In the Northland, May is the greening month while June is the growing month. Looking back on these 60 days, we see that both months lived up to their names. Neither was too hot, (or cold), but with plenty of rainfall, the leaves emerged on the trees and by the end of May, the forest that was so open became covered with a green leaf canopy.
This arboreal foliage produces the needed nutrition for the trees but also shades the area beneath. Early spring wildflowers that thrived in sunlit woods were subsequently shaded and as quickly as they appeared, they faded. But we hardly noticed their departure as more wildflowers that tolerate the shade grew in their places.
Plants like baneberry, starflower, clintonia, wild lily-of-the valley, sarsaparilla, jack-in-the pulpit, bunchberry, waterleaf and yellow lady-slipper orchids did well here. Walking in the woods of June is a delight even if we need to share the time with hordes of mosquitoes. June was warmer than May and also wet.
Putting these together, the woods are lush and green. But even the shade-tolerant spring wildflowers will fade and now is the time of ferns taking over the growth of the forest floor. The summer-shaded woods are where and when ferns thrive now.
Ferns are not flowering plants. What we see of the feathery-shaped growths are the leaves (fronds) sticking up from the ground where the subterranean stems (rhizomes) grow horizontally. (The group that ferns belong to is called Pterophytes, which essentially means "win.
