This beautiful native woodland spring ephemeral flower is growing in abundance in Morris Park. Â It is in peak bloom, with hillsides covered in white flowers with thin pink stripes. Â If you live in the neighborhood or nearby, come on out and visit this natural treasure! If you are out of state, see if you have them in your natural area, on your lawn or in your woodland.
Morris Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
A great garden specimen, this plant is available at native plant nurseries and plant sales in our area.
Morris Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This lunchtime walk in Morris Park was enchanting, with blooming flowers at every turn.
Morris Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The violets are also blooming.
Morris Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Here is a giant Oak tree, the biggest in Morris Park, surrounded by Mayapples.
Our time machine sputtered as we navigated through West Fairmount Park, along the Belmont Plateau. It was set for 1512 AD, on the exact date, April first. Â Our Time machine, built in 1959 and purchased second hand, delivered us to 1012 A.D. instead. Â Now, the real issue is if we can go back to 2012! Â We had this idea of visiting Fairmount Park before the Europeans arrived and chopped down most of the trees. The old rust bucket took us back 500 years further, but we saw the same plants!
Spring in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia
Check this out. Instead of rowhouses, Philadelphia was full of trees and Mayapples. Sassafrass, Tulip Poplar and Oaks growing. ( Our photographs of the 180 foot tall Chestnut trees were lost during our very rough re-entry to 2012, most likely from electrical problems that erased our digital files.)
Spring in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia
This violet from April 1st 1012 was duly recorded.
Spring in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia
This cut-leaved toothwort was found in magnificent patches in the ancient woods just north of the Belmont Plateau of the 21st century. Â After our return to 2012, we revisited the location and found the same plants still growing there!
Spring in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia
This 1012 image of the plant speaks volumes about the geometry of this specimen. Â We took notes.
Spring in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia
It was so cool to see what we call today Spring Beauty and Mayapple growing 1000 years ago right here in our fair city, Philadelphia. However, after about an hour in the world of 1012, it started to get dark, and we knew we had to be to work the next day. Â We had 1000 years to travel, and we better get started. Â So back we went. Â The time machine sputtered and backfired on the way back and boom! we were back in 2012! Â we decided to go check out the same areas we were in 1000 years ago and here is what we found in this site: Â After navigating through a maze of invasives, notably Japanese Knotweed, Lesser Celandine, Norway Maple, Tree of Heaven, Japanese Honeysuckle, we found the old forest still hanging on! Â It was a vestige of what we saw in 1012, and it was under assault by the invasives, but it was still there!
Spring in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia
There was a roaring highway that cut through the forest creating a menacing presence. Â The Schuykill expressway.
Oh yeah, that thing, and there it is.
The forest was still growing though, what left of it there was.
Come and visit Morris Park and keep an eye out for the Trout lilies.
Trout lily, Morris Park, Philadelphia
Here, a blooming Trout lily is growing alongside a Mayapple.
Trout lily, Morris Park, Philadelphia
Many specimens do not flower in any given population and the leaves are very distinctive and interesting.
Trout lily, Morris Park, Philadelphia
Today, a special trip was made down to Indian Creek to visit the Trout lilies.
Today there was only one bloodroot left blooming in the park. Â This year there were two full weeks of blooming Bloodroot, in contrast to last year, when there were four weeks of blooming.
