Last Monday, November 16th I was cutting back perennials in Trumbull, Connecticut in USDA Hardiness Zone 6b. I noticed a couple of beautiful late season blooming flowers.
We’ve already had several hard frosts. Most of the leaves have fallen off the trees and been cleaned up.
Late Season Blooming Flowers
I first noticed a grouping of Honorine Jobert Windflower (Anemone × hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’) flowers glistening in a sunbeam.
A little farther away a Fairy Rose (Rosa ‘The Fairy) was strutting its stuff.
Here’s a picture from a distance.
I admit late season blooming flowers don’t compare to mid-summer. In the cold and gloomy days of late fall I’ll take whatever I can get.
Every year Cub Scout Pack 170 cleans up Edmund Road in Newtown, CT. It’s our Earth Day conservation project. My son and I spent an hour one Saturday morning picking up garbage and admiring flora. Truth be told I was the only one admiring the flora.
We cleaned up litter on a Saturday. I was so impressed by the beauty of nature I returned Monday, April 27th 2015 to take pictures.
Edmund Road runs along interstate 84 and cuts straight through a swamp. There’s a large stream on one side of the road and standing water on the other.
At the back of the photo you can see the stream. In the foreground bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is just coming into bloom.
The plants were growing just up from the edge of the water in partial shade and humusy soil.
It was worth the return trip.
Connecticut Wetland Plants
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis) coming into bloom. Once the weeds around these plants fill in you won’t even know they’re there.Bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis) for scale.Trout lily (Erythronium americanum ) in full bloom. For a week or two in the early spring it lights up the landscape.If you don’t look for Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum ) you might miss it.Red trillium (Trillium erectum) coming into bloom. Look how red those flowers are!Red Trillium (Trillium erectum) up close and personal.Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) in full bloom.
My childhood home has a small stream and the far side is covered with spicebush. I can still smell the spice when you crushed the leaves or broke the brittle twigs.
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) a little farther away.Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) growing above the stream. You can see skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) growing on the other side.
Across the street from my childhood home is a large swamp. A friend and I would go to the swamp and beat the skunk cabbage with sticks because it’s a “Bad” plant. The more we hit the stinkier it got. I’d like to apologize to all those poor skunk cabbage plants. I didn’t know any better.
This morning I woke to an inch of sleet and snow on the ground. The thermometer read 27 degrees and the wind was whipping. Naturally, the first thing I did was grab my camera and run outside.
Snow brings out the best in plants. It adds interest, creates contrast, and reminds every one of the winter holidays. Below are some photos I took laying prone on an old comforter. Anything for my art!
Lenten Rose will shrug off the snow and keep blooming. It enjoys the snow.The thick fleshy foliage of Sedum protects it from the snow.
