I spent part of last week photographing wildflowers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was my first time attending the annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage – it definitely won’t be my last. I spent five days learning about and photographing incredible wildflowers.
I started photographing wildflowers last spring on our trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Some of my favorite flowers I photographed last year were the White Trillium (they turn pink as they age), Red Trillium and the Painted Trillium.
This year, I was able to photograph two more types of trillium – yellow trillium and sweet white trillium.
I saw yellow trillium in several areas of the park last week. I hadn’t realized that when the yellow trillium blooms – the petals are narrow and erect – rather than spread out on many other types of trillium.
I photographed this yellow trillium on Porter’s Creek Trail.
Yellow Trillium (c) 2008 Patty Hankins
Frequently, I saw several yellow trillium plants grouped together. This set of five yellow trilliums were photographed on the Chestnut Top Trail.
Five Yellow Trillium (c) 2008 Patty Hankins
The Sweet White Trillium looks very similar to a White WakeRobin or White Erect Trillium. The difference is that the Sweet White Trillium has a purple center – and a very sweet smell. I photographed this Sweet White Trillium along the Cove Hardwood Trail.
Sweet White Trillium (c) 2008 Patty Hankins
I had a great time photographing the wildflowers in the Smokies. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting more of my wildflower photographs to our blog.
We’ve started printing some of our photographs, including many of my wildflower photos, on canvas and stretching them on stretcher bars. The canvas adds a level of texture and depth to the photos. Some of the flowers are so lifelike on the canvas that it seems as if you can almost pick them. If you’d like to see how they look on canvas, please come see us at one of our shows.
March 25, 2009 at 7:57 pm
This is actually the White Erect Trillium (Trillium erectum var. album) not the Sweet white Trillium (Trillium simile).
April 29, 2009 at 5:08 am
[...] year, I photographed a couple of different types of trillium – the Sweet White Trillium and the Yellow Trillium. This year, I was able to photograph three additional trilliums – Vasey’s Trillium, [...]
June 7, 2009 at 10:02 am
[...] you can see, the flowers on the trillium stand straight up, similar to the Yellow Trillium (trillium luteum). The leaves are shades of [...]
August 8, 2009 at 4:06 am
[...] the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage. Last spring, I posted two of my yellow trillium photos from that [...]
December 3, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Hi Patty—I am in need of a photo of yellow trillium for the next issue of my magazine, Woodlands & Prairies. Could I have permission to reprint your very nice photo of the 5 yellow trillium? Full credit would be given, and I’m prepared to provide a modest payment for one-time use. The magazine is devoted to responsible management of natural resources, with an emphasis on native ecosystems. More details at above Website. I would need to receive a file of about 1 MB for reproduction. In order to meet my deadline, I need to to hear from you very soon.
Thanks.
Rollie Henkes, Editor, Woodlands & Prairies
563 539 4144
222 Burger Rd./ Monona, IA 52159