Stan and I went for an adventure to the spot I saw the lady slippers last year and found that we were about a week early, but what a sight they are even in bud. I got some digital shots and took my "real" camera with the macro lens and hopes for some good shots from that as well. This is the biggest clump I have ever seen - they must be gorgeous in full pink bloom. the little white flowers scattered around like ladies in waiting are gold thread, Coptis trifolia.
Ohh, they will be beautiful!! What a nice stand! And the white flowers around them, very pretty!
We will be visiting our plants this weekend too. I just love the Cyp acaule coming up in the Spring.
WOW
awesome picture
I should walk thru the land across the street and see if there is any in there
I love seeing them in the wild....
Haven't seen those around here... how pretty!
We were in NE Pennsylvania this weekend and took lots of walks through the woods. We looked at many wildflowers - the Cypripedium acaule were in full bloom, very pretty!!
If you would like to see the pink ones and also a (rare, I believe) f. albiflorum, I posted my link at the Orchid Forum here:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/515893/
Ursula
Beautiful shots - and the white one, what a treasure!
We walked up on out property on Clymer Hill just on the odd chance that there might be some up there in the marshy part where all the old growth hemlock are, but no such luck. Stan says that either his dad or an old neighbor used to talk about an undergrowth fire in that woods in the early part of the 20th century. There is a definite dearth of flowers - even the white trillium where far and few between and no violets!
Kathleen,
thanks, they are to be enjoyed.
I don't think the fire would have anything to do with that? Perhaps there is now too much underbrush? They do need open forest during the winter months, too many conifers will choke them out too, in fact they will choke out everything eventually.
The evergreens are not in a "stand" so to speak, but rather part of the wood, and hemlock is a rather more open conifer than pine. The underbrush is pretty limited, too, it was a nice walk as it was so open. The only place there was any brush was where Stan had left the tops from the hemlocks he harvested last fall for the shed. It should have been ideal for multitudes of wildflowers, but is curiously barren.
Strange indeed.
These are from my yard.
sbragonier
very good looking plants. Are they also Cyp acaule? The leaves look like it. You say - in your yard. Did you naturalize them or did they grow on their own?
Ursula
RUK - yes they are Cyp acaule. I am fortunate to have them growing naturally in my yard. They are quite common in my neighborhood. I currently have about 60 plants scattered all over the place. Normally a dozen or so bloom a year. As we have opened up the deep shade clearing heavy under growth and removing select trees we have them popping up like "weeds". My DH and I make a game of seeing who can spot the new ones first. We never know where they will pop up. For such a delicate plant they sure like the oddest places. IE In front of the shed door where everyone walks. In my walkways. At the edge of my compost pile. If they are not in danger of being trampled we mark the spot ( to remind us to be careful there) and leave them be. If not we carefully relocate them to an area where there are others already growing.
How wonderful!! To have them right in your backyard is really nice.
Are those pine needles in your picture?
RUK - Yes all the large trees in my yard are either white pines or red oaks. I use the pine needles to mulch my nursery beds and use shredded oak leaves to mulch the rest. It is sort of a case of if you can't beat'em... join'em. I had been buying cedar bark mulch and cocoa beans but am switching over as I renew.
