That last stretch of winter can feel interminable. Spring is a month or more from being declared, the Vernal Equinox is a rumor. The season of buds and their beautiful effusion is in the offing, but it’s not here, yet. Darkest before the dawn? It really is. We need hope, with petals. This is the time when gardeners turn with renewed interest to the most prescient of flowering plants. They defy the season, blooming no matter what: Trees, shrubs, perennials, lawn weeds! Anything to show us that life persists, and will return.
From plants underfoot to the branches above, here are some of the most reliable harbingers of spring, the floral lights at the end of the tunnel.
Photography by Marie Viljoen.
Henbit
We begin with a lowly weed. But blessed is the lawn interwoven with the mat-forming sprawl of henbit, a member of the mint (Lamiaceae) family. Like its later, mid-spring flowering cousins, deadnettle and ground ivy, henbit’s vivid and long-throated flowers open early to feed bees and to brighten and diversify what is so often a barren monoculture of grass.
Butterbur
Butterburs (members of the genus Petasites) are aesthetically fascinating plants, whose otherworldly, tufted flowerheads materialize from barren soil months before their prehistoric-looking leaves spread out vastly in the shade. The plants are native to Central and East Asia, where they are valued as edible heralds of spring (the flowers and tender stems of the leaves must be cooked prior to eating).
While the non-native butterburs are outstanding plants for difficult areas like deep shade and poorly-drained soil, they are better suited to the confines of urban gardens than to more pristine or preserved country habitats, where their invasive tendencies can cause wider-reaching problems. There is a North American butterbur, though: wetland-loving Petasites frigidus (the species name says it all), but it is not easily to be found at nurseries. Any growers out there? There’s a niche.
Snowdrops
Snowdrops—Galanthus nivalis (whose species name—”of the snow”—speaks winter)—appear well before freezing temperatures are done with us. A dainty and gentle brush of springtime in winter, they thrive beneath deciduous trees, brightening the leaf litter and becoming dormant by summer.
Hellebores
Hellebores, or Lenten roses, require no introduction, but it is worth remembering that, with some grooming, they can be spectacular, versus disheveled: Trimming back any damaged or ragged foliage from the previous season allows their exquisite flowers to be seen (and photographed) to most flattering effect.
