"The wildflowers are here!" is a common cry among nature enthusiasts at this time of year. And wildflowers came to La Jardinire Garden Club at its April meeting. Ann and Don Howard shared their lifetime accumulation of knowledge and slides of Kentucky wildflowers.
"All these flowers are in Kentucky, and three fourth are here in Franklin Co," Dr. Howard said.
The Howards passion for wildflowers began when Howard lived in eastern Kentucky, and his first date with Ann included looking for wildflowers. That love of wildflowers has continued, and they passed that love to their children. Their son in Paducah has lovely and carefully tended gardens that he opens to school children in the area for guided tours.
Howard inherited his interest from his uncle, Dr. Roger Barbour, a professor at the University of Kentucky. Barbour and Dr. Mary Wharton co-authored A Guide to the Wildflowers and Ferns of Kentucky. Howard recommends this book and Barnes and Francis, Wildflowers and Ferns of Kentucky as both appropriate for beginning enthusiasts.
Beginning with the bloodroot " usually the first wildflower to bloom in the spring in late March " Don and Ann shared more than 40 slides of wildflowers they have seen.
Wildflowers grow in a variety of habitats: on cliffs, in rocks, along and in creek banks, wooded areasa and in full sun. But they are often very difficult to transplant to home gardens.
"The fancier the flower and the rarer the plant, the more difficult it is to transplant. We dug up and transplanted a birdsfoot violet in our yard. We watered it and waited for it to grow. We never saw them," Don said. Field wildflowers thrive much better in their native locations, but greenhouses do carry varieties of wildflowers to plant in home gardens.
Their lifelong habit of wildflower walking has produced numerous sayings. Dr. Howard says: "There are old mushroom hunters, and there are bold mushroom hunters. But there are no old, bold mushroom hunters."
The Howards make numerous annual trips to parks to walk among the wildflowers. Natural Bridge State Park, Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, Bald Knob and Big Eddy areas, and Cove Spring Park are among their favorites in central Kentucky.
A tour of the KSU Environmental Education Center, a 300-acre wild lands site located near Pleasureville, is planned for the club's May 20 meeting.