My husband and I both like to hike a lot. Many Saturday mornings are spent hiking in various state parks and forests close to our home.
Last Saturday’s hike was in a place called Forty Acre Rock, a National Natural Landmark in the Piedmont region of South Carolina. The forty Acre Rock is a huge granite rock and reaching it involves hiking through thick woods, past a small waterfall and a cave. The big rock has indentations on its surface, which collect water in late winter and early spring. The pools thus formed are a haven for some rare specialized plant species, many of which are endangered.
Some pictures of the rare plant species:
The pool of water formed on the rock surface, with plants growing in it.
Diamorpha Smallii (Elf Orpine) a succulent plant from the family crassulaceae
The green plant with the tiny white flowers is called Amphianthus pusillus, which is listed as a threatened plant.
Found only in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, they are also called Snorklewort, Pool Sprite and Little Amphianthus.
It has a small life cycle, usually around a month.
Another picture of the Elf Orpine and Pool Sprite
These pools dry up in summer and the seeds spring up again the following year when water collects in the depressions.
Reference:
USDA Plant Database
Flowering Dogwood 
Cherry Blossoms
The Eastern Redbud Tree
This parsley plant has been with me from last April and has survived with minimum care.
I grew tomatoes last year and was rewarded with a few juicy fruits, even though they did not get all the sunlight they needed. Absolutely loved biting into garden fresh tomatoes with the juice dripping down my hand and chin!
I grew many herbs like thyme, rosemary, basil, dill, mint, and methi. The rosemary is still around like a silent companion to the parsley.
Narrow-leaved Sunflowers are wildflowers native to the United States and belong to the family Asteraceae. The small plant has many stems branching out, the leaves narrow and dark green. They are often found growing wild in swamps, ditches and moist areas. Because of these reasons, they get the common names Narrow-leaved Sunflower and Swamp Sunflower.
