Native spring ephemerals are plants that offer an early flash of color in the spring flower garden.
Virginia bluebells / Mertensia virginica
Red trillium /Trillium erectum photo: weedsnwildflowers.blogspot.com
First flowers of spring
Most spring ephemerals are species that evolved to take advantage of the month or two in late winter/early spring when sun, water, and warmth are available on the rich, moist woodland floor, often alongside streams. Taking advantage of the sun before the deciduous trees and shrubs leaf out and cast their cool, dark shade onto the woodland floor, these perennial wildflowers herald the coming season at breakneck speed. Triggered by the warming soil, they rapidly send up foliage, blossom, set seed, and usually disappear in six to eight weeks -- all before summer starts.
Ephemeral plants
Once the leaves of taller plants (typically trees) form their canopy and command the light and water, the ephemerals simply go dormant reserving the nutrients they gathered and kept in their tubers, rhizomes, or other underground storehouses, and wait quietly until their time comes again the following year.
Rue anemone / Thalictrum thalictroides
Liverwort / Hepatica nobilis
Spring ephemerals fill an important niche in the forest ecosystem. In early spring, ephemerals provide food and shelter for pollinators and other insects when the forest is waking up and other food sources are scarce. The insects, in turn, provide food for migrating birds, and reptiles and amphibians coming out of hibernation. Many of the seeds of these spring ephemeral wildflowers are distributed by ants.
Backyard patio design ideas
It is common for garden designers to orchestrate flower bloom interest throughout all the seasons. Spring ephemerals fill an early void in the spring landscape design. Planting these flowers that bloom in spring extends your gardening season for an additional 4-6 weeks. Consider this landscaping idea for your next garden design, whether a townhouse garden design, roof garden design or backyard landscape design. Plant these spring ephemerals in the fall and reap your rewards the following spring! Along with spring bulbs such as crocus, daffodils, hyacinths, scillia, tulips, etc.. there are many opportunities to create a colorful spring patio design for your backyard landscapes.
**Final note...a good mail order resource for spring ephemerals and many other woodland plants is Sunshine Farm and Garden in West Virginia.
