Bluebells are back in Naperville, first spotted Thursday along the Riverwalk, then early Sunday over the DuPage River Trail Bridge at Knoch Knolls.
This pretty day feels and smells like spring, a wonderful time to accept renewal of free spirit and good nature all around. Perhaps more than other years, this bell-ringing day is one to take a deep breath in the great outdoors and take in a little sunshine to absorb some Vitamin D.
The DuPage River Trail bridge at Knoch Knolls Park leads to winding trails along the DuPage River with an abundance of exposed roots (tread carefully) throughout blankets of bluebells, some mixed with umbrella plants (mayapples) among countless varieties of tiny pastel wildflowers.
(Note: Umbrella plants grow in large clusters and they returned in mass this year. We learned years ago that mayapples are best viewed from a distance because they’re poisonous. Don’t touch. In fact, it’s wise not to touch or pick any of the wildflowers in our city’s parks.)
Take time to enjoy the view. Bluebells don’t last long. Just don’t traipse among the bluebells. Crushing their leaves produces die back and it can take several years for bluebells to bounce back.
Whether overcast or sunny skies, springtime is perfect to head down to Knoch Knolls Park to observe the wooded landscape. Typically by mid-April the natural scene along the DuPage River becomes blanketed with bluebells. Right on schedule, 2021 followed suit.
For years, vivid memories of the beautiful violet-blue flowers in this tranquil setting have carried us from one spring season to the next in the park with a history that dates back to 1830 when the Scott family settled here.
Bicyclists in large numbers always pass us along the paved path that leads to the bridge over the DuPage River. And before we cross the bridge, we’re likely to watch a joyful group of men and women playing Frisbee golf in the distance.
Frisbee golf is an internationally-played flying disc game in which individual players throw a flying disc toward a wire basket on a set course. In the spirit of the game of golf where a low score is better, the object of the game is to follow a course from start to finish in the fewest number of throws of the disc.
Yet, our trips to Knoch Knolls are not to play games.
Rather, the natural surroundings that include sounds, sights and smells of springtime attract us to the woodlands where we’ve often watched beaver and deer in the distance, observed a pair of Cooper’s hawks build a nest, heard screeching bird calls overhead and witnessed egrets wading in the DuPage River.
On annual treks, we quickly wind into the middle of a predictable sea of green, budding with bluebells. Uprooted trees, tangled branches and knotted treetops produce an unusual calm all along the DuPage River.
It’s our custom to follow the winding dirt paths, where signs of controlled burns and a ground covered with brown fallen leaves from earlier seasons often are in plain view.
Buddy up and head on down to Knoch Knolls Park where it’s time to keep your eyes peeled for the bluebells and a few rare white ones along the trails.
One more thing… You might want to take pocket field guides of Illinois birds, trees and wildflowers.
—PN
P.S. This month is also the time when the west extension of the Naperville Riverwalk and throughout Sindt Woods begin blooming beautifully with bluebells. And perhaps imagine that every bell-shaped flower is pealing for kindness, liberty and peace during this week that highlights every citizen’s responsibility to care for the beauty of nature every day.
Editor’s Update, April 19, 2021 / Readers are telling us a nighttime dip on April 20 comes with a chance of snow and freezing temperatures, followed on April 21 with even colder temperatures. We checked the Purdue Yard and Garden website for info about the impact a springtime visit from Old Man Winter might have on bluebells.
“…Many gardeners marveled as some drooping bulb plants perked up as temperatures moderated,” noted a post from 2007. “Other perennials that emerged before the cold snap, such as bleeding heart, Virginia bluebells and daylilies, may appear scorched and wilted as the frozen tissue thaws, but these hardy plants will survive and will replace foliage as needed.”
Here’s hoping!
Last updated, April 19, 2021.
