Spring Wildflower Garden

Spring is the season for native wildflowers. In my fern garden, they burst through their blanket of leaves before the ferns send up their fiddleheds, and bloom in the early spring sunshine. Here are a few of my favorites for this season. 

(1) Foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia) These frothy flowers are like a blanket of white in May, then recede to a quiet ground cover the rest of the year. 

(2) Virginia blue bells (Mertensia virginica) A true spring ephemeral, these plants form lush clumps of green with vibrant blue flowers, then recede and go dormant by mid summer, just as the ferns really take over. This year, one plant has decided to bloom in a paler, softer blue. 

(3) Wild bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia) This plant is short lived and seeds itself around (and often gets eaten by rabbits) but it's ferny foliage and lovely arching flower stalks are always welcome. 

 (4) Merrybells (Uvularia grandiflora) Planted deep in the fern garden where the leaves pile up through fall and winter, these plants burst through with their dangling yellow flowers, and then blend right in with the ferns that arrive later in the season. 

(5) Creeping Phlox 'Sherwood Purple' (Phlox stolonoifera)  A low growing plant that weaves in beautifully with it neighbors - you can see the Dicentra on the right! 

Like many people, I'm always working to add more native plants, and build a garden that helps support insects and birds and build a healthier planet.

I'm also working to add more native plants to my garden so I can create more art and designs featuring this special group of plants. This takes time! The plants need to be substaitial and healthy enough that I can cut flowers and foliage and know they'll still come back strong the following year.  

Slowly, I have been building a collection of cards and products that include some, or all native plants - you can see them here, or read a little more about them here.