Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Into the Woods
A few pictures from the central Virgnia woods last week. I was startled to see a Vaccinium in bloom. I believe this is a deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum) and it normally blooms in late April or early May. We have several wild Vacciniums in the woods and although I've seen berries on some of them I've never seen a deerberry berry.
I never posted an update on the Cranefly Orchid I discovered last winter. I did look for the flowers in July (or was it August?), and found instead the stump of a chewed-off flower stalk. But the leaves are sprouting again and there may be even more of them than I saw last year. Here's one emerging leaf:
With the recent rain, the mushrooms are sprouting like...oh never mind. I have no idea what any of these are, but some of them are attractive and that's fine because all I intend to do is look at them.
And lastly, this is the biggest Partridgeberry I've ever seen. Where are the partridges?
11 Comments:
Wonderful photos of your woodland stroll. :) That IS a large partridgeberry! The woods are so vibrant and enchanted this time of year!
Great photos Entangled and some beautiful colours from my favourite time of the year. The mushrooms look intriguing but I imagine they are better left out of the frying pan!
The mushrooms practically scream...'We are poisonous!' Nature entertains us with such electric colors, doesn't she!
Gail
How unusual for the deerberry to bloom now. But I must say those blooms look gorgeous although very spring-y. ;-)
There's mushrooms and toadstools galore here too.
Nancy: This is a beautiful season in the woods. The moss has sprung back to life too after the rain - photos to come!
Miles: We're lucky here in Virginia to have nice long autumns. Some of the leaves are turning, but the woods are still mostly green. All the mushrooms in my frying pan come from the grocery store, but I can't help but wonder about some of these...
Gail: I had never seen those red and orange storybook mushrooms until I moved to central Virginia. Entertaining, indeed!
Yolanda: Did you see the pictures Carol posted of crabapples in bloom in Indianapolis? Strange to see these spring flowers now with the chrysanthemums and asters.
Lovely pictures... the foliage on that Cranefly orchid is fascinating! And funny about the deerberry, but I don't think it's all that rare (although certainly unusual) for some spring bloomers to go again in the fall, is it? I know that my forsythia at the old house did flower again occasionally, and I had a confused rhodie bloom here in the fall once.
I have heard so much but seen nothing of autumn in America, I imagine certain places to look stunning i.e Montana and New England? if you had to reccomend one state to visit in fall which would it be?
Blackswamp Girl: We see cherry trees blooming in the fall fairly often too, but it always feels like there's something wrong about it. I think the garden plants are easier to trick into blooming out of season than the wild plants.
Miles: Why Virginia, of course! Really any place with hills and lots of deciduous trees will be very pretty in the fall, but it's hard to beat Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Political boundaries aside, this is all one area as far as the trees are concerned - lots of sugar maples, which have some of the best fall colors.
A beautiful walk in the woods. Thanks for the update on the Crinum.~~Dee
What a great variety of items you're seeing! I have no idea what the Cranefly orchid looks like. Perhaps I'll have to do a search. :-)
Dee: It's always nice to have company for a walk in the woods!
Shady: I've never seen the cranefly orchid flowers either. Next year I vow I'm going to get to them before the critters do!
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