FINAL UPDATE: April 10, 2013

With the blast of warm weather this week the Virginia bluebells are really blooming. For the next 10 days or so the bluebells will put on a beautiful display. In places along the river trail you are virtually surrounded by them. Don’t wait. Now is the time to come out and witness this spectacular display, because by May they will virtually disappear until next spring.

Don’t forget to join us at Riverbend Park this Saturday, April 13 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. as we celebrate the bluebells at our first annual Bluebells at the Bend Festival. The event costs just  $5 person and features live music, wildflower walks, live animals, face painting, wagon rides, and other family fun activities. For more information, call Riverbend Park at 703-759-9018.

UPDATE: April 2, 2013

The bluebells seen carpeting the floodplain on April Fools Day were no hoax. Despite late March cold and snow the hardy plants are continuing to grow and take over the forest floor. The dark leaves have now taken on their familiar succulent green color and the deep purple flower buds are clustering.

The coming weeks will offer visitors one of nature’s finest floral displays. Spring beauties, cut-leaved toothworts, sessile trilliums, and a host of other beautiful wildflowers will mix in and add texture to the lavender bluebell palette.

Don’t forget to join us at Riverbend Park on April 13 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. as we celebrate the bluebells at our first annual Bluebells at the Bend Festival. The event costs just $5 per person and features live music, wildflower walks, live animals, face painting, wagon rides, and other family fun activities. For more information, call Riverbend Park at 703-759-9018.

UPDATE: March 18, 2013

Last year the bluebells peaked in March with early warm and dry conditions. This year the bluebells are on their more “typical” schedule and should peak between April 5 through 15. Usually a good rule to follow is get your taxes done a little early and then come out and enjoy the bluebells.

If you can’t make it out during that time, do not be discouraged. There will still be plenty of wildflowers in bloom from the end of March through April. Also, because of the park’s topography not all bloom at once, so you will always find patches of blooming plants in the spring.

Once blooming is over and the plants develop seeds, they rely on some busy insects to help plant more. Myrmecochory, from the Greek myrmeco “ants” and chory “dispersal,” is seed dispersal by ants. This ecologically significant ant-plant relationship is worldwide and beneficial to both.

The plants produce seeds that have a fatty rich substance attached to them called eliasomes. Worker ants collect the seeds and take them back to their colonies where the eliasome is removed and fed to growing larvae. Once the eliasome is removed the ants either discard the remaining seed underground or they eject them from the colony in nearby soil. This act accomplishes two things. Seeds are deposited in more favorable locations for growing and they are spread, ultimately adding more plants to the population of wildflowers.  So when you visit Riverbend Park to see the bluebells, stop and give thanks to the marching ants at your feet.

UPDATE: March 8, 2013

March has arrived with a mix of warm, cold, wind, rain, and, yes, a little snow. Despite the ever changing weather, the Virginia bluebells continue to push through the soil. Leaves are beginning to change from deep purple to hints of delicate green as chlorophyll is formed from longer days.

Bluebells, along with many other spring wildflowers including spring beauties and cut-leaved toothwort, are called spring ephemerals. They bloom early, and then by May all that is left are withering leaves and seeds. Come mid-May, bluebells pull a vanishing act leaving no visible trace of their existence. All of these hardy wildflowers take advantage of the sunlight reaching the forest floor before the towering trees grow their leaves. In March, more than 50% of the available sunlight reaches the forest floor. By mid-April this drops to 30%, and then by May only 10% is reaching the ground.  

Check out next week’s update for a prediction of when the bluebells will peak! Also, learn about some amazing insects that help plant more wildflowers.

Don’t forget to join us at Riverbend Park on April 13 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. as we celebrate the bluebells at our first annual Bluebells at the Bend Festival. The event costs just  $5 person and features live music, wildflower walks, live animals, face painting, wagon rides, and other family fun activities.

March 4, 2013
It is the beginning of March with snow in the forecast but there are signs of spring everywhere. Tree buds are swelling, birds are in motion, singing as they go, and the Virginia bluebells (Mertensia Virginica) are poking their leaves through the sandy floodplain soil. Virginia bluebells, also called Virginia Cowslip, Tree Lungwort, Roanoke-bells, Mertens, and Oysterleaf put on a dazzling display at Riverbend Park from late March to mid-April. These flowering plants burst with intense purplish blue flowers that literally carpet the forest floor next to the river.

The scientific name honors German botanist Franz Karl Mertens (1764-1831). The species name refers to Virginia, where the plant was first identified. Thomas Jefferson grew Virginia bluebells at Monticello which inspired the garden writers of the 18^th century to call them “Jefferson’s blue funnel flowers.”  

Virginia bluebells are native wildflowers that are beneficial to early pollinating insects including bumblebees, honeybees, and butterflies.  Check back regularly to see the progress of the bluebells as they prepare for their annual spring show.

Join us at Riverbend Park on April 13 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. as we celebrate the bluebells at our first annual Bluebells at the Bend Festival. The event costs just  $5 person and features live music, wildflower walks, live animals, face painting, wagon rides, and other family fun activities. For more information, call Riverbend Park at 703-759-9018.

Written by John Callow, assistant manager, Riverbend Park