Foraying for Flowers on the Hoosier

By Teena Ligman on Jun 6, 2009

For the past 24 years the Spring Wildflower Foray has promoted wildflower hikes in southern Indiana and brought people out to enjoy the forest.

There were 26 hikes and activities related to wildflowers to choose from. Three of the hikes featured forays to see wildflowers on the Hoosier National Forest. Though the vast majority of the events were hikes there were a few activities included such as a workshop on photographing wildflowers, wildflower yoga, and even a wildflower craft session. Each spring all twenty-six activities are packed into the last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of April.

The event spans two counties - Brown and Monroe Counties in Indiana, has 8 major sponsors with significant contributions from 14 other organizations. Our mailing list of people who receive brochures to come each year is well over 400 now and we routinely have at least that many come to the hikes. It's an event that people look forward to each year and for many, they schedule their whole three days trying to hit as many activities as they can.

Kay Yatskievych, author of Guide to Indiana Wildflowers, has developed a checklist of all the wildflowers we likely to be blooming during the hike. Participants can pick up a checklist and, like an Easter egg hunt, endeavor to check off as many as possible during the course of the weekend. The checklist has proven a useful monitoring tool for the different land managing agencies as they compare the plants found on their properties over the past 24 years. Kay also gives a report at the Saturday night program on trends that she's seeing each year.

One of those trends led to the theme of this year's program being focused on invasive species. More invasive species are being found each year on all of the hikes, so the planning committee decided that each hike leader would make a point of noting which of the plants they looked at were invasive and discussing some of the consequences of the invasion of exotic plants to our Indiana woodlands. The traditional Saturday night dinner and program would also be focused on invasives.

Entitled "Wicked Weeds and Infamous Aliens" a crowd of wildflower enthusiasts gathered at Brown County State Park and dined on garlic mustard lasagna and knotweed cobbler and other delectable dishes made with invasive plant ingredients. Using the philosophy that if you can't beat them-eat them, we enjoyed making a small dent in the population of local invasives. Teena invited Glen Nice of Purdue University to speak on the impact of invasive plants to our environment and touched on the latest ecological theories.

The foray is appreciated by all those who come out and enjoy our hikes. Kirk and Karen Larson led a hike to Waldrip Cabin with a group; Kirk, Karen, and Teena led the Wild Hyacinth Hike the next day to two avid groups of enthusiasts; and Cathy Meyer and Davie Keane led an early morning hike on the Pate Hollow Trail. In every case there are participants who are amateur botanists skilled at recognizing most wildflowers and come to check off more species on their list as well as those who only want to marvel at the beauty of the woods and have little interest in the names or identities of the flowers they admire.

It's a mixed group with a common shared interest in the beauty of spring wildflowers. As Kay explained it, she started this 24 years ago with a small group of garden club ladies and never imagined how much enthusiasm and interest it would unleash. Many of the hikes now require RSVPs to limit numbers because of their popularity while others are offered multiple times to spread out the crowds. We've definitely found something that appeals to people. So mark your calendar - April 23-24, 2010- the wildflowers will be blooming in southern Indiana and you won't want to miss the Wildflower Foray.