OK, this is the last of my wildflower adventure. It almost feels like you were with me on the hike! I hope you have enjoyed our lessons and you go into your woods/yard and look for these. I have constantly been reviewing these with the girls-to keep it etched on all of our memory banks because if you don't use it, you WILL lose it.

As before, these images are still the property of Kentucky Wildflowers(copyright 2010). There are so many more flowers there! We have only delved slightly into the early spring bloomers! If you are not from KY, find a website that features your state flowers. It is fun!


Bugle. This is just as common as the Henbit. They seem to travel in the same pack. I actually thought they were the same, but Henbit has spaces between blooms and is a bit pinker. this is a deep purple and blooms all over the place on the stem. Eventually the blooms go all the way to the ground. I think we have more of this in our yard than we do grass.

Mouse-eared Chickweed. There are other varieties of the chickweed, but what they all have in common is that from a distance it looks like 10 petals, but as you study the flower, you realize it is only 5 deeply lobed petals. These are really pretty up close. From a distance, just weedy looking. I pulled several of these out of my asparagus this morning.

Yellow Wood Sorrel. This is another one that is going crazy in my yard right now. In my flower beds, asparagus bed and just the yard in general. These are also purple. They feature heart shaped clover-looking leaves that are reddish-purpley on the underside when mature. Looks alot like the hairy buttercup, but the heart shaped leaves tell the identity. (and the lack of shiny)

Blue Phlox. This is so common in flower beds in our area. This is a tall version of the little clumps of creeping phlox you see bloomed out on people's hillsides and landscaping. It is an excellent ground cover because it is hearty and native to KY. This blue phlox is randomly in ditches and fields. Such a beautiful surprise. Our woods is full of them. If only they lived longer!

Spring Beauty. These are aptly named since they are early spring bloomers. They feature beautiful little stripes on the petals that point to their center. This is to attract pollinators. It is tiny and delicate and easily dismissed as a weed like the chickweed.

Rue Anemone. This one is Erika's favorite. It is pretty and so are the leaves-they are slightly mitten shaped. (VERY similar to poison ivy side leaves!) The girls doing our hike said these are as common as dirt. Sadly, not in our yard. If we come across some, we will incorporate them into our flower bed.