Yes it's true. The
Snowflowers are out! I went hiking today, wearing my new snowshoes, I want up the Anderson Valley trail almost to The Big Wash, then cut up over the back of Lawson Hill and down through the boulder piles. As I got near the bottom where the snow was melting around the rocks and trees, the
Snowflowers were poking their heads out. For those of you who are like me and think that is a sure sign of spring, it's really good news.
I may have posted this last year, but I am going to again if I did. What we call
Snowflowers are actually a Violet Butter Cup. Genus:
Ranunculus; species:
Andersoni; Southern Utah subspecies:
Juniperinus.
Regardless of the name, scientific or common, they are probably the most welcome flower I know of around here. Most anyone that has lived in the valley has hiked Lawson Hill, or one of the other places where they grow. It kind of gives you a little reassurance that spring is really coming, in spite of the snow and cold. Some things just won't be denied the chance to grow and share their beauty.
You usually find them on the north or east facing slopes, in moist areas near rocks or trees. It is usually in loamy soil made from decaying vegetation, often that which has fallen from Pine or Juniper trees. Their root system is a tuber,
which stores moisture for their relatively short growing season. Once the moisture is gone they go to seed and dry up, disappearing until the next spring.
I am grateful for
Snowflowers, which is what they will always be to anyone raised in New Harmony. They will always be one of the first sure signs of spring. Even though much of the vegetation on Lawson Hill was destroyed by fire last summer, the
Snowflowers are a sign to me that life goes on, some times pretty much as usual, and that we can too.
I may have posted this last year, but I am going to again if I did. What we call Snowflowers are actually a Violet Butter Cup. Genus: Ranunculus; species: Andersoni; Southern Utah subspecies: Juniperinus.
Regardless of the name, scientific or common, they are probably the most welcome flower I know of around here. Most anyone that has lived in the valley has hiked Lawson Hill, or one of the other places where they grow. It kind of gives you a little reassurance that spring is really coming, in spite of the snow and cold. Some things just won't be denied the chance to grow and share their beauty.
You usually find them on the north or east facing slopes, in moist areas near rocks or trees. It is usually in loamy soil made from decaying vegetation, often that which has fallen from Pine or Juniper trees. Their root system is a tuber, which stores moisture for their relatively short growing season. Once the moisture is gone they go to seed and dry up, disappearing until the next spring.
I am grateful for Snowflowers, which is what they will always be to anyone raised in New Harmony. They will always be one of the first sure signs of spring. Even though much of the vegetation on Lawson Hill was destroyed by fire last summer, the Snowflowers are a sign to me that life goes on, some times pretty much as usual, and that we can too.
