Wildflowers in Cary

Sunday, we took Alex to go on some short wildflower hikes near Cary.  Our first stop was at Crowder District Park off Ten-Ten Road.  After parking, we hiked the Outer Loop around the perimeter of the park.  Near the pond, some cherry trees were blooming.

Taking the Inner Loop around the pond led to the boardwalk and nice views of Crowder Pond.

The pollen was starting to fall and it was all over the pond and paved trail.

Back around the pond, we took the unpaved Coopers Hawk Trail and connected back with the Outer Loop to finish up.

Next, we made the short drive to Swift Creek Bluffs Nature Preserve.  This would be the sixth and final hike for Alex to complete the #hikeTLC challenge.

Right away, we saw a lot of spring beauty blooming and a couple wild geranium.

Hiking along the creek, there were a lot of wildflowers blooming though the water level was low.

We walked along the creek and then took the Stairway to Heaven up to the top of the bluffs.

There were some bloodroot blooming up here.

We also saw a little snail.

Back down the stairs, we started heading back to the car.  But the going was slow as there were lots of wildflowers along the Swift Creek floodplain.

The spring beauty were blanketing the forest floor in white.

A couple of trout litlies were blooming.

And Sandy spotted a single atamasco lily before we finished.

In another week or so, there will probably be a lot more.

From here, there was one more stop at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve.  We first hiked the down the East Bluffs.  The steep north-facing bluffs support a population of Eastern hemlock, normally found further west in the mountains.

At the base, we took the Swift Creek Trail around and saw more wildflowers blooming along the boardwalks.  Then we hiked the west loop and took a break at the West Hemlock Bluffs Overlook.  A little Carolina anole was on a tree here.

We continued on the Chestnut Oak Loop Trail and made another stop at Chestnut Oak Overlook.

After finishing, we hiked down the Kildaire Farm Street-Side Trail to Swift Creek Greenway, part of the Cary Greenway system.  The trail followed the other side of Swift Creek and there were more wildflowers blooming here.

At Regency Parkway, the trail crosses Swift Creek on the sidewalk.

There were some eastern redbud blooming along the creek.

We turned around here and started making our way back.  At one point, we saw a water snake just off the trail.

Back at Kildaire Farm Road, we returned to Hemlock Bluffs and headed home.

Wake County Wildflowers

Sunday morning, I headed out to check out the wildflowers locally.  Being mid-April, they should really be popping.  My first stop was the Reedy Creek entrance to William B. Umstead State Park to hike Company Mill Trail.  There were a lot of spring beauties flowering along the trail, especially where it followed the creek closely.

Along Crabtree Creek, there were a couple spots where Pinxter azaleas were blooming over the creek.

I also spotted a great blue heron fishing in Crabtree Creek.

It had been raining when I drove in this morning, but the sun had come out and it had become a beautiful day.

After finishing up the trail, I headed into Cary to Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve.  First I hiked down to the East Hemlock Overlook to see the massive old trees for which the area is named.

Normally found in the mountains, Eastern hemlock live here due to the microclimate of the steep north-facing bluffs.  Continuing down the stairs, I hiked the Swift Creek loop.  Down in the floodplain of the creek, a lot of spring beauties were blooming.

I spotted this wildflower, maybe a sorrel, right at the end of the boardwalk.

Further on the loop, I also spotted some wild geranium.

Then I hiked the other loops before finishing up.

But I had one more place I wanted to stop before finishing, so made the short drive over to Swift Creek Bluffs Nature Preserve.  This preserve is small at only 23 acres, but big on wildflowers.  There were a ton of wild geranium blooming right near the trailhead.

I got on the Swift Creek Loop and saw a couple atamasco lilies, one of my favorite wildflowers.

Hiking up along the creek, I saw lots of spring beauty blooming right along the creek.

A lot of star chickweed as well, but none of the geranium by the creek.

I also saw an Eastern Comma butterfly next to the creek.

After hiking along Swift Creek, I took the Stairway to Heaven up past the huge beech trees.

It's finally gotten warmer out and I was feeling it climbing up the stairs.  The steep bluffs feel really out of place for being right in Cary, but once at the top, houses are visible - a reminder of the preserve's suburban location.  After finishing up, I hiked back to the car, stopping one more time to see the beautiful geranium.

Swift Creek Bluffs is definitely a great local place to see spring wildflowers.