Article and Photography by Tim Du Vernet

No amount of snow is more powerful than the sun. The melt in spring comes with the sun’s warmth as the days get longer and the sun more intense. No matter how old you are, the process of the spring melt prompts wonder in the magic of nature.

For those who enjoy the activities of winter, it is a sad time because it means the end of skimming across the snow or ice. However, spring is the season of rebirth, renewal and optimism. Spring is such a busy time of year. 

Wildlife, from squirrels to bears, is awakening and actively foraging for sustenance. Maple trees are tapped as soon as the temperatures swing above freezing and the sap flows up from the roots. Insects begin to emerge as the ground thaws, while grasses, plants and trees stretch towards the sun for their own process of renewal. When snow recedes, the heat of the sun can quickly turn patches of the forest that were brown into lush, green growth. 

A key sign of spring’s emergence is the presence of fresh blooms. Muskoka’s forests support a wide variety of wildflowers. Some are an annual reminder of seasonal changes and others are so delicate you wonder how they survive the slightest breeze. Discovering the beauty of spring wildflowers can be right outside your door or while out on a hike deep in the woods.

Dogwood

The dogwood is distinguished by its showy white flowers that bloom in dense cluster on the shrub in spring. While dogwood is more common in southern Ontario it can be found throughout Muskoka. However, a fungal disease has been affecting the shrubs in some parts of North America.

Jewelweed or Touch-Me-Not

The bright orange variety of jewelweed is a native perennial that we can look forward to seeing each year. The plant is a member of the impatient family and the groupings can grow up to 150 cm tall. They like the damp areas of the forest, and their name comes from the tendency of the ripe seed pod to explode when touched.

Dutchman’s Britches

Dutchman’s britches is a perennial herbaceous plant that pops up in the spring. They grow in small clumps of 5 or more of white flowers, from the same stalk, with green three-part leaves. Due to their delicate nature, they seem to survive best in protected spots. They grow up to about 25cm tall. Their seeds are dispersed in the same way as trilliums, through the help of ants.

 Bird’s Foot Trefoil

Bird’s foot trefoil is recognizable for its bright orange-yellow flower. This non-native plant is found in sunny roadsides and fields. The petals of this flower seem at curved right angles in pairs. The plant earned its name from the seed pods which look like a bird’s foot. A member of the lotus genus, the yellow creeping herbaceous plant is sometimes found supported by other plants.

 Carolina Spring Beauty

Carolina spring beauty is a native, tiny plant with bluish purple flowers with five petals. This perennial grows in groupings of two from the same stalk and grows to about 12cm tall. The leaves of the plant are green, long and narrow. What is most striking about the flower is the radiating white and purple colouring. These spring beauties grow for a short period in Muskoka woodlands in early spring.

 Acorn First Sprouting

Remember all those acorns that land in the autumn? Not only are they food for the deer, but they are the starting point for future oak trees. Oak trees drop their acorns in varied amounts with boom years every three to four years. When the acorn starts to sprout, it will send a taproot deep into the soil. It takes four or five years for the acorn to become a sapling tree.

Trout Lily

Trout lilies, also known as yellow dogtooth violet, are one of those delicate flowers that appears in the spring for a short period of time (spring ephemeral). The flower is quite noticeable with its bright yellow petals growing off a nodding stalk. The leaves are green mottled with brown patches.

 Trillium

One of the surest signs of spring is the Trillium, Ontario’s symbolic plant since 1964. Trillium seeds are distributed by ants, a method called “myrmecochory”, which is used by many flowering plant species. Trilliums are a preferred meal of deer, which also helps to disperse seeds. However, deer also enjoy eating taller plants, which can ultimately impact trillium growth and other plant life. There is a strong connection between trillium dispersal and deer populations. Trilliums blooming are an early sign of spring, carpeting the forest floor, so it’s best to enjoy them when you first see them.

 Red Trillium

The less common red trillium is identifiable by its deep burgundy or purple colour. They are often first to bloom, before the white trilliums, and they carry a stinky secret. Likened to smelling like carrion or wet dog, their odour is to attract pollinating insects; flys and beetles. While the insects extract pollen as a meal, the eggs they lay on the trillium support its growth.

 Creeping Phlox

Creeping phlox is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant that can be purple, pink or white. The flower itself can have five, six or seven petals with an orangey yellow centre stamin. It is native to Muskoka woodlands and creates a dense covering in damp areas along streambanks and in the forest. Bees seem to like visiting these plants repeatedly.

Devil’s Paintbrush

The flowers of devil’s paintbrush are orange, almost red, colours which are apparently virtually invisible to bees. However, bees find them because the devil’s paintbrush also reflects ultraviolet light, which bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies and some flies, can see. They seem to be a very hardy perennial that flowers reliably and for a lengthy period, making them an attractive accent to a garden and quite noticeable in fields. They flower and grow in bunches, making their presence even more striking.

 Black-eyed Susan

Another showy and easy to identify plant is the black-eyed Susan. They are a native plant that likes sunny areas of open fields. The plants grow up to 90cm tall and are noticeable for their orangey-yellow petals and their dark-brown, nearly black, centres. While these are a native plant, they are often extensively cultivated in gardens as they are hardy and showy.

 Daisies

Summer isn’t complete without walking by a field filled with swaying daises. The bees and other pollinators certainly appreciate them, but did you know they are not native to Muskoka. The English daisy, so common now, is made up of many flowers. The daisy flower looks as though it is just a center blossom with a lot of rays around it, but each ray is a separate flower, and every tiny yellow section in the middle is a separate flower. The name “daisy” comes from the concept that the plant closes at night and opens in the day, the day’s eye. They originally came from Europe and the British Isles. While somewhat bitter, the daisy is edible and may offer many medicinal properties.