Spring Ephemerals.....small flowers, big statements!

I really don't get out much, but even on my daily commute, I am surrounded by gorgeous wildflowers. My daily ride through rural Chester County is especially beautiful in the spring, with a section of road completely given over to one of the miracles of spring in PA - spring ephemeral wildflowers! Here is Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), close-up and then covering a hillside (someone's front lawn!!):


Whew! Don't you wish you could live there?

Then there are the intriguing flowers of trout lily or dog-tooth violet, Erythronium americanum. These little yellow, nodding flowers rise up from foliage that is attratively mottled. It can form colonies which are very large, but not particularly dense. Again, there is beauty both close up and from a distance:

I could go on and on, but I'll stop with Virginia Bluebells, Mertensia virginica. This incomparable blue beauty colonizes in low-lying areas that never completely dry out. Happily enough for the rest of us, it is also comfortable in drier soils, although it won't spread out so much there. When Virginia Bluebells finds a home it likes, it moves in for the long haul.


All of our spring ephemerals can happily co-exist with other perennials or shrubs that emerge or leaf out just a bit later. Once they die down after flowering, their place can be taken by ferns, wild ginger, or any number of flowering plants.

Spring Beauty!

Spring beauty, indeed! I'm not just talking about the general phenomena - I'm talking about Claytonia virginica, aka Spring Beauty. This sweet little native wildflower is popping up everywhere now, and is especially noticeable in lawns. Have a look at these pictures taken over the last few days (April 20/21) along the back roads of Chester County:




This flower is diminutive in stature, but tough as nails once established. It is often found in moist woods in shade, but check out these beautiful stands growing in full sun right in a lawn (which was mowed a day after I took these pictures!):




Just imagine taking your morning walk along this road!

Spring beauty is easy to establish, and re-seeds itself readily. We have them now at Sugarbush, and they are blooming their little heads off in their pots!

I have to admit, I love these spring ephemeral wildflowers. Somehow the fact that they are with us for such a short period only adds to their charm. Requiring little attention from anyone, they complete their entire life cycle before the canopy leafs out. In fact, I think I have other posts coming for trout lily, Dutchman's breeches, bloodroot and Virginia bluebells!