Oregon Ridge Park

                                Oregon Ridge, watercolor, 14" x 10"

Yesterday my friend Linda and I went on one of our wildflower walks/painting/photo excursions. We'd chosen Oregon Ridge Park to the north of Baltimore because one of my plant guidebooks lists several rare plants that grow here, and neither of us had ever explored this park. The day was beautiful, a bit hot for late April when we started our hike. The terrain rises from the visitor center to a sizable hill where a century ago there used to be a ski area, and the main trail is an old logging road.

The unusual plants are found in an area called Ivy Hill, where the land drops off steeply towards a stream. It is presumed that these rare specimens were planted here long ago and have naturalized, since woods with mixed deciduous and evergreens such as hemlock and pine are rare in our area, specially growing with tree-sized rhododendrons more typical of the southern Appalachian mountains.


We found a clump of Yellow Trillium blooming near the stream, where we had our picnic lunch, but we were unable to find any of the Oconee bells (Shortia genus), so we finally settled by a pond with some enormous rock formations perfect for sketching. This painting of the rocks covered with ferns and the rhododendrons is the result of our pleasant afternoon, and I'm selling it for $100 as is, (not matted or framed); shipping costs to be paid by the buyer. If you are interested in buying, please contact Elena.

On the hike back we found some dog-tooth violets, a species which I'd not seen before, along with blue birdsfoot violets. White and yellow violets were also to be found, the white ones in profusion.