A century ago, a tradition of May Day was to make May baskets, usually filled with flowers or treats, and after leaving the basket at someone’s doorstep, the giver rang the door bell and ran away. With the snow only leaving yesterday, the May Day baskets wouldn’t be filled with too many flowers from the yard this year as just a few are blooming today.
First Wildflower This Spring
Some years there are early wildflowers blooming by the middle of March, but not this year especially since the snow is still way too deep to spot any hepatica blossoms.
Wildflowers Still Missing
It felt nice outside since it finally was above freezing for a change, but it isn’t spring yet so no early Hepaticas blooming yet. The white variety wouldn’t be spotted easily among the snow either, so I prefer the pink or blue shades instead for a splash of color in the woods.
White Hepatica
The sunshine was a little deceiving today as the wind made it feel cold. Maybe the next few warmer days will give a chance for wildflowers to finally emerge and open this spring. In my woods, the first wildflowers to appear are the hepaticas, which range from violet to white color.
Woods First Wildflower
The first wildflower in my woods finally opened yesterday but its head was bent over like it had the weight of the world on its shoulder which was probably just the weight of snow from the prior days. The poor flower has a break today before more snow can make it bend over again.
First Hepatica of Spring
The snow must have fallen on the robin’s tail this past week and now it is officially spring since I finally spotted the first wildflower open yesterday and the frogs are singing. The flower was partially open yesterday but fully open this morning. The Sharp-loded Hepatica is the first wildflower to open in my woods each spring and since the blossom is less than an inch across, they can be easily overlooked since the foliage comes after they bloom. It was windy this morning so trying to capture the tiny blossom swaying on the hairy stalk was a challenge.
The First Wildflower of Spring
Three years ago, we had an early spring and some wildflowers were open on the first day of spring like the hepaticas. I haven’t spotted any yet this ‘spring’ so I will have to do a little more trekking around the woods today to see if any opened for the arrival of spring.
Arrival of Spring
The sunshine on the weekend (and all the April rain) has allowed the Sharp-lobed Hepatica to open, which is the first wildflower to open in my woods. The bloodroots are following closely but the Hepatica, in the range of colors from white, pink, blues and violet, are the first to present new color on the woodland floor.
But being the first blossom open has it downfalls, as the first blossom which opened was totally bugged chewed, so I had to wait until a few more blossoms opened before taking a picture.
Sharp-lobed Hepatica
Today might be the last Sunday above freezing for a walk in the woods without the ground being covered in snow until springtime, but with deer hunting still going on, it might not be too safe for a walk without wearing orange.
But if you did adventure out in the woods around here, you might spot some bright green leaves looking totally out of place with the rest of the autumn decor. The Hepatica is first wildflower to appear in my woods in the spring, where the blossoms comes up on its own stem and the leaves do not appear until after the flower petals have dropped. And while they are first wildflower in the spring, the Hepatica seems to be the last one giving green color to the forest floor.
Wee Bit of Green
Searching for color of the first wildflower after a long winter is always a thrill of spring. I have a few bulbs that will peek its blossom up through the snow, but the hepatica is first wildflower to appear in the woods. The blue, white or pink flowers wave their color above last year’s fallen oak leaves on hairy stems that help insulate them from the cool temperatures of early spring. The three lobed, heart shaped leaves appear after the flowers bloom.
Last year with the mild winter, the hepatica were already blooming in the middle of March but this year if they tried, they would be buried under several feet of snow and they would be snowed on today too. The flowers close on cloudy days and at night to protect their pollen when pollinators are not apt to be flying. However, the cold temperatures of early April mean that there are not many potential pollinators flying about anyway. Fortunately, hepatica has the ability to self-pollinate and produce seed without the aid of insects.
Hepatica nobilis
