Carlson's Grove

Wheaton Road, New Milford, Litchfield  County, Connecticut

Directions:

Route 202 north  to a right turn onto Wheaton Road (just immediately past a cemetery on the right).  (It is 2.0 miles past Hipp Road.)  Very shortly you  head over a bridge, pass by the Old Town Road and reach the parking lot on the right. 

Very picturesque picnic area and a tot lot playground are on this site along the East Aspetuck River (a Class 3 wild trout stream).  Picnic tables, grills, fishing, and a field for passive-active recreation (like soccer), plus a parking area are located at this site. Park opens one half hour before sunrise, and closes one hour after sunset.

7/07/2005.  Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I were tried from an earlier walk at Baldwin Park.  So we decided to just pick up a few plants as we examined the park and the area by car.  We picked up some plant species at the parking lot, but most of the species came from our drive down a "scenic road", the Old Mill Road, which is adjacent to the park and river.  We really enjoyed this road.  At the start the area reminds one of a hemlock glen.  The area is very picturesque and some of the houses are also interesting.  One house in particular is set virtually on top of the East Aspetuck River.   The ride is not long.  We drove down the road and then turned around and drove back.  We most likely will return to this area.  And next time we will do the botanizing by walking.  Dr. Patrick L. Cooney. 

Source:

Town of New Milford, Connecticut; New Milford Parks & Recreation; Town Parks

http://newmilford.qscend.com/content/57/89/101/128.aspx

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney

*  =  plant blooming on date of field trips, 7/07/2005

Trees:
Acer negundo (box elder)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Juglans nigra (black walnut)  
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Morus alba (white mulberry) 
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Tilia americana (American basswood)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
Ulmus americana (American elm)

Shrubs and Subshrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)  
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rosa sp. (hort. rose)     *
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Vinca minor (periwinkle)

Vines:
Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed)
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Hedera helix (English ivy)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (riverbank grape)

Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)      *
Actaea alba (white baneberry)
Actaea rubra (red baneberry) 
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)      *
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)
Ambrosia trifida (giant ragweed)
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut)
Arctium sp. (burdock)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asarum canadense (wild ginger) 
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)     *
Aster spp. (asters)
Cardamine impatiens (narrow-leaved bittercress) 
Chelidonium majus (celandine)     *
Circaea lutetiana (enchanter's nightshade)     *
Coronilla varia (crown vetch)     *
Cryptotaenia canadensis (honewort)     *
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)     *
Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane)     *
Eupatorium rugosum (white snakeroot)
Eupatorium sp. (Joe-Pye weed)
Galium aparine (cleavers)
Galium mollugo (wild madder)     *
Geum canadense (white avens)     * 
Hemerocallis fulva (tawny day lily)     * 
Hesperis matronalis (dame's rocket)     * 
Impatiens sp. (jewelweed)     
Lactuca canadensis (wild lettuce)
Laportea canadensis (wood nettle)    *
Lapsana communis (nipplewort)     * 
Lepidium virginicum (poor man's pepper)
Lotus corniculatus (birdfoot trefoil)     *
Medicago lupulina (black medick)     *
Mitella diphylla (mitrewort)
Osmorhiza claytonii (sweet cicely) 
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel)    
Pastinaca sativa (wild parsnip)     *
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain)     *
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonatum sp. (true Solomon's seal)
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed)
Prenanthes altissima (tall white lettuce)
Ranunculus acris (tall buttercup)      *
Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima (black-eyed Susan)     *
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)
Silene latifolia (white campion)     *
Smilacina racemosa (false Solomon's seal)
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion)    *
Thalictrum pubescens (tall meadowrue)     *
Trifolium hybridum (alsike clover)     *    
Trifolium pratense (red clover)     *
Trifolium repens (white clover)     *
Tussilago farfara (coltsfoot)
Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)    *
Zizia aurea (golden Alexanders)     *

Rushes:
Juncus canadensis (Canada rush)
Juncus tenuis (path rush)

Grasses:
Bromus inermis (smooth brome grass)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Elytrigia repens (quack grass)
Phleum pratense (Timothy grass)

Ferns and Fern Allies:
Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)
Equisetum hyemale (scouring rush)
Adiantum pedatum (maidenhair fern)
Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern)
Dryopteris marginalis (marginal woodfern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)

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