April, my most favorite month, is when the landscape bursts into 50 shades of green and wildflowers sport every hue of the rainbow. “April hath put a spirit of youth in everything,” Shakespeare said in Sonnet 98.
And what better way to celebrate it than to be part of the Georgia Botanical Society’s Wildflower Pilgrimage. Other than Christmas, it’s my most favorite celebration of the year.
The three-day gathering of nature lovers takes place each spring in a different part of the state and offers several field trips to surrounding natural areas, many of them off the beaten path. This year’s pilgrimage, held last weekend, was based in Augusta. As usual, it provided a chance to explore areas seldom visited by the public because of their remoteness, private ownership or strict protection.
Here are excerpts from last weekend’s notes:
“I opt for a morning trip to Heggie’s Rock, a superb granite outcrop just north of Augusta. … It is a 130-acre preserve owned by the Nature Conservancy of Georgia. … I’ve read about and seen photos of Heggie’s Rock; even so, I’m not prepared for the breathtaking beauty that greets me. …
“So special is Heggie’s Rock’s assemblage of rare and unusual plants — found only in the “dish gardens,” soil islands and vernal pools of granite outcrops — that it was named a National Natural Landmark in 1980. … The most noticeable plant is diamorpha, sporting tiny white flowers and crimson red leaves and growing in dense colonies in the pools that pockmark the granite. … Landscape architects would be hard put to imitate these colorful displays, which are as appealing and mystical as a Japanese garden. …
“We also step gingerly to avoid trampling delicate lichens and mosses covering the rocks. …
“An afternoon trip takes us to scenic Shell Bluff along the Savannah River in Burke County, just south of the fall line. … The bluff rises steeply more than 100 feet above the river. … We’re here to see plants, such as lanceleaf trillium and Canada ginger, but we’re fascinated by the huge fossilized oyster shells that we also see here (100 miles from the coast!). … They are evidence that the fall line was a coastline some 50 million years ago. …
“On another morning trip we explore 466-foot-tall Burks Mountain in Columbia County. … Its unusual soil chemistry inhibits tree growth and, as a result, a natural grassland and some rare plants thrive here.”
IN THE SKY: The moon will be first quarter on April 18, said David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer. Mercury is low in the east just before sunrise. Jupiter is very low in the west just after dark and will appear near the moon Sunday night. Saturn rises out of the east just after dark. Venus and Mars can't be seen right now.
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