Favourite Spring Wildflowers

Spending my childhood as I did, outside and in the forests along a small brook, I soon developed favourites among the spring wildflowers. Violets especially intrigued me, springing up in cold soggy seeps. From pure white to the deepest purple, they ranged through all shades between. The yellow violets I did not discover until much later. My grandmother told me they could be dipped in water or lemon juice and powdered sugar then dried. She used them on cakes. I rarely let them dry! I still smile when I see Johnny-jump-ups. These hardy little ancestors of our pansies remind me of my grandmother.

Spring-beauty (Claytonia carolinana) is another childhood favourite. At my grandmother's farm in Colchester County, the edge of the woods were carpeted with these colonial flowers. Their white petals are strongly striped with pinkish nectar-guides. I was told that their tubers are edible. I rarely tried them as the plants are only found in the richest mixed broad-leaved forests, a diminishing habitat in Nova Scotia in favour of development.

I am not ashamed to admit that from my earliest days, dandelions have held a special place in my heart. We now accept that they provide early food for foraging bees and other pollinators. If we don't feed the pollinators our food crops and ornamentals are also at risk. Dandelions are hardy, braving the cool nights and mornings. Their sunny yellow faces, mimic the sunshine. Collected before flowering, the leaves once boiled and reboiled are a healthy green side-dish. The bitterness is not to everyone's liking anymore than the deep taproots are to the gardener.

As an adult I discovered other favourite wildflowers, mostly encountered on the annual pilgrimage to Cape Split, Kings Co.: Dutchman's-breeches, Purple Trilliums and Trout Lilies.  My heart smiles a little to rediscover these old and familiar friends.

Tell us a story about your favourite springwildflower. Join us on Tuesday May 19 from 11:00-12:00 on Twitter and share your stories.
Johnny-jump-ups, Viola tricolor, photo by Martin Thomas
Spring-beauty, Claytonia virginiana, photo by Peter Neily


Purple Trillium, Trillium erectum, photo by Ross Hall

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