dimpled trout lily
On this Sunday morning my friend Susan and I set out to find dimple trout lilies at the botanical garden, only to find the gates would be closed until 1:00. No matter, we decided to saunter along the nearby nature trails for a couple of hours. And there turned out to be plenty of the tiny lilies in the woods. They are so tiny they barely poke through the leaves on the forest floor. They are native here in the Piedmont.
This post has way too many pictures but I couldn’t bring myself to cut out any more than I already did. The woods still looked like it was winter, unless one looked down and more closely at the leaf litter for tiny spring ephemerals.
The Dandelion’s pallid Tube
Astonishes the Grass —
And Winter instantly becomes
An infinite Alas —
The Tube uplifts a signal Bud
And then a shouting Flower —
The Proclamation of the Suns
That sepulture is o’er —
~ Emily Dickinson
(The Poems of Emily Dickinson, #1565)
When the botanical garden gates opened we went in and found more dimpled trout lilies and what looked like more kinds of trilliums coming up.
more dimpled trout lilies
What a wonderful time we had enjoying springtime’s opening act in this part of the world! I’m sure there will be many more flowers coming soon.
Delightful to see the spring ephemerals… does the heart good!
So good! 💙 We went looking for the dimpled trout lilies and found them in abundance, along with a few other kinds of ephemerals poking through…
Such a lovely walk you’ve shared! This changing of the season seems to be taking its sweet time, but your lovely photos show that Spring is definitely on its way!
Thank you, Debbie! Spring is getting started so much earlier down here and while some of the flowers are the same as up north there are some new ones here I’m enjoying getting acquainted with.
This is a wonderful selection of photos Barbara! Those dimpled trout lily are beautiful and the betsy is nice. Glad you added a couple of features friends and the squirrel. What a nice way to share a friendship!
My two oak trees are raining leaves, much more than in the past I can see the tiny seeds starting to form in the trees. Pollen will be high soon. Look forward to more spring flowers soon.
Thank you, TD! I can’t get over how tiny those little dimpled trout lilies are. They’re scattered all over the forest floor like little bits of yellow confetti, which don’t show up on the camera. The little sweet Betsy is new to me and we saw quite a few of them. I hope when I go back I can find the buds opening up. I keep hearing about the pollen season here, too. It seems we must accept pollen along with the beauty of blossoming flowers and trees.
I love your phrase “springtime’s opening act” Barbara. Your photos show the slow rollout of Spring with all the delicate flowers. I liked seeing the Titmouse as well. For a minute I thought Fred tagged along, but he was home getting spoiled by Tim. 🙂 I like the first squirrel picture and especially the close-up. I don’t think it is too many pictures and I’m like that too – it’s difficult picking what to keep or discard.
It was amazing seeing all those dimpled trout lilies in the woods and I’m glad the garden was closed so that we got to go see them in their natural setting in the woods. And all the other little beauties. That little titmouse was so high up in that tree — I had the camera on maximum zoom and I cropped the picture by two thirds! Even though I’ve seen them a lot down here this is the first time I’ve managed to get a picture of one. The squirrel, on the other hand, was sitting there only two feet off the path and startled me when I noticed it. It didn’t mind me getting closer and closer. Love those little paws.
I’ve never seen the dimpled trout lilies before, so something new for me to learn about. I don’t see any titmice at my park, but I used to see them at Elizabeth Park in the Winter as some people put up feeders near a memorial tree for a woman who loved birds. I enjoy seeing Jocelyn Anderson’s titmice shots and videos. Yes, enjoying its treat.
The dimpled trout lilies were fleeting, when we went back four days later they had gone by. So the woman we met there who said she came several times a week so she wouldn’t miss anything knew what she was talking about. But while they lasted they were everywhere! I love Jocelyn’s titmouse pictures, too. On my next visit I got a better picture of one. 🙂
Looks like you’ll have to go almost daily too – it will make up for the hot and humid Summer days, when you prefer the A/C to wandering around. The titmouse pictures are so sweet – what cute little birds they are.
Yup, we have to strike while the iron is hot and make the most of these days of beautiful weather. It’s supposed to get to 78°F Thursday and Friday this week, but then go back down to the 60s again for the weekend. I’m happy we have so many titmice and juncos down here. 🙂
Yes, get your steps and camera workouts in now! I wonder how much longer our juncos stay before migrating? We only have them in Winter.
Now that you mention it I haven’t seen as many of them lately. I read there are some that summer up in the Appalachian mountains and come down to lower elevations in the winter.
I think ours headed out as the Red-winged Blackbirds settled in. They were so easy to spot!
It’s kind of wonderful the way birds migrate, providing us with a never-ending change of scenery. 🙂
Yes it is and the maps are already tracking the hummingbirds on their journey on the hummingbird map. 🙂
Trout Lillies? I’ve never heard of them but like them. You’re much farther into spring than we are. Your photos make realize the beauty that is to come.
We had yellow trout lilies up north, which made their brief appearances in April. The dimpled trout lily is only found here in the Piedmont and southern Appalachia. (I’m learning so much these days!)
This looks like a great spot you have for photos…it will soon be time for a “spring” photo challenge shot…! I’ve been mulling another photo challenge post for the not too distant future.
Can’t wait to see what your spring photo challenge will be! I have a feeling this botanical garden will provide me with plenty of colorful opportunities this spring and into the summer.