The Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail is a network of trails that span over 700 miles and cut through three states and the District of Columbia. Stretches of the trail in the Virginia Piedmont region near Great Falls Park and stretching northward to Whites Ferry host an array of spring ephemeral wildflowers.

Virginia Spring Beauty

The flowers are fleeting. They sprout and bloom in the short period brought in by spring rains and rising temperatures and before the leaf canopy develops and blocks direct sunlight on the forest floor.

Cutleaf Toothwort

Virginia Bluebells in this area abound. They thrive in the sandy soils along the banks of the Potomac River. At their peak, the pinkish-purple flowers carpet the ground along the trail. It’s truly magical to walk through.

The color of Bluebell plants varies. When they first emerge, their leaves are a deep, beautiful purple. As they mature, the leaves turn green.

The trumpet-shaped flowers of the Bluebells vary, too. Budding Bluebells first appear pinkish and morph into their characteristic blue color as they grow and open. In less common instances, the buds of some plants emerge with only a faint hint of color and mature into a white flower.

The Bluebells are a lot of fun to photograph. I like to scout around for vibrant and contrasting colors and defined shapes that make for interesting compositions. I typically get in close with a macro lens, but the immense number of flowers along some of the trail can make for beautiful wide-angle shots, too.

There are tons of other ephemeral wildflowers on and around the Potomac Heritage Trail that bloom throughout spring. Some of my favorites - entirely because of their strange shapes - are Squirrel Corn and Dutchman’s Breeches. But I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of what grows here. And every time I hike the trail, sometimes only days apart, there are completely new and different wildflowers that have sprouted. There is always some new to see.

Squirrel Corn

Dutchman’s Breeches

I added my favorite photographs from this area, some of which appear in this post, in a new gallery. Check them out if you’d like to see more. And as always, thanks for reading.

Native Azalea

Trout Lily

Brandon Adkins Photography

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Spring Wildflowers on the Potomac Heritage Trail

Visiting Great Falls in December 2020