Most people think of Fall as the best time to be in the Smokies, but with the explosion of blooming flowers, new foliage on the trees, and water filling streams, Spring needs consideration.
The sheer volume and wide variety of blooming plants in the Smokies is hard to imagine. If you take a short hike on a well known trail like the Porters Creek Trail (4 miles), the lower Chestnut Top Trail, or even the short Cove Hardwoods Trail (0.75 miles), it’s likely you will see 20-30 different varieties of plants in bloom.
One of the best known is the fringed phacelia – a small white flower that carpets the ground. Shortly after you cross the third bridge on the Porters Creek Trail, the millions of blooms let you know that you must be in Oz. There are plenty of places in the park that you can see the fringed phacelia. The typical peak bloom is the second week of April, but weather can move that peak a week or two in either direction. This week the peak bloom was about 7 days later than normal due to the cool weather. My first trip to “Oz” this year was on April 15, and that was around the peak bloom. Just four days later on my second visit, the blooms were past their peak in Oz and but there were other plants screaming for attention – like dwarf iris, painted trillium and showy orchis.
The main attraction of the Spring wildflower season is probably the trillium. The park has ten or more different varieties of trillium that bloom over a two month period. Probably the most common are the white trillium and the yellow trillium. The white trillium can be easily seen throughout the park, but my favorite area is around the Chimneys. For the second consecutive year, the displays of white trillium just off the road made me just stop the car on the side of the road and pull out my gear. White trillium are not always white – as the bloom ages they turn a soft pink that many mistake for a different variety.
The list goes on with wonderful displays of phlox, wild geraniums, dwarf iris, and violets. One of my favorite individual blooms is the showy orchis – a small pink and white flower that is in the orchid family. All it takes is a sharp eye – and a reference book on wildflowers. Don’t forget that flowers are not only found on the ground – there are dogwoods, redbud, silver bells, service berry, wild cherry, and magnolia trees contributing to the display.
If you miss the fringed phacelia and the white trillium, most likely you will have to wait until next year. But if you visit the Smokies any time in April or May, there are plenty of wildflowers. If you just missed one of your favorites, try going to a higher elevation to turn back the calendar a week or two. Or make plans for next year.
Eric Bowles Images 
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