Early flowers

Another blizzard, but the snows are melting fast these days.  In a week or so Green Mountain will be drying up and we should see some of the first wildflowers on the south side of the mountain.  First up will be things like Storksbill (Erodium cicutarium) and Early Purple Vetch 
(Astragalus shortianus).  

Storksbill

Early Purple Vetch

About the same time Salt and Pepper (Lomatium orientale) and Musineon (Musineon divaricatum) will show up .  These are some of the early less conspicuous flowers of the season but they're fun to see because that signals the start of Spring.  Temps in the 60's this weekend will have the trees starting to bud.  The snow will be off the streets and Spring will be here!

Intro--Green Mountain wildflowers

What's blooming on Green Mountain, Lakewood, Colorado--the first foothill

There's a blizzard on Green Mountain this morning, but that's to be expected in March.  It's been such a dry winter this will really help the wildflowers get a good drink so they can put on a show for us.  

I've been keeping track of when things bloom on the mountain for the last 10 years and thought I'd blog about it to let you know what you might find when you go hiking or biking on the mountain.

The first bloomers usually come out this month--storksbill, followed soon by sand lilies, biscuitroot and musineon.  Then come the showier blossoms of Spring when the cherry and plum trees bloom and the paintbrush and penstemons show their color.

My name is Tom, but I blog as GM Runner since that's usually how I get around to see what's out.  I'm an apprentice Native Plant Master, and taking a class on Green Mountain last year gave me the idea to let other folks know what to look for at different times of the year.

I'll update again when the snow melts and the sun starts things growing.  Until then, enjoy the snow!