Wild Things

Yep - we're more than just a bit late for Wildflower Wednesday.  We do have a few wild things blooming though.  Just check out these colorful blooms above!   Ed and Zelda have been hanging out here a lot lately.  

Last summer we took down a spruce that died suddenly in September, 2011.   We hadn't noticed anything wrong with the tree, and it was a green as ever.  I was out on the patio one windy afternoon, and suddenly out of nowhere it was raining spruce needles.  Everywhere.  It didn't stop until the old spruce was completely bare about an hour later.  Ed seems to be enjoying the stump.  He rested here all afternoon, after swimming in the swale all morning.  Zelda's there too - beautiful in her own right, just a little more shy than Ed.  They make a cute couple, don't you think?  

They're so much fun to watch.  April's record rainfall, and a full swale have brought them back frequently. They seem to have settled in and made themselves at home.

Spring beauties (Claytonia virginica,) have been blooming for a couple of weeks.  I just love these tiny striped blooms.  The clump has gotten larger this year, and there are new clumps forming in other spots in the garden.  Ants may have planted the seeds for us. 

 Sanguinaria canadensis, also known as bloodroot, came from Mom's woods a few years ago.  This clump has grown quite a bit too - from one small leaf and one bloom, to this nice little clump and a succession of blooms, each lasting only a few days before the petals fall.  They're fleeting, but lovely, and the large, leathery leaves are pretty cool too.

  

Celandine poppies (Stylophorum diphyllum) are just getting started.  These are the first blooms.  They'll continue blooming all spring and into the summer.  Celandine poppies are the longest-blooming natives in our garden.  I love the lacy foliage on these plants. 

Tiny bunnies, eyes not even open yet are 'blooming' in our garden this month too.  I have fantasies of rabbit stew, but they're too cute and precious to harm.  I think that now, but those fantasies will be back when they start mowing down the garden.  We don't call this place Bunnies' Salad Bar & Grill for nothin'!

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are just getting started too.  They're among my favorite flowers in spring.  

After a long winter and a slow spring, it's warming up here just in time for May.  After a slow start, the garden has come alive in the last couple of weeks, and everything is appreciating the extra rain after last year's drought and heat.  

I  hope you're enjoying beautiful spring blooms, and plenty of rain (but not too much!) in your little corner of the world.

To see more Wildflower Wednesday posts, please visit Gail at Clay and Limestone.  Thank you for hosting, Gail!

Wildflower Wednesday

Following a winter break, April is a good time to re-join Wildflower Wednesday, Gail's monthly celebration of (mostly native) wildflowers. It's such a joy having wildflowers blooming again here in the Chicago southland.

The foliage is just as pretty as the flowers on celandine poppies (Stylophorum diphyllum, above,) also commonly known as wood poppies. While I've read they need consistently moist soil, they thrive here in our dry shade woodland garden. Celandine poppies self-seed readily, so I generally try to stay on top of deadheading them. Keeping them deadheaded also helps keep them blooming here spring through fall.

I'm not sure if this a red or white trillium. We had both, though two of them haven't reappeared this spring. The reds were planted five years ago, and the white one two years ago. This will be the first one to ever bloom. Trilliums, also known as wake robin, can take years to become established and bloom. They are becoming more and more rare in their native habitats. Prized by many gardeners, care should be taken that they are purchased from reputable growers. Mom is very lucky to have a nice stand of them in her woods, but this is one of the plants I wouldn't disturb to bring home for our garden.

It's the first year our Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica,) are blooming! Planted three years ago, some came from Possibility Place, our local native plants nursery. A few also came from K's (my firstborn's) garden last spring. They sulked after transplanting them here, wilting and dying back within a couple of weeks. I was so happy to see them come back this spring!

Virginia bluebells, like trilliums, are spring ephemerals. Ephemerals are woodland plants with a short growing season during which they leaf out, bloom, set seed, and then the above-ground part of the plant dies back. Bluebells can be prolific self-seeders, forming large colonies in a few years. Now that our long-awaited blooms are here, some will be allowed to set seed, but most will be deadheaded to prevent them from taking over the garden. Extra seedlings can also easily be weeded from the garden or shared with fellow native-plant lovers.

Last but certainly not least are these mystery Spring beauties (Claytonia virginica,) another ephemeral. I'm not sure how these tiny plants got here, but am happy they came! Most likely their seeds arrived with the other woodland natives transplanted from Mom's woods or K's gardens last spring, or maybe they were planted by squirrels or birds. Spring beauties are also known as fairy spuds, as the tubers (which are edible and said to taste like chestnuts,) look like tiny potatoes.

Wildflower Wednesday is hosted on the fourth Wednesday each month by my friend Gail who blogs from Tennessee at Clay and Limestone. In honor of spring, this time she's celebrating wildflowers with a week-long extravaganza. Native plant lovers will revel in the plethora of inspiring posts by Gail and other participating bloggers.