This is probably a ridiculous over-generalization, but I am fond of ridiculous over-generalizations. There are two kind of people I find I really enjoy- librarians and park rangers. Both are very helpful and are probably selected for their knowledge and their people skills. Librarians have helped me develop a love of reading and have gotten me through college, grad school and several personal projects. The park rangers I have met have always been enthusiastic, friendly and helpful.
This past weekend we spent a day (May 8, 2010) at Shenandoah National Park, mostly on Skyline Drive attending one day of their Wildflower Weekend. It was, surprisingly, a sparsely attend event (maybe that was due to the early morning black clouds and the high winds…oh, and it was pretty chilly, compared to my piedmont home). There were several hikes and events to chose from, and I went on an easy hike on the AT called “Cultural Connections” where two park rangers shared what they knew about various native and naturalized plants and their traditional uses. Though I knew a lot already about some of the plants, it was fun to be introduced to plants I had only read about and with which I was unfamiliar. And fun to be with like-minded people interested in plants.
So, here are some of them: yellow mustard or rocket, a relative of arugula (I saw the early leaves a month ago and thought it was arugula):
rag wort, a pretty yellow or yellow-orange flower on a spike:
cranesbill, or wild geranium:
a lovely, leafy false hellebore (looks more like a giant Solomon’s seal to me):
and one of my favorites, the may apple or may pop (the flower and later fruit hides under a large, umbrella-like leaf):
And here is a nasty naturalized plant, garlic mustard. Garlic mustard was brought over by Colonists and was used as a mustard substitute, in “sallets” and as a pot herb. Unfortunately, it is invasive and allelopathic (produces a chemical that inhibits growth of all other plants nearby, as do other plants like walnuts). SNP has 'save the meadow days' in which volunteers are needed to hand pull garlic mustard (and they can give you garlic mustard pesto recipes!). 
Another sad botanical sight was this exotic, invasive Japanese grass that is choking areas of woodland and must be dealt with.
During one of the hikes I overheard one ranger mention that there might be some yellow lady’s slipper orchids at a certain mile marker. On the way out of the park, we stopped and parked near that mile marker and carefully trudged through the woods. My husband must have had his “wildflowers eyes” on, because he spotted it well before I did and found a second. This endangered, federally- and state-protected plant is beautiful and I had only seen the pink versions before. Please, if you see one, make sure you tread carefully to not crush small ones and never pick it or dig it up (there is a significant fine). Just enjoy looking at it, take pictures or draw it! If you picked the flower, it would not last long and, if you dug the plant, it would most likely die- orchids need highly specific conditions to grow. Let it grow and perhaps reproduce in its best environment- where you found it.
I did a second activity, a journaling workshop. An earlier session had a number of people, but I and another woman had the ranger to ourselves. He was friendly and did some fun basic exercises in observing an environment and individual flowers and drawing them. No skills necessary. Simple drawings are a way to enhance your journal and your memories of travel of other events. So look for this event next May, though you can take a meadow walk at Big Meadows at SNP all through the spring and summer and learn a lot about the connections between plants and animals.
Happy gardening! And wildflower watching! Check for ticks!
