Saturday, April 19, 2014

In search of the elusive violets

This morning I left on the errand of finding a yard of daffodils and then the violets at Furnace Run. I knew I passed the daffodils with children in the car, so I made two round trips to downtown Hudson before I quit and came home for a child. I found Laura. 

We made a round trip to the school in vain. Back to the house, and we quizzed Hamilton who remembered we saw them on the way home from haircuts yesterday. That 'splains that one, Lucy. Laura was not on that expedition.

I pulled into the house, up the drive looking for someone to ask permission of. A lovely woman with two barking Yorkies around our ankles gave me leave to take pictures and cut as many as we wished! 

The property once was a flower farm, for florists "in the city." The side lot was daffodils. Other fields were glads, iris, many floral arrangement flowers. The "hobbit hole" in the front was for bulb storage.


The daffodil lot
Bulb storage
Laura and I set out for Furnace Run Metropark and the violets. Last year the township road super posted pictures of violets in crowds in the lower parts of Furnace Run. I borrowed one of his pictures of them. 

Another wild violet chase for Laura and me this year. The road super is far nimbler than I and hikes those trails I won't tackle these days. So, here are his pictures last year of both the daffodils on the trail and the violets. Except, now I think they are not violets. They are a bell shaped flower.



I am ready to call it spring.



26 comments:

  1. It does indeed look like Spring. And I think you are right about the road super's flowers. Not violets - but very, very pretty. And could even be blue-bells naturalising happily.

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  2. Wonderful they look great on mass, I think spring has arrived.
    Merle........

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  3. Oh... those look like Bluebells to me.... there is a bike path in Athens Co that runs along an old railroad bed (a rails to trails path)... when I went back to college around 1971 or so, my field biology class went to this fantastic place.... mertensia (blue bells), dutchman breeches, ginger, and on and on and on. Since that time that area has developed into a wonderful bike path, and I hunger for it this time every year. We seldom get back to Ohio to see the daffodils in bloom (my favorite flower)... nor to see the bike path in it's most glorious time of year... but your post of those very flowers make me both happy and very sad.... happy that those sights are still to be beholden... but kind of sad that I won't see them this time around. There's always next year... she says with a sigh.....

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  4. I don't think those are violets, violets are very tiny and close to the ground, think they might be bluebells; love the header, the weathered pig and other statue, where are those located. Happy Easter to you.

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    1. The toad and the pig are on the front steps. I call the shot "Pig Heaven."

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  5. Everyone's blogging about woodland flowers!

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  6. Your photos are lovely, Joanne, and your header is beautiful! So nice to see Spring. I saw a robin the other day here in Montreal but couldn't manage to get a photo, he was too quick! Only got photos of the ducks and geese. Happy Easter!

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  7. We get fields of daffs (I noticed some online place calling them that) over at the arboretum near us. It's a great place for taking pictures of kids with daffodil background.

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  8. The flowers were free?!

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  9. The bulb place looks like a WW2 bunker, I've seen similar on the CA coast, used as lookouts for enemy subs.

    The daffodils are almost over here in Seattle, tulips are in full swing. In Kate and Drew (dau and SIL) back yard they have apple, pear, plum and cherry trees that are in full bloom, the lilac in the front yard is just about blooming too.

    Nice field of daffodils in your pics.

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  10. Sweet Spring. We drove out into the country today looking for Spring but .... we didn't find it.

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  11. Pretty impressive display of daffodils especially since I only get about 8.

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  12. What a beautiful place to visit. We had to wait a long time, but spring did come. I just hope it stays around for a few month and none of that jumping right into summer.

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  13. Violets and pansies do not survive our hot California winds. I miss them both.

    The nursery said there will be pansies in late October or Mid-November.

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  14. I like your new blog header; very cute! Colorful field sof flowers!

    betty

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  15. What beautiful fields of flowers! Great new header, too. We have a very few crocuses that bravely poked their heads out the last few days. And I'm with Starting Over (above) - please may there be actual spring before the summer heat descends on us :)

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  16. Gorgeous flowers and so colorful!

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  17. Massed flowers in fields look so much nicer than just a few in a bunch, yellow as far as the eye can see is so pretty.
    I love you new header.

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  18. What a gorgeous sight - all clumped together to make a splash of colour. Happy easter Joanne x

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  19. Ours are three inches out of the ground...excitement is mounting.
    Jane x

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  20. Hari Om
    Yes, I'd say your spring has sprung!!! Those are definitely not violets and are closer to bluebells - not quite the ones I am familiar with, but for sure a variety of same.

    ...and now I have a mental photo of you with armfuls of daffs.... beautiful. YAM xx
    PS - I wants me one of those piggies, it's gorgeous. Garden centres here I come...

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  21. Dear Joanne,
    beautiful fields of daffodils - and how kind of the woman to let you pick as many as you wanted.
    I haven't read the comments above, but I am sure that by now the riddle of what looks to me like hare bells must have been lifted. Violets wouldn't be that easy to photograph in such a wide field - they always cower among their heartshaped leaves.
    I wish you a happy Easter! Britta

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  22. Dear Joanne,
    seems that my first comment didn't reach your blog, so I start anew.
    I love the field of daffodils - and how kind of the woman to let you pick as many as you wanted!
    I haven't read the comments above, but I believe that by now the riddle will be solved: I think you took a photo of harebells (blue bells) - violets in such masses wouldn't be easy tobe detected, because they cower among their dark green heartshaped leaves. Have a Happy Easter! Britta

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  23. Spring, beautiful Spring. Happy Easter Joanne

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