Virginia Trip Final Day

Likely apple or crabbapple blossoms (Malus sp?) at Shenandoah U.

Blossoms and fountains at Shenandoah University

American robin (Turdus migratorius)

Anemone (Anemone sp?) of some kind at Shenandoah U.

Unknown white flowers

Wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) in Shenandoah’s native plant garden

St. Peter’s Catholic Church & School at Harpers Ferry

Life will find a way

Cliffs at Harpers Ferry

Harpers Ferry Train Tunnel

Train at Harpers Ferry

On my final day I stopped at my undergraduate alma mater, Shenandoah University where they’ve done some splendid new grounds work since I’ve graduated. Outside the the environmental science classroom they have a native plant garden which actually helped me identify the Virginia bluebells from my last post, and had wild columbine in bloom.

My pass to Harpers Ferry from my first day was good through my last day, so I decided to stop by again, especially since it was actually sunny out. I took the shuttle down to the lower town and walked across the river along the train tracks, where the trains still run (everyone loves trains 🙂 ) Along the way I snapped a picture of St. Peter’s Catholic Church in the low town. Some old bridge supports that are still standing had some shrubbery growing on top providing an interesting picture. I have no idea if the shrubs made it there naturally or someone helped them, but it’s amazing where plants will find to grow and thrive. Enjoy!

Spring Pre-trip Post

Brandywine Creek State Park

American robin (Turdus migratorius)

Daffodils (Narcissus sp?)

Might be common serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea)

Getting ready to head to a wedding in Lexington, VA so it will definitely be a chance to take a lot of pictures along the way. The trip takes me through Lancaster, PA to Harpers Ferry, WV and through Shenandoah National Park. Whether I stop at all those places will depend on time and traffic. Today’s short post features some more from Brandywine Creek State Park and a robin that posed in front of my car at home. Along the service road to our site at the park there were some stands of daffodils and some beautiful white flowering trees scattered around. It looks like the trees might be one of the types of serviceberry trees. Check back for pictures from the trip!

Signs of Spring!

Witch hazel hybrid (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Old Copper’)

Turtles sunning sp?

Witch hazel hybrid (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Rubin’)

Tyler Arboretum grounds

American robin (Turdus migratorius)

Pine cone sp?

Witch hazel hybrid (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Rubin’) 2

Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus)

I think this is common snowdrop (Skunk cabbage (Galanthus nivalis)

Paper bush buds (Edgeworthia chrysantha)

3 winter flowers; crocus, winter aconite, and common snowdrop

Carpet of late winter/ early spring flowers

Crocus (Crocus sp?)

Well today is the actual Vernal Equinox with equal day and night, but last Saturday you could still find snow on the ground. Despite that it was a beautiful day and so I headed out to the Tyler Arboretum to see if any early spring flowers might be out. The arboretum is definitely worth the price of admission and I imagine in full spring and summer there are some quite spectacular blooms.

Sadly for me  as it is an arboretum, excepting for their native plants sections, most of the plants you find are imported or horticultural variates, including the plants in bloom. I found beautiful horticultural varieties of witch hazel and a paper bush getting ready to bloom, with nice name plates (many plants were nicely named, yet weren’t in bloom or sprouted). Behind the main office there was a carpet of crocus, winter aconite, and common snowdrops. Down by a creek running through the arboretum some skunk cabbage could be seen poking through. Finally, while they may be about year round, nothing says spring like American robins flitting about. Even the several ponds on the grounds showed signs of tadpoles and amphibians to come. I will definitely be returning as the weather continues to improve.