Father Pitt

Tag: Spring Flowers

  • Fun with a Jeweler’s Loupe

    Claytonia virginica

    A cell-phone camera has a very small lens. This can be a liability, but in some cases it can be an advantage. For example, the lens on a cheap phone is small enough to take pictures through a jeweler’s loupe. Above, flowers of Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), with the edge of the loupe left in the picture as a kind of visual statement of the theme of this article. Actually, it’s easy to put the lens right in the middle of the loupe and not see the edges at all. Here are some of the other things you can see with a loupe and a cheap little cell-phone camera:

    Lichen

    Lichen growing on a twig.

    Moss

    Moss on a log.

    Chickweed

    Chickweed (Stellaria media). For comparison, here is a fairly close photograph of the entire plant without the jeweler’s loupe:

    Stellaria media

  • Forsythia

    Blooming today in Polish Hill.

  • The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring, Tra La

    A roundup of spring flowers blooming yesterday. Above, a purple crocus. Below, a yellow crocus.

    Persian Speedwell (Veronica persica), a tiny weed with exquisite sky-blue flowers.
    A daffodil.
    More crocuses.
    Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta), a tiny cress that is one of the first flowers to bloom in late winter.

  • Crocuses in the Rain

    Crocuses

  • Daffodil

    Daffodil with raindrops

  • Crocus Season

    Crocuses
    Crocuses

  • Crocus Buds

    Appearing today in Beechview.

  • Snowdrops

    Snowdrops

    Blooming today in Shadyside.

  • Crocus Time

  • Witch Hazel in Bloom

    Hamamelis vernalis

    Ozark Witch Hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) blooms in any warm spell from January through March, filling the air with a delightfully strong perfume. When the weather freezes again, the petals curl up and wait for another warm spell. The bush is not native to Pittsburgh, but it is requires no care once it is established, and it does not make a pest of itself.

    Hamamelis vernalis