Sassafras show off their sinuous arms in winter against gray sky.
Most of the plants will have retreated back to their roots for the winter.
Vertical piles of fallen branches provide convenient support for twining vines. By June, they will be covered with native Honeysuckle and flowers. Birds like flitting around inside.
Pines collect snow in their needles causing heavy branches to droop. This landscape has about six inches of snow.
The morning after, untrodden. Bright blue sky and fresh air. Exhilarating!
Come September, the big floral show is mostly over but early autumn still has plenty to offer. Arching sprays of yellow goldenrod light the meadow.
September is Snakeroot season. Their white blooms brighten the dark corners of the woods. As they are fully deer-proof, they form a monoculture outside the deer exclosure.
Blue Mist—more lavender than blue—forms a colorful carpet by early September.
The Dogwoods are one of the first to show their true colors, a burgundy-red.
Then Sassafras do their thing in whatever colors they choose—yellow to orange to red, sometimes on the same tree.
Is there a more intense red than Sumac in the fall?
As leaves begin to fall, the vista of the bluffs across the Delaware River comes more into view with each passing day. Soon, it will be winter.
The land fully “fleshes” out after Summer Solstice. In bright open areas, the flowers of summer come into their own. Hardly an inch of soil hasn’t been utilized by one plant or another.
In the photo above, red Monarda draws the eye amidst yellow Rudbeckia—common name Black-eyed Susan.
Now is the time for the Joe Pye to do their thing. All manners of pollinators are attracted to their effusive flower heads, especially Monarchs.
Long-deceased Cedar roots salvaged from the woods make fine garden sentinels.
The Cardinal flower, a supreme Hummingbird attractor, is a particularly vivid splash on the plantscape.
The Monarda and Bee Balm are also excellent pollinator attractors.
In the heat of summer, Secret Springs becomes a nearly impenetrable jungle, and the ponds (d)evolve into a squishy marsh.
Yuccas hold their white sale in July. The flower stalks have an impressive growth rate, seemingly growing inches a day.
Come early September, the exuberant floral parade begins to reverse course. The Goldenrod, Lobelia, and Wood Asters are the bridges to autumn.
You might even catch a glimpse of a wood nymph before the end of summer.
The rock garden is at its peak by late May—varied plants form a colorful tapestry. Prominent in the above photo, white Foam Flowers float above the scarlet stars of Fire Pink and red bells of Columbine.
By month’s end, the early spring flower show is over. Ephemerals close up shop just as trees begin to leaf out overhead.
May Apples hit their stride with wide umbrella-like leaves and singular white flowers. Soon, their distinctive lemon-like fruits will form underneath the leaves.
Their patches increase in size every year, and they are effective for shading out the invasive Stilt Grass, though they also shade out plants shorter than themselves.
Yet, May Apples play well with taller ferns, Sassafras seedlings that sprout from runners, Wood Poppies, and Cohosh. They form a stable understory community.
Our infrequent, but always welcome, Jack in the Pulpit stands above lower plants.
Bluebells burst out quickly, but will disappear before the heat of summer.
Meanwhile down at Secret Springs, the Golden Club display their peculiar blooms.
Reptilian neighbors pass through on their search for new breeding grounds and/or mating opportunities. Here, Snapper and Wood Turtles.
Other resident (and showy) snake species of the land: Milk, Ringneck, and Water. All are harmless.
Handsome Green and Leopard frogs hang out at Mossy Bottoms.
Sometimes a friendly Tree Frog shows up at our window.
Wild Geranium seems to like it here. We see more each year.
Meanwhile, the Prickly Pear Cacti twins freshen up and will soon bloom. Amazing to see this transformation from their withered leather winter appearance.
Wild Canids prance through woods and meadow—here, a Red Fox likely hunting the plentiful Chipmunks and baby Rabbits.
With increasing sunlight and tree leaves unfurling, the spring show will give way to a new cast in the expansive voluptuousness of summer.
Every spring there is a “competition” to see which plant is the first to send up an actual blooming flower. Putting aside Skunk Cabbage (a winter bloomer), the two plants first to bloom in spring are Hepatica and Blood Root.
Hepatica usually has the advantage as their leaves can stay green during the winter, giving them the benefit of being able to photosynthesize during mild winter periods.
Blood Root sends up a large white flower before their leaves unfurl by using stored energy from the previous season. So when there is prolonged snow cover, Blood Root may be the first to bloom.
The ½ to 1-inch-wide Hepatica flowers have a number of white, pink, purple, or blue flowers that may last for a few weeks, while Blood Root flowers only last a few days before the petals fall to the ground.
Come late March and early April things really begin to shift into high gear. Next stepping up to the stage are the yellow brigade: Golden Ragwort, Wood Poppies, and the Marsh Marigolds hold court in the Springs area.
Rue Anemones also come into their own at this time carpeting the woodland floor with their blooms in various shades of pink to white.
They die back in mid-summer, making them true spring ephemerals.
Trout Lillies, Cut-leaf Toothwort, and Dutchman’s Breeches also grace us with their delicate ephemeral blooms. They will all be finished for the season by the time the overhead deciduous trees leaf out.
Next up are the Wood Frogs. After the first warm rainy period of the new season, male wood frogs travel from nearby woodlands and gather at the ponds, all calling in their unique quacking cacophony. Their loud intermingled calls resound like a flock of over-excited ducks and can be heard from more than an acre away.
The outnumbered females show up a few days later. Males joust for their attention and the small number of females are quickly beleaguered by mates. In a few days this amphibian bacchanal is over, and the pond goes quiet once more.
The only clue of what conspired here are the clumps of gelatinous egg masses left behind.
Over the next few weeks, each little black dot will hatch, elongate, and start feeding on algae and detritus. They swim like long-tailed apostrophes on their journey to adult metamorphosis that hopefully will be completed before these vernal basins go dry for the summer.
Come early April, Garter snakes emerge from their winter hibernation, hungry.
The amazing transformation is now under way, from drab grey to green, and from green to all colors imaginable. Let the dynamic seasons begin!
