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Delicate delights
The Upper Delaware River region is ablaze with many showy blooms at this time of year. Particularly obvious are the exuberant expressions of the season, displayed by shrubs and trees in flower.
But tucked into the landscape’s nooks and crannies are the hidden blooms that reward the attentive observer—the spring wildflowers. Characterizing many of these beauties is a certain frail delicacy that has long captured the imaginations of artists, poets and those who appreciate nature’s exquisite subtleties.
Many spring wildflowers conclude blooming by early June. So don’t delay. Take a wildflower walk today.
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| TRR photo by Sandy Long | |
| Bluets have begun to appear in patches along grassy or moss-studded trails and can be seen stitched along the edges of gravel roads throughout the region. The four-petaled blooms range from white to palest blue to a deep, nearly purple hue, surrounding a golden center. Bluets are members of the bedstraw family. (Click for larger version) |
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| TRR photo by Sandy Long | |
| Wild columbine, another member of the buttercup family, can currently be seen poking from mossy rock ledges and slopes. The red flowers are characterized by spurs containing nectar that attracts certain insects with specialized tongues adapted to extracting the sweet liquid. (Click for larger version) |
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| TRR photo by Sandy Long | |
| Wood anemone, a member of the buttercup family, features three-pronged, deeply-cut leaves with a single five-petaled white flower, shown in its closed state here. It is sometimes called “wind flower” for the way it trembles in the slightest breeze due to its fragile stem. (Click for larger version) |
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