Sunday, April 1, 2012

Van Zoeren Woods to Happy Boots

2012 03 27  Van Zoeren Woods, a  Zeeland township park (34 acres) was our destination for this very cold windy, morning.  To get to this park we traveled through some beautiful farmland, this barn picture was taken along the way.

























We found the park with no problem, but where to park was a bit of a question.  We just parked near the sign.


It was 9 a.m. and 36 degrees with a brisk wind blowing.  We started to see wildflowers as soon as we got to the trail.


 Yellow Trout Lily


False Rue Anemone


Then a surprise!  Marie found Large-flowered Trillium blooming.  This is about 6 weeks earlier than average for this plant to bloom here in west Michigan.




Large-flowered Trilllium


Then she spotted this Jack-in-the-Pulpit fully open!  There were many, many, Wild Leek leaves everywhere.  The leaves show first on the Wild Leek then the leaves die back and the plant blooms later in the spring.


Wild Leek leaves


 Mayapple was up but not yet blooming.


Bloodroot done blooming.


 Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides)


Close up of the green flower of the Blue Cohosh plant.



 Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) Fumitory Family.  Each flower is about 3/4 " long and has the form of a pair of pants upside down on a clothesline.


 Dutchman's Breeches



 Squirrel Corn (Dicentra Canadensis) Fumitory Family.  Squirrel Corn flowers are heart shaped.

Here I lifted my head up from the flowers and took a look around the woods.  It's a nice little woods, they are planning on making a paved trail, some paths were being worked on.

           Bug

      This I think is a fungus called Scarlet Cup.


We also saw Cut-leaved Toothwort blooming for the first time this year, lots of first here in Van Zoeren Woods.
We visited Van Zoeren Woods for about three hours then went down to Allegan County to Happy Boots Corner.  Oh the Marsh Marigold, beautiful.


Marsh Marigold like a burst of sunshine.
 More Marsh Marigold
Marsh Marigold is usually one of the early bloomers and they are so pretty.  Then we found a flower blooming that again surprised us, Golden Ragwort (Senecio aureus) Aster Family. 
 Golden Ragwort blooming
Golden Ragwort buds  The first year we came across this plant we couldn't figure it out because we would see these purplish buds, but out comes a golden flower!  
 We also saw violets, this one was a very soft purple color.


 Different kinds of buttercups.

            Ferns unfurling
This is Dwarf Ginseng (Panax trifolius).


Don't forget to look around at these fun and interesting woods.



Allegan Forest


After about an hour and a half at Happy Boots Corner we hopped in the car and drove along 133rd Avenue.


133rd Ave. Allegan County Michigan


 The patch of White Trout Lily was back.  Some Yellow Trout Lily too.


A nice bunch of violets...Then to home.  A wonderful day.



12 comments:

New Hampshire Gardener said...

Beautiful! I would have stayed all day, and then gone back the next day. What an abundance of wildflowers!

Anonymous said...

Did we really see all that? In March? Glad to have your wonderful photogenic record. I kept saying Wow! M :)

Plants Amaze Me said...

New Hampshire Gardener, it was a fun day but very cold for a start, when we took a break in the car it felt good. Two weeks ago it was too hot, haha, never happy. I just couldn't believe any flowers were blooming, it was beautiful. Thanks for visiting. :-)

Plants Amaze Me said...

M :-) , Yes we did see all that! But remember how cold our fingers were. I am glad you like the photo record, I guess that is why I do this blog, sort of a record of our trips, like your accounts. Your accounts have much more details though, if I don't take a picture of something I usually forget it, like the bumblebees a couple of weeks ago. Thanks and see you soon!

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy "our" weekly walks in the woods! :) Love your photos too.

Plants Amaze Me said...

quietsolopursuits, I am glad you enjoy our walks, they should calm down to just a weekly post, that will be good. Today we walked again at Riverside but it was more of a hike than an "adventure". I guess every walk can't be an adventure, that's ok, it's nice to be outside. Thanks for taking time to read my blog. :-)

Dave said...

Wow, you just made my day!!!! Thanks

Plants Amaze Me said...

flowerdave, Great! You are welcome. Glad you stopped by. :-)

kayak1 said...

This is the best way to start my day, by going to your "Plants Amaze Me" site... Truely the best yet... Thanks!!!

Plants Amaze Me said...

kayak1, Wow thanks for the nice comment. More spring wildflowers are coming soon... :)

TVZ said...

Hello. I'm working on a book relating to the Vriesland area, and am interested in your photos of Van Zoeren Woods. Is it possible to email you? (Sorry, I'm not finding a way to do that from your website.) I'll watch this site for a reply. Thanks.
-Tom VZ

Plants Amaze Me said...

Tom VZ Hello you may email me at plantsamazeme@gmail.com
Chris :)