Forest Greens
by Janet Alred, 5 February 2011.
On Saturday Wendy Cocksedge, who spoke to us last year about the forest greens used in the floristry industry, escorted four of us along the Willingdon Trail where we identified Scouring rush, Salal, Trailing blackberry, an early Skunk cabbage, small leaves of Sweet Cecily (we think), new Salmonberry shoots, Oregon-beaked moss, Red huckleberry, Sword ferns, Lady ferns, Deer ferns and Frog-pelt lichen.
On the way back, Wendy told us about how tapping Big-Leaf maples for their syrup is becoming a big industry on Vancouver Island. We also saw some magnificent Harlequin ducks and Red-breasted mergansers in full breeding plumage. Douglas squirrels chattered at us and one took a peanut almost out of Elizabeth’s hand.
