It looks like the weather girl is finally going to cease her romance with old man winter.  Just less than two weeks ago we had snow covering everything and freezing nighttime temperatures.

But now all the usual suspects and then some are emerging from hibernation.  And with temperatures going to the 80’s this week we are going to zip through some of the spring ephemerals that I would like to see linger.  I can’t complain about zipping through the Adonis though.  The first blooms appeared in January and now the first offset runner from the original Adonis has put forth three buds that are in the various states of bloom that illustrate the richness of Adonis amurensis ‘Sandansaki’.

The new offset is in the lower left of the picture above.

 

 

Ok, so it will disappear by May but what a nice four months of bloom!

One of the first things I look for in this season is the Hepaticas with their hairy little buds rising above the soil before opening to bloom.

There are many variations in Hepaticas, some not so easy to find.  Seneca Hills nursery had some beauties when they were in existence.

And I got a nice pink form from Hillside nursery two years ago.

Just at the same time as the Hepaticas we see the Jeffersonia dubia.  I have two plants one a deeper violet than the other.

Of course the lighting for the photo also influences how dark the coloring is.

In terms of dark coloring it is hard to beat Scilla siberica ‘Spring Beauty’.  The cobalt blue on the outside is matched by the blue color on the stamens.

Almost in the same blue realm is the Scillia bifolia which is a charmer in its own right.

We also saw the first of the Bloodroot this week.  Even encountered one in the woods where I had planted it a few years ago.

Every day in the Springtime is worth lingering over…