A return visit to "The Pocket"

Pocket Falls

The Pocket is a magical botanical wonderland on Pigeon Mountain, GA.  It's a rich cove forest with limestone underpinnings, so is rich with species diversity because of the neutral soils.

A return visit (my third this spring) found all sorts of great wildflowers, including this one.

Phacelia

And interesting critters, too.

A foraging land snail

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Spring woodland wildflowers

A second visit to a botanical wonderland this weekend ("The Pocket" on Pigeon Mountain, GA) -- along the Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail found numerous treasures in flower.  The Pocket is a rich cove forest (so pH levels are nearly neutral), supporting a rich array of wildflowers. 

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are abundant and were in flower (actively visited by bumblebees on the day we were there).

Mertensia virginica

Spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) was still in flower (it was in flower 3 weeks ago on our first visit).

Claytonia virginica

Yellow trout lily (Erythronium americanum) was in flower (younger plants and seedlings are abundant at this site). Its large flowers were impressive.

Erythronium americanum

And the fiddleheads of Christmas fern were striking!

Christmas fern fiddleheads

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Natural landscaping, natural diversity, and wild plants

I love visiting natural places full of plant treasures - they're increasingly rare, but the protected ones are totally special.

On the way to a Natural Landscaping symposium sponsored by the Wild Ones chapter in Chattanooga, Tennessee (a delightful event), we (that is, my sometime gardening companion and me) were able to visit one of these places for the first time.

lower Pocket area along boardwalk

The Pocket is a rich cove forest site (near LaFayette, GA) with an abundance of spring wildflowers.

a rich diversity of wildflowers

Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)

We were delighted to see emergent vegetation of Virginia bluebells, Trillium, and trout lilies, along with toothwort (Cardamine concatenata), Claytonia virginica (spring beauty), Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot), and Erigenia bulbosa (harbinger of spring).

I'd never seen Erigenia before.  Amazing!  Incredibly small flowers lighting up the forest floor. 

Erigenia bulbosa (Harbinger of spring)

Harbinger of spring is an extremely small member of the parsley family (Apiaceae).  You'd hardly notice it, walking by, but it was great fun and such a treat to finally see.

The symposium was wonderful -- a treat to participate and attend with over 150 native plant enthusiasts. It's so nice to be able to experience the interest and enthusiasm, and share my own passion for native plants, too!

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