May Blooming Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

Friends of the Wild Flower Garden

May Spring Photos

Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary

What joy when springtime comes when skies are blue and days are bright. Once more the wildflower garden becomes a land of enchantment. A time to leisurely roam along the trails and feel the springy earth after the snow is gone. (Former Curator Martha Crone April 1956)

In spring the Woodland Garden bursts into its finest display while only the earliest bloomers show in the Upland Garden. The transition from April to May is irregular, dependent on the earlyness or lateness of the season. Even in a late season the flowers shown here will be blooming sometime in May. More photos of each plant and additional plant information can be found at the link on the plant name. Alternate common names for plants are listed in ( ).

Jack-in-pulpit — Jack-in-the-pulpit (*Arisaema triphyllum*). You will find these popping up in many places in the Garden

Foam flower — Foamflower (Heartleaf Foamflower) (*Tiarella cordifolia*). In the Woodland Garden

American Black Currant (*Ribes americanum*) Woodland Garden Wetland area

Swamp Buttercup (Hispid Buttercup) (*Ranunculus hispidus*). Family: Ranunculaceae. In the Woodland Garden.

Large Flowered trillium — Large-flowered Trillium (White Trillium (*Trillium grandiflorum*). Found in the Woodland Garden

Drooping trillium — Drooping Trillium (Nodding Wakerobin) (*Trillium flexipes*) located in the Woodland Garden. Lily Family. The flower has a 2 to 4 inch long stalk causing the "droop".

Purple Trillium (*Trillium erectum*) located in large numbers in the Woodland Garden.

Virginia Bluebells (*Mertensia virginica*) Located in many places in the Woodland Garden. Leaves can have a bluish appearance. Buds with a pink tinge. Several whit-flowered plants are growing also.

Canada Violet (*Viola canadensis*) located in the Woodland Garden. Widespread in the Minnesota woods.

Red Elderberry (*Sambucus racemosa* var. *racemosa*) located in the Woodland Garden and shady spots in the Upland Garden. A common shrub of the Minnesota woods.

Jacob's Ladder — Jacob's-ladder (Greek Valerian) (*Polemonium reptans*). Found in the Woodland Garden, the bell shaped blue to purple flowers have protruding stamens.

Shooting Star (Pride of Ohio) (*Dodecatheon media*). The Ohio state flower. One of the early bloomers in the Upland Garden, quite well distributed. The flowers stand out on tall stems above the basal clump of leaves.

Wild Calla (Water Arum) (*Calla palustris*). In the wetland.

Common Periwinkle (Running Myrtle) (*Vinca minor*). Hillside patches in the Woodland Garden on Violet Way.

Wild Geranium (Spotted Geranium) (*Geranium maculatum*). You will find large swaths of these in the Woodland Garden. Color can vary by micro-location.

Virginia Waterleaf (Eastern Waterleaf) (*Hydrophyllum virginianum*). Found extensively in the Woodland Garden, the flowers are white to lavender shaded, in clusters, with long protruding stamens. In some cases the leaves may look mottled as though water stained.

Yellow Lady's-slipper (*Cypripedium parviflorum* var. *pubescens*). The largest clump is found at Guidebook station 8 in the Woodland Garden; it blooms as early as mid May.

Yellow Trillium (Yellow Wakerobin) (*Trillium luteum*) located in the Woodland Garden on Geranium Path.

©2015 Friends of the Wild Flower Garden, Inc. All photos are ©G D Bebeau unless otherwise credited by copyright. Links on the plant name will link to an information sheet with more photos of each plant. www.friendsofeloisebutler.org [032822]