While spring always seems like the start of something—a new season, new growth, new life—it is really more of a continuation. Plants that poke up through the ground have been living below all winter, dormant maybe, but alive nonetheless. What truly begins in spring is our re-awareness that they are there, ready to show themselves.
Here in Minnesota there are two wildflowers that signal spring is on the way, even if there is still a bit of snow cover (as there was here only a short week ago!).
The first is Pasqueflower (Anemone patens), a short yet striking wildflower that grows in dry, sandy prairies.
You can find Pasqueflower growing wild in a Bloomington prairie remnant (if you find a trusted guide to show you exactly where to find this hidden gem). Long before the tall prairie grasses reveal their green shoots, clusters of these fuzzy white-purplish blooms carpet this sunny hillside along 9 Mile Creek. You may need to carefully survey the tangle of dried grasses to spot the first few flowers of the year, but usually by the middle of April there are dozens.
Once it warms up enough, early season native bees and flower flies emerge to forage for pollen. I didn’t see any pollinators when I took the photos last weekend at the prairie remnant, but I’ll keep a lookout daily at the few Pasqueflowers coming up in my habitat garden.
I planted them a few years ago, and they seem to be slowly spreading in my sandy yard. Finding native plants that are already adapted to your garden conditions is one of the joys of habitat gardening.
The other wildflower I look for in very early Spring is Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale).
Another short, white bloom with a bright yellow center, this one is found in only a handful of woodlands in the state. This rare, diminutive trillium is listed as a MN species of Special Concern, threatened by habitat loss and invasive species spread. Preserving Snow Trillium and its unique habitat is essential if we want to keep it around for future Springs!
Since this species is not yet propagated and sold at the native plant nurseries I shop, I have to search for it in the wild. Luckily, one of the few spots Snow Trillium grows is also in Bloomington, in a woodland patch along a spring-fed stream that flows into the Minnesota River. I walk this stretch regularly with my dog George, and the first glimpse of blue-green foliage sets me out looking for bright white blooms unraveling through the leaf litter. (Although… do trees really “litter” their leaves? I think not.)
Now that I’ve captured a few photos of these heralders of spring, I’ll get back to the drawing board (literally and figuratively) and design some new artwork featuring these early blooms. Of course, I’ll keep returning to these treasured natural areas to see if I can spot eager pollinators visiting these wildflowers. Look for more photos, as well as some sketches, patterns and color palettes in next week’s entry of Good Habitats!
Thanks for visiting!