Figure 1 – Wild pink lady slipper orchid, Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, Sudbury, MA. May 2021. (c) DE Wolf 2021.

For me, the ultimate sign of spring is the blooming of the wild pink lady slipper orchids, Cypripedium acaule. You just need to know where to find them because they are very particular in their soul requirements. I know the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge like the back of my hand. And the land seems to treat. If you listen you know just when and where a particular flower or bird will come into sight.

It used to be that the pink lady’s slipper could not be cultivated. But more recently they have been successfully grown from seed, provided that you are willing to meet their very special needs.    But honestly, there is nothing more thrilling and special than coming upon these in the northern pine forest. They seem out of place in the sense that one is used to thinking that orchids are denizens of the tropics.

So this year I am going to offer Figure 1 that I took at the peak of this years blooming along the Assabet. It is perhaps reminiscent of Cinderella’s glass slipper. That too was.is a thing of great magic, and the one point that spring never fails to make is that we all need a little magic.