trilliums

14th Annual Trillion Trilliums Trek and Wildflower Pilgrimage

Plan to join Mike in Saturday May 22 2010 at 9:30am!
Meet at Siberi*inn (1/2km north of Old Barrie Road, on the 10th Line of Oro-Medonte).
Please phone (705-487-6457) or email for detailed directions, and to let me know you are coming.
Some parking is available at the top of the driveway, halfway up the driveway, and at the bottom of the driveway.

Spend about 3 hours with the Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association and Orillia Naturalists Club for an 8km hike. The pace is slow to moderate, to allow some time for picture taking. Hiking boots are not required, but we will be doing some off-trail walking in the forest. Relax afterwards on the verandah with your lunch. Coffee and home-made iced tea will be provided. Dress for the weather. We'll be stopping along the way for a couple of snack and water breaks, so bring some with you for the hike.

While you are here, check out Mike's butterfly garden consisting exclusively of native wildflowers, most of which have been purchased from the Wildflower Farm at their Warminster location.

Here are photos of some of the wildflowers that are usually seen on the Trillium Trek:

	Hepatica are one of the first wildflowers to bloom here. These were in bloom in mid-April and have pretty much finished already.
These are Carolina Spring Beauties, another early wildflower which blooms here in the forest. These start blooming in mid-April. The flowers are about 1/4" across. We can expect to still see some on the hike, but those are finishing too this year.
	Bloodroot are named because of the orangy-red juice that comes out of the roots and stems when they are picked. These delicate flowers will mostly be finished by the hike.
Trout Lilies (also called Adder's Tongue or Dog-Toothed Violet or Fawn Lily) get their name from the leaves which are mottled with reddish-brown, similar to a trout. These too will be pretty much finished by the hike.
	The Red Trilliums usually bloom about a week earlier than the White Trilliums. There will probably still be some in bloom on the hike, but they'll have started to fade.
*The White Trilliums are abundant in the forest behind Siberiinn. They love growing under the maple trees, where they get rich nutrients from the decomposing leaves.**
	As the leaves open on the trees, they block the sunlight from reaching the forest floor, causing the White Trilliums to turn pink.
*Jack-in-the-pulpits can grow to over 1 metre tall in the forest behind Siberiinn. They bloom towards the end of trillium season, so we should see lots of them on the hike.** .
The Dutchman's Breeches might be finishing by the time of the hike.	Squirrel Corn is related to Dutchman's Breeches, and is part of the same family as the common garden Bleeding Heart. These might still be in bloom too.

[Back to Ganaraska Hiking Trail page at Siberi*inn]