I finally found the spring flower motherlode in the region --- the aptly named Rockhouse Trail at Sells Park. South-facing, mature forest, full of limestone, and quite damp adds up to the perfect habitat for early spring ephemerals.

I'm enjoying the fact that a new stomping grounds means new species to ID and enjoy. For example, the trout lilies here are white rather than yellow. (The yellows should live here too --- I'll keep my eyes open.)

Even less familiar were the rock-loving Early Saxifrage above and the damp-loving Limestone Bittercress to the left. Given the ubiquitousness of the latter species on one of my other favorite trails, though, I suspect this will become a new spring favorite.

Of course, my old friends are nearby too. Toothworts and spring beauties by the bucketload, hepatica nearly done already, and --- once I peered a little closer --- I even found a couple of bloodroot and rue anemones. Phew! Wouldn't want to miss out on the flowers I grew up with even as I add new ones to my mental roadmap of spring!

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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