I just returned from Gatlinburg, Tenn., where I had the opportunity to participate in one of the many guided hikes offered as part of the annual (this year marks the 58th) Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage and National Park experience in the Great Smoky Mountains.

On the drive into the park, I had a hard time keeping my eyes on the road as I passed masses of white, pink, blue and yellow flowers carpeting the woodland on the sides of the road.

Erica Glasener / Special (ENLARGE)

Iris cristata, shot close-up in Tennessee's Smoky mountains, are Glasener's pick of the week.

Erica Glasener / Special (ENLARGE)

Trillium undulatum helps brighten the woodlands.

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So it was with great anticipation that I set out on a hike at Porters Creek Trail. I quickly discovered many of the same beauties that I had driven past just hours earlier including swaths of white foam flowers, Tiarella cordifolia, groups of the purple-pink Geranium maculatum and masses of the charming lavender-blue dwarf crested iris, Iris cristata.

I noticed that some wildflowers seem to grow naturally in combination with others like Geranium maculatum and yellow trillium, Trillium luteum.

This made me think about how I might group plants in my own woodland. Taking cues from how plants grow in their native habitat is helpful in designing your garden. This also applies to the placement of rocks and water. Rocks in the wild are varied and their placement in streams is random. The cultivated gardens that offer the most natural feeling also give a sense of having always been there. To achieve this takes a lot of work and thought.

Other treasures I saw on my hike included May Apple, Podophyllum peltatum with its large green umbrella-like leaves and white flowers hidden under the foliage; Rue anemone, Anemonella thalictroides, with its tiny white flowers growing with Hepatica acutiloba and lots of blue phlox Phlox divaricata.

Growing on rocks in the stream or close to water were patches of brook lettuce, Saxifraga micranthidifolia, with tiny delicate flowers on stems 12 inches to 30 inches tall. Also growing on boulders and along stream banks was stonecrop, Sedum ternatum. It was in full bloom with masses of white flowers. Seeing this succulent is a surprise among so many other delicate looking flowers.

At least nine different types of trillium grow in the Smoky Mountains, but I was especially pleased to spot three painted trillium, Trillium undulatum, with its distinct flower, a pink V at the base of the white petals. Another exciting find was the showy orchis, Orchis spectabilis, which was just coming into full bloom. With its combination of white and pink to lavender petals, it is a stunning hardy orchid, a good reason to keep your eyes to the ground so as not to miss it.

Partridge berry, Mitchella repens, is an unusual evergreen ground cover that produces two tiny white flowers side by side which then produce one red fruit.

While the forest floor is carpeted in bloom, the canopy offers color, too, in the form of dogwood, Cornus florida, and the charming Carolina sliverbell, Halesia caroliniana. Buckeyes, both yellow and red, were beginning to bloom, too.

Although I took lots of digital photos of individual plants, it is difficult to capture the beauty of the spring woodland. Still I did buy a white flowered form of the dwarf crested iris to plant in my own garden. You, too, may want to add wildflowers to your garden and experience the thrill of having them grow and bloom year after year.

ERICA'S PICK

Dwarf crested iris

Botanical name: Iris cristata

About the plant: Dwarf crested iris usually grows in big masses with blue to purple and, on occasion, white flowers. Blooming in April and May, it grows only 4 inches to 6 inches tall but offers all the charm of its larger relatives.

Use in the garden: Perfect for a slope in the woodland so you can appreciate its blooms. Combine it with ferns and other wildflowers like hardy geranium and trilliums.

Planting and care: A moist woodland soil in part shade is ideal.

Source: McMahan's Nursery, 727 Cleveland Highway, Clermont, GA 30527; 770-983-3666; www.Mcmahansnursery.com (mail order source for wildflowers: www.sunlightgardens.com; 800-272-7396)

Erica Glasener is a horticulturist and host of "A Gardener's Diary," which airs on HGTV Thursdays at 7 a.m.