2026 Western Pennsylvania Spring Wildflower Project

2026 Western Pennsylvania Spring Wildflower Project - Background and Links to Post

I suddenly find myself with unexpected free time with the need for mental restoration and clarity. I've always had a love of nature and often find solace in it. I find myself wandering the same places over and over, learning the particular flora and fauna that occupy the niche of my favorite trails and when to visit each for the one thing I'm looking for at that particular moment.

Unable to focus or complete anything deemed by society as "important" or "fulfilling," I find myself once again in nature.

🌺🌼Enter wildflower season🌼🌺

Following in the footsteps of Thoreau and many poets, writers, nature lovers, philosophers, even an old college professor or two, I've decided to return weekly to the same few places I've come to love in wildflower season. I've always wanted to visit the same place in all seasons to truly experience it. I've come close, but have never fully committed due to life's many variables. Why not document the changes of these flowers, sometimes so subtle, sometimes so sudden?

While I have a handful of familiar haunts that I visit multiple times throughout the spring, summer, and fall, I have chosen two easily accessible locations I enjoy (and none of my top secret locations):

West Leechburg Native Plant Preserve - Westmoreland Co. Pennsylvania

Owned and maintained by the volunteers at Kiskiminetas Watershed Association
There's a nice short trail that follows the stream to a waterfall
This trail is very short (less than 0.5-mile one way) but not short on wildflower variety

Tubmill Run Trolley Trail - Armstrong Co. Pennsylvania

This is an old trolley trail that goes from the Armstrong Trail along Ross Ave to Ford Cliff along Tubmill Run. There's also a nice waterfall on this property as well
There is an agreement between the landowner, utility companies, and Armstrong Trails to keep the trail open for public access
This trail is a little under 1 mile one way

Please consider donating, becoming a member, and/or volunteering with these groups to help maintain these areas.

Blog Page Format

Each location will have one post per week starting with the week of Monday March 23, 2026.

The first post for each site will provide a little bit of background info on the site but not too extensive.

I might not visit each on the same day or time of the week, but I will be there at least once a week. These will be posted as I have time to write and publish them.

I'll discuss observations of wildflowers and other flora and fauna. I'm far more knowledgeable about trees, shrubs, reptiles, amphibians, and fish so I pepper in anything and everything.

I'll link to the previous and the following week's post for the location as the posts become available so that you can easily see how the area transitions over time.

Other Things to Note

My plan is to share with local groups and people or those unable to access the locations so they know what is blooming, when it is blooming, and have some additional fun info.

I'm not great at herbaceous plant ID. Some specific species might be wrong, but I know what type of flower it is. For example, goldenrod are usually lumped together by most with common knowledge, but we actually have a lot of species of goldenrods. I might simply refer to something as a "goldenrod species" rather than specify the exact species.

I am full of little tidbits and info I've picked up along the way. Aside from a few books and websites I regularly use and will reference as I use them, these tidbits are mostly my knowledge attained from various sources that might be inaccurate. It's on you to do any more research you wish to dig further into the topic or to prove me wrong.

As this is mostly observational, I try not to repeat too many of the same tidbits for each flower. It also makes it easier for me to write and post. If you really have FOMO, feel free to read each and every single post.

This is simply a fun blog post, intended for maybe 5 family friends who follow me or people familiar with the locations who might just want to know what's blooming and (thankfully) not a research paper, I'll give credit where it's due and everything else is just anecdotal knowledge. I do enough research and scientific writing on my own.

Please let me know what you think, if I'm wrong, or simply have anything to comment. Again, I'm just keeping this as a fun and informal way to document the changes over time for these places. I'm trying to write and post these quickly to keep them relatively recent, but please give me some grace!