This season we can celebrate the many and healthy blooms of many spring wildflowers. It is a banner year! Thanks to a rainy March, we have been enjoying many, many blooms of Spring Beauty, Bloodroot, Dutchman's breeches, Squirrel Corn, and Trout Lily. The Trilliums are close behind and are also looking healthy and as if they too will have a good seed set. It's a great spring for collecting! The seeds of these early bloomers often develop rapidly and are as quickly shed. These are some of my favorite plants, coming on the heels of wintry March, and when I began I was eager to help my little brood multiply but had many questions: When to collect? How many to collect? From which plants? We are assuming that we are collecting from plants in our own gardens or with the landowner's permission. Here are a few collecting rules of thumb, distilled from the Xerces Society and my own experience, that help maintain the health of the plant community: Continue reading "Plant Watch May 2025"