me. Asarum canadense and Dicentra cucullaria are very nice to see. Did you find also pink or rose Dicentra??

[Ian Y]

Heaven indeed Kristl what a lovely place to have in your own land - thanks for taking us there.
Your pictures show us that all plants have beauty some are just more flamboyant than others just like people. 
and as for those erythroniums

[Anthony Darby]

Magical Kristl - definitely somewhere over the rainbow.

[Kristl Walek]

Hagen,

Yes, the richness and magic of the eastern North American woodlands is hard to surpass. It is *the* botanic strength of this part of the world.

I have often heard it said that the flora of eastern North America is considered "the richest in the world next to China."

I have never found colour variants of Dicentra cucullaria- and the spots where I collect seed in the wild for my business are areas of dense and (extremely) large populations, carpeting the forest floor for as far as the eye can see. My favorite collecting spot is an early-blooming area where the entire southern slope of the woods is solid Dicentra and Erythronium- by the time the Erythronium seed collection time arrives, the spot is entirely barren of the Dicentra, which have already quickly gone dormant.

Dicentra canadensis is also in my area, but difficult to find (usually white, sometimes with a rose tinge). I believe it is not abundant throughout its range, and threatened in many areas. It seems to be weaker in growth, and perhaps cannot compete as well???

The pink Dicentra eximia is not native here, being further east and southeast in its range.

[Kristl Walek]

I was quite surprised today to find Trillium erectum flowering yet T. grandiflorum not even near bloom. It is surely a mixed up spring here...

[Maggi Young]

What great reds these are, Kristl 

[Paddy Tobin]

Kristi,

By coincidence, Trillium erectum has just come into flower here (south of Ireland) also. However, a peculiarity of our plant here is that it was purchased, I think, four years ago and did not make an appearance above ground until this year and now it has flowered. Peculiar!

I am a lover of the North American woodland plants. William Cullina's book on N.A. wildflowers had been a favourite read since publication. Also, I have a friend in Maryland who is very keen on woodland natives.

Paddy

[Kristl Walek]

And here is Uvularia grandiflora, the Greater Bellwort, which has braved this current dip in temperatures to show it's pretty, pretty face. One of my favorites.

The variegated clone is a plant I found in the wild years ago, which I have been intending to get into tissue culture.

Lastly is Uvularia sessiliflora, a smaller-flowered, more delicate thing, which has not yet opened here, but I thought to put it here for comparison. It is rare in the wild here.

[Maggi Young]

More gems, Kristl, we're having a lovely time strolling around your property with you, thanks!
 
Have you seen this thread?....http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=1714.0    you may be able to help out there