Tagged With: Spring Ephemerals

Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

Photograph taken on Sunday, March 26, 2023 by Henry
Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

Cathy and I were out in Poolesville today, to drop something off for someone. After that we decided to see if the bluebells have started blooming along Seneca Creek. It is definitely a bit early for the full show, but there was enough to see that we were glad we went. In addition to bluebells, which I’d say were somewhere around 5% open, there were trout lilies (Erythronium americanum), spring beauties (Claytonia virginica), and possibly my favorite spring ephemeral, bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). They bloom very briefly and the flowers are very delicate, so seeing them at their peak is a real treat. Outside their short blooming period they are easily identified by their deeply-scalloped, palmate leaves, but you have to keep your eyes open, because they aren’t very flashy. The flowers are pure white, as you can see here, with beautiful, yellow stamens.

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Mertensia virginica (Virginia ‘Pink’ Bells)

Photograph taken on Saturday, April 08, 2023 by Henry
Mertensia virginica (Virginia ‘Pink’ Bells)

Mertensia virginica (Virginia ‘Pink’ Bells)

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went out to enjoy the bluebells (Mertensia virginica) today. They were pretty much at their peak and it was really lovely. Although they are called bluebells and that’s the predominate color, the buds generally start out being pink or purple and then the flowers turn blue as they open. We found a handful of them, however, that never made the switch, so we dubbed these Virginia ‘Pink’ Bells. There were also trout lilies (Erythronium americanum) and many, many spring beauties (Claytonia virginica), as well as yellow ‘violets’ (Viola pubescens).

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Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

Photograph taken on Sunday, March 17, 2024 by Henry
Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

We stoped at the Agriculteral History Farm Park today and especially enjoyed their shade garden. The bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) was in bloom, along with other early spring ephemerals. The Master Gardener’s demonstration garden has only just started to come alive so there wasn’t much to see there, except a large frog on the stones by the little pool.

Wa walked over to see the chickens and I stipped a few times to get pictures of a phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) and another bird I’m not sure about. It was a lovely day and, as usual, we enjoyed being outdoors.

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Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, March 04, 2025 by Henry
Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

Cathy and I took a walk at lunch time today, going about half way around the block that our office is on. There’s a cut through to the parking lot of my building from the back, which is how we got back. We walked through some of the empty lot next to my building but didn’t see much in the way of bird life. That building lot has been empty and waiting to be built on since before Dorothy was born (and before I worked there), so, a long time. In the current market, I don’t see that changing any time soon. On a lighter note, the snow drops (Galanthus nivalis) are blooming.

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Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

Photograph taken on Sunday, March 23, 2025 by Henry
Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

We had a load of things in the van to go to the dump today and thought we might also make a quick stop at the thrift store to drop some things off there. We decided, though, that we didn’t really have enough for the thrift store but we had left too early to go straight to church. So, we stopped for short visit to the Montgomery County Agricultural History Farm Park. There were things in bloom in the shade garden, which we always enjoy. These are bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) buds and leaves coming up. It’s one of my favorite native plants and a wonderful sign of spring.

Other things blooming included the Pieris japonica (Japanese andromeda) and of course there were daffodils. The Eranthis hyemalis (winter aconite) was done blooming. In the larger demonstration garden there was a little activity but nothing anywhere near blooming yet. Once we have a few warm days, though, that will change.

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