A Very Green Post: Spring Hike in Forest Park
The time came last weekend to break away, breathe some fresh air and explore one of the many green spaces of Portland. I can think of none more vast and rich than Forest Park. As I walked along snapping photos along the way, though, I noticed on several occasions my husband many leagues ahead of me because I was so sucked into the landscape. That said, here's a tour of photos, all of Pacific Northwest native plants. Nice!
Warning: This is a very green post. As in the color.
The view from our parking space. That's the Willamette River and a railroad bridge.
The false Soloman's seal or Maianthemum racemosum was in bloom; what a treat. I have some of this in the shade garden. It's taken a while to establish itself but it shall be nice once it does.
Tellima grandiflora or fringe cup. Deciduous perennial.
. . . A whole bank of them, mixed with other lovelies.
Vancouveria hexandra, inside-out flower graces the forest floors of this area, a lovely groundcover in the shade garden, too. Sweet little white flowers will soon adorn this delicate native.
Maidenhair fern, Adiantum aleuticum. I have these in my shade garden, they are the graceful ladies of shade. So lovely with contrasting black stems. Like most ladies, they improve with age.
Speaking of LADIES, here are the ferns. Lady ferns, Athyrium filis-femina. I have these in the garden, too, and they were just there....I think they have always been there. Deciduous and big, kind of nice. Too bad there's invasive English ivy in the background here, that's a huge problem.
Don't buy it or plant it, please!
Don't buy it or plant it, please!
Viola glabella or streambank violet. I have these in the garden, and they are really sweet. There were millions in bloom in the forest this day, very special.
Plant porn:
Hmm...this Trillum...
plus this Trillium...
equals THIS Trillium? I'm no botanist but I think some Trillium hanky-panky has been going on.
Even the air looks green.
Another view of maidenhair fern. So very sweet.
Hello, husband! Again, I'm lagging way behind...lolligagging...taking pictures of green things.
Nice example of a feeder log. Looks like it was once a snag for woodpeckers and other critters. It's an important part of the forest ecosystem.
Canopy of lovely vine maples - Acer circinatum and other deciduous trees.
A bit soggy here and there.
Western sword fern, Polystichum munitum.
and their weird cool fronds.
Oxalis!
A sea of Oxalis oregana. So pretty. Spreads...be careful! But in a shady setting, this NW native can't be beat.
A bank of Trilliums on the right. There were thousands.
On the trail down in the sunshine, we found a whole field of Ribes sanguineum or flowering currant. Nice to see it out in the wild. These blossoms are just about spent but still full of color.
Oooo, we'll end our little hike with a furry buddy. I used to see these guys everywhere when I was a child but after seeing him here I realized I hadn't seen them in years.
Hopefully next week we'll be back in the garden, right now we're experiencing a week-long deluge. Until then, thank you for visiting and happy gardening.
What a great place for a walk! Those Trilliums are probably all Trillium ovatum, in different stages. The flower starts out white and ages to pink.
ReplyDeleteHi Alison, thanks for the info :)
DeleteIt is a great walk..so green and lush.
Fringecups are my favorite. Such pretty, frilly things.
ReplyDeleteSo frilly...so pretty...hee hee... I love them too :)
DeleteWe have most of these in our back woods too, but there's nothing like hiking in Forest Park, where it extends for miles all around.
ReplyDeleteOh, indeed Ricki. Nothing like a good hike out there in the fresh air! Forest Park is special, indeed.
DeleteSo nice to go for a hike, certainly in Forest Park, beautiful pictures of all what is growing there, so nice you even discovered Trillium there.....
ReplyDeleteHi Janneke, thank you for visiting again! Yes, it's a lovely lovely place. If you were ever in Portland I would take you there for a hike. Cheers!
DeleteOoooh, I loved this post! I have almost all of these in my Portland yard, too, but have never known them by anything other than their common names. How fun to learn their Proper names. :) Great photos.
ReplyDeleteHi Mindy, that's great! Glad that you learned the names...it's always a joy for me to learn new plant information. Thanks for visiting!
DeleteIn all the years I lived in Portland, I never walked the trails of Forest Park. Hoyt Arboretum was the closest I came, and that was nice. I love the diverse flora of this place. I imagine this is how the whole city must have looked a few hundred years ago before it was developed. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteReally? It's so vast and lovely, Hoyt Arboretum is great. I think you're right, it must have been very similar. I feel like I see remnants of it via a few old trees here and there sprinkled throughout the city. When did you live here?
DeleteThis is the Far Ahead Husband reporting! Please note the path we wandered started on Saltzman Road, which you reach off Hwy 30. We then went south on the Maple Trail, curled up to Leif Erickson and ambled back to Saltzman. A great 90-minute walk about 4 miles in the greenscape. And, for the record, I don't mind hiking out front, but sometimes I wait a long time when I ask my dear wife a question! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteHello Far Ahead Husband, xoxox kisses to you! You are my navigator extraordinaire.
DeleteForest Park is magical... One reason I was hoping to find a house in St. Johns, to still be just across the bridge from it. But it's definitely worth the drive from anywhere in the city.
ReplyDeleteI have these natives and others in my Vancouver garden, I haven't been sure of some of the fern ID's. Spring is a great time here, I couldn't believe the hot weather today after all the cold and rain last week. Thanks for the tour, I'm usually too busy gardening to go for walks.
ReplyDelete