Tracking the progress of the spring growing season here in Philadelphia. The “study area” is a stretch of the Schuylkill River Trail near the Philadelphia Art Museum, shrub and bedding plants in gardens near the museum, and a couple of other nearby areas that might have different plants and animals. The pictures date from late March and early April with the growing season in Philadelphia itself running a little ahead of the immediate areas outside of the city.
For the late winter diary with the baseline photos see Link. Numbering on the photos below continues that used in the earlier diary; Edge ## for “weeds” and free growing plants; Orna ## for ornamental and bedding plants, etc.
The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds and/or flowers. All are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
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First a few elaborations on plants pictured in the earlier diary that have since bloomed and become more easily identifiable.
A lot more below the line. Get a cup of favored beverage, sit down, and come along.
The first area I normally walk and photograph is a side trail off the main Schuylkill River Trail that runs close to the river along a hillside. Geese and ducks can usually be found here, as well as turtles during warm weather. Plus the hillside itself hosts a variety of the plants in my “Edge” category. The other photos in this section are from along the trail as well. (And some of them are gone now since the trail edge was mowed recently.)
The next few were previously identified, but the new pictures show how they have grown in the past couple of weeks. Not the same exact specimens as the earlier pictures however. I also corrected my thistle identification to a different species.
And some small flower examples.
The last “edge” picture is from a particular location I like. Farther upriver is an outcrop of the Wissahickon Formation extending out from the bluff towards the river. Kelly Drive, the nearby road, goes through a tunnel in the outcrop. The trail curves around it past a nearly vertical surface. And there are a few crevices or “cups” in that surface that accumulate a little soil and support plants.
The “Orna” (ornamental) group photos come from plant beds around the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Fairmount Park Azalea Garden, and some of the sculpture gardens further upriver in Fairmount Park. The Philadelphia Horticultural Society also has beds in the neighborhood where I live, but no photos from there (yet).
Orna 07 (Oxalis) from the earlier diary was pulled when the beds were mulched.
A few narcissus varieties in bloom now that the main yellow variant is done.
And we will close out the ornamentals section with a short barrage of azalea pictures.
The earlier diary only had a few blooming trees in it — mainly magnolias. With a burst of warm weather the cherries and a few others got going.
Two different cherry trees. There are also larger Kanzan variety cherry planted on some of the streets. Those are just starting to bloom now while these two finished blooming in early April.
A few miscellaneous wildlife and geology photos as well.
And we close the trip with a few pictures from the same area as the start. If you stand on the path between the Azalea Garden and the underground parking garage of the Art Museum you look at a terraced wall of boulders, shrubs, dogwood trees, and a masonry wall at the top. Beyond that is a sculpture garden and the plant beds containing the Snowdrop Anemone we started this bucket with.
However, if you’re at the top at the right spot and look back down towards the path you can find the favored hidden sunning spot of a few Felis Catus.
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Now It's Your Turn
What have you noted happening in your area or travels? As usual post your observations as well as their general location in the comments.