A Feast for my Eyes

 White Trilliums blooming as far as you can see

I love the first week of May as tree buds open, creating a delicate green veil, and spring flowers display extravagant but short-lived blooms. Spring is half over, but cool, wet weather still prevails most days. The early flowers have flourished in the moist, low, but frost-free temperatures. Every few years, the trilliums at Steckle Woods have a banner season, and this is one of those special springs. Trilliums are abundant in Ontario and are often scattered in wooded areas. Steckle Woods has a carpet of flowers with little or no room to step between the blooms. Susannah Steckle's Trillium Tea parties, a thing of the past, would sell plenty of tickets this year!

I bought a trillium plant at a local nursery a couple of years ago, but it has not loved the light or soil in my garden. The leaves poked up this year, but it has not flowered. The wild Trillium ecosystem in these woods has taken many decades, even centuries, to develop. 

Jack-in-the-Pulpit, White Trillium, Wild Ginger, Trout Lily (leaves)

I started cleaning up my garden this week, pruning the roses and cutting back dead stalks on the perennials. We put so much effort into lawns and gardens with non-native vegetation. I dug up half a basket of dandelions from the lawn and saved some of the fresh, young leaves to make a delicious salad. My granddaughter was curious but unwilling to try the "weedy" greens. She remarked when looking at my garden, 

"Nana, you sure have a lot of weeds!"

I told her the names of all the green shoots: Coneflowers, Poppies, Pulmonaria, Oregano, Sage, Peonies, Forget-me-nots, Solomon's Seal, Hostas, Sedum, Bleeding hearts, Mint, Lavender, Fiddlehead Ferns, Lily of the Valley, Rhubarb, Wild Strawberries, and more..., but very few "weeds" at this time of year.

I am not a forager and would not do well as a hunter-gatherer. A local guide leading a wildflower hike told his group that Trout Lily leaves taste like green peas. I nibbled the edge of a leaf this week and found it to have a mild, sweet flavour. After a minute or so, my mouth started to itch, indicating that I likely have a sensitivity to the plant. Apparently, it is not poisonous, but acts as an emetic in large quantities. I will stick to dandelion greens for my salad. This is not a good time of year for local fruit and vegetables. I could pick rhubarb and fiddleheads right now, but not in quantities to feed a family. I am grateful for greenhouse lettuce, mushrooms, and peppers, as well as storage carrots, cabbage, potatoes, and onions that I can buy at the store. 

My treks through the woods are a feast for my eyes, not for my stomach.