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Last year, the Audubon Nature Center planned a wildflower hike to one of the most beautiful wildflower spots in the area. A heat wave hit and all the wildflowers bloomed and went to seed the week before the walk. Only violets were in bloom on the day of the hike and the walk was canceled on the assumption that few people would be interested in the main eight violets that bloom in May.
Nature seems to prefer the spontaneous outing over the super planned trip. Spring wildflowers cover the forest floor with whites, reds, pinks, purples, yellows and blues. At their peak, local wildflowers are a gently waving, wind-rippled fireworks display on the ground.
The peak of the wildflowers generally hits between May 5 and May 25, depending on how warm or cool the spring was. This year, the sudden warmth of spring may bring an earlier wildflower peak.
In order to try and finally hit that one amazing day, the Audubon Nature Center is scheduling a spontaneous wildflower hike. The Spring Wildflower Wander is a phone/email list program that you can sign up for. The Nature Center will then call/email you to tell you when and where the program will happen so that you can enjoy the most amazing wildflowers of the season. The Wildflower Wander costs $16 for the public or $12 for Friends of the Nature Center.
If you are too busy to be spontaneous about wildflower hunting, there will also be a Mother’s Day Wildflower Hike at the Bentley Sanctuary on Bentley Road off Fluvanna Avenue at 2 p.m.
Wildflowers for me are always associated with a general feeling of joy and happiness. They were never part of my world until my first job as a naturalist, when my job description suddenly included teaching classes on wild edibles. Learning how to identify plants and not poison dozens of children quickly became a necessity.
Luckily, someone went out and bought me a used book called “Newcomb’s Guide to Wildflowers.” More importantly, she sat me down in the forest and laughed at me as worked my way through how to use the book. A lot of wildflowers were learned that spring, with lots of laughter, meals made from wild plants and fun thrown in.
That same used book goes out with me now, 20 years later. It’s well-worn and fraying at the edges. It has gone backpacking and camping. The book has traveled from here to Vermont and down to the Smoky Mountains. It has been carried down trails, in kayaks and canoes.
The book traveled with me when I first started hiking with my wife. We both used it to figure out flowers as we slowly realized that a close look at the ground we were walking past revealed many more different plants than we realized.
That year, it became a goal to see how many wildflowers emerged through the spring. Every week, we explored new territory and met new people. By June, with over 100 different wildflowers under our belt, our brains couldn’t handle any more new plants and the experiment stopped. It’s amazing how many plants grow just in this tiny part of the world.
It is amazing how one person can change your view of the world. One used wildflower guide and a few hikes through the forest made the forest come alive in a way that wasn’t there before. Not only did the green wash along the hiking trail suddenly focus into a huge array of wildflowers, but other things came to light too. As I practiced patience (and not cursing aloud) while learning how to use the “Newcomb’s Guide to Wildflowers,” other things began to appear.
Animals wandered past, not noticing me as I focused on the book, counting petals, and looking at the positions of leaves. Many of my closest encounters with bears, deer, pileated woodpeckers and porcupines have occurred while quietly sitting along a trail puzzling out a plant.
Call the Audubon Nature Center to register for the Wildflower Wander at 569-2345 or visit them at 1600 Riverside Road, just south of Jamestown. The Nature Center has 5 miles of trails, a nature play area, picnic area and more. Bentley Sanctuary is located off Fluvanna Avenue in Jamestown, just north of the Fluvanna Community Church. Details are online at jamestownaudubon.org.
Jeff Tome is a naturalist at the Audubon Nature Center.