Wow, the woods have come alive after a loooooonnnngggg, winter. Just feet into McDonald Woods you will be greeted by a variety of amazing spring flowers. These include spring beauties, cutleaf toothwort, purple cress, marsh marigold, trillium, Virginia bluebells, wild ginger, trout lily, rue-anemone, and many more. Take a few minutes to enjoy the bounty through the end of May. Once the trees get all their leaves, the spring flowers begin to fade. They bloom now to take advantage of the extra sun that reaches the ground before the trees take over.

©Carol Freeman
To get great photos of these flowers you will do best with a close-up lens, as many of the flowers are small. Also, be prepared to get a little muddy as most of these flowers are low to the ground. I like to shoot level with the flowers to minimize distractions, which means sitting down or even laying down to get the shot. Be sure to stay on the path as the habitat is fragile. There are great plants close to the path so there are plenty of photo opportunities. For more pleasing compositions look for simple backgrounds, and flowers that stand apart from the others.

©Carol Freeman
©2013 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org
My wife Macie and I love all the activity of the plant world and it’s return to beatuful.
Great advice and pictures! What lens are you using? I’m looking for a good macro lens.
Hi Daniel,
My favorite lenses are my Nikon 105mm and 200mm macro lenses. Any close-up lens or a lens with close-up filters should work fine.
Good luck!